Since the Steam Deck is basically a handheld PC, you'd benefit from installing other digital video game storefronts on it like Battle.net and Epic Games. In this article, we'll show you how to get the Epic Games store on Steam Deck.
Steam is a great place to buy games online, but it never hurts to have other options. Having some titles that aren't available on other stores and a game or two a week being given away for free, the Epic Games store is a pretty good second option.
Let's find out how to get this virtual store that isn't Steam onto your Steam Deck.
How to get the Epic Games Store on Steam Deck
If you want to take your favourite games from Epic with you on the road, we've got you covered. Follow these steps to get Epic Games up and running on your Steam Deck:
- Switch to Desktop Mode by holding the power button.
- Open a browser of your choice and get Epic Games from their download page.
- Open Steam while still in Desktop Mode.
- Click on Games and from there, select "Add a Non-Steam game to my Library".
- Select Browse and look for the Epic installer file. It should be an MSI file in your Downloads folder.
- Select the installer file and tap on Open.
- You should now be seeing a list of programs. Make sure the Epic installer file is checked then tap on "Add Selected Programs".
- Go to the Library tab in Steam and look for the Epic installer once more. When you find it, right-click on it and choose Properties.
- Open the Compatibility tab and make sure to tick the box that says "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool".
- Select the latest version of Proton then close the window.
- Click on Play and the Epic Games launcher will begin installation.
After that, your Epic Games should be able to run properly! But we're not quite done yet.
Fixing the target for Epic Games launcher shortcut
At this point in the process, opening the Epic Games shortcut will have Steam run the installer again instead of the launcher. Here's how you can take care of that"
- Go to your Steam Library while still in Desktop Mode.
- Look for Epic Games and right-click on it.
- Select Properties then go to the Shortcut tab.
- Here you'll find two fields - "Target" and "Start in". Tap on Browse to get these adjusted.
- In the "Look in" bar near the top of the window, type in "/home/deck/share/Steam/compatdata/".
- You'll now be faced with a bunch of numbered folders. Open each one and check every "/pfx/drive c/Program Files (x86)" for a folder labeled "Epic Games".
- Once you find the Epic Games folder, open it and go to "/Epic Games/Launcher/Portal/Binaries/Win32/"
- Choose the EpicGamesLauncher.exe file and click on Open.
Using the Epic Games shortcut should now open the launcher instead of the installer. Switch back to gaming mode and use Epic Games like you normally would.
Having trouble accessing your Epic Games account? Here's what you can do to recover it.