Disneyland uses Steam Decks to control Star Wars animatronics

disneyland controls star wars animatronics with steam decks
Credit: Leepixel (Reddit)/LucasFilm/Disneyland

disneyland controls star wars animatronics with steam decks
Credit: Leepixel (Reddit)/LucasFilm/Disneyland

The Steam Deck is a ridiculously powerful handheld computer, so it’s pretty useful for gaming and occasional work-related shenanigans, at least for work-at-home employees. However, it seems that the folks at Disneyland found another way to use the device, making it a remote for Star Wars animatronics.

A fan on the Steam Deck subreddit showed off this cool image where employees are using this handheld to control these animatronics. It looks like these Steam Decks have battery packs for extra juice, since this device can drain battery pretty quickly, though they could also be antennas to control the animatronics.

Since the Deck is a mini-computer, it’s not too farfetched to assume that these employees are using some sort of app to control these animatronics. Witnessing this feat does make us wonder if there are more ways to use the Steam Deck for non-gaming activities, though gaming is still the top priority.

Reddit user shows off Steam Deck-controlled animatronics in Disneyland.
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Credit: Leepixel (Reddit)/Disneyland

Prior to this, most of us saw the Steam Deck as a Switch on Steroids or a slightly weaker gaming laptop. Controlling animatronics is a pretty cool deviation from that norm and it makes us wonder if there are a ton of Steam Decks bought by Disney. We wouldn’t be too surprised if the Deck is also used for racing toy cars and other similar hobbies in the future.

The Deck’s impressive utilities are usually limited to gaming, which is fine. We’ve seen VR users make the Deck a controller or even as the device that activates the VR game.

Most Steam Deck owners didn’t know that this device could be used for such lively activities. Then again, most Deck owners also don’t care about Valve’s validation system, though that has some credence to it. Gamers might not be able to control animatronics anytime soon, but they can at least play Persona 3 Reload at launch with seemingly no issues.

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Curious gamers can get a Steam Deck fairly easily these days. Whether it’s a gaming shop or through Valve, it’s far from a difficult process.