Remote Play: How to Stream Games From Your PC to the Steam Deck

The Steam Deck is an excellent device for playing PC games away from your actual PC. It’s not the most portable handheld out there (due to its size), but it connects seamlessly to your Steam profile and allows you to download games locally.

However, sometimes you want to stream games directly from your PC, thereby taking much of the deck’s performance out of the equation. Fortunately, this is an easy setup. All you need is a stable internet connection and you can start streaming.

Why Stream Games to Your Steam Deck?

(Image credit: Carli Velocci)

With the introduction of the Steam Deck, gamers now have a portable gaming solution for PC games. Still, Steam’s Remote Play feature lets you stream games from your computer to your deck, just like Steam Link lets you play games on your phone. But why would you ever need to stream games to a console when you can just play locally?

If you have a powerful PC, you can use Remote Play to harness the processing power of your rig. A game streamed to the Steam Deck takes advantage of your PC’s specs instead of the handheld’s more limited hardware. So depending on the game, you might get a more robust experience. This can be especially helpful for the more demanding AAA games in your library.

Games must be compatible with Steam Deck before you can play them. Valve has checked many games to make sure they are running correctly. However, remote play can also enhance your experience with smaller indies that aren’t deck-optimized, as the game technically runs on your PC.

Streaming can also bypass local storage, which can save you storage space. Regardless of the size of your Steam Deck – the high-end model boasts 512GB – it can fill up quickly. You can always expand the storage with a microSD card, but using Remote Play is an easy alternative.

With Remote Play, you can even use the Steam Deck as a controller. Sit in front of your PC while Remote Play is running and turn off the sound coming over the Steam Deck. This gives you a slightly cumbersome but excellent controller.

What games work with Remote Play?

If you’ve purchased a game from Steam and it’s available in your library, you can run it through Remote Play. However, how well your Steam games perform depends on how well they’ve been optimized for the feature.

You can easily check this by checking the game’s store page to see if it has Remote Play capabilities on the right (although you can’t see this on the Steam Deck). Steam also has a page for Remote Play enabled games(Opens in a new window). If a game is Deck Verified, it’s likely to play fine remotely as well.

Remote play can work for all games downloaded from other storefronts. However, these games require a lot more setup.

How to Stream Games on Steam Deck

(Image credit: Carli Velocci)

Once you’ve decided on a game to play, it’s easy to get everything up and running. You can also make a small change for the best experience. Open the Steam client on your PC and select Settings > Remote Play > Advanced Host Options. Check Change the desktop resolution according to the streaming client to help your PC consume less power by automatically adjusting to the Steam Deck’s maximum resolution. Then strike OK.

Now we’re ready to stream. Make sure your PC is running Steam and the game you want to stream is installed on your computer. Also, both your PC and deck must be connected to the same wireless network. Open your Steam library on your deck and go to the game you want to stream.

(Image credit: Carli Velocci)

Click the arrow next to the big Install button and a pop-up window will appear. Select the name of your PC (MagnaCarter-PC in my case) and press A The button says now Electricity. Press it and Remote Play starts to work its magic.

You will know everything is working when an instance of the game is running on your PC and Steam Deck at the same time. Your PC reflects everything you do on your Steam deck.

(Image credit: Carli Velocci)

If you’re having trouble getting it to work, check your internet connection. The two devices must use the same. Otherwise, switching the old one off and switching it on again helps in an emergency.

Valve Steam Deck frees PC games from the desktop