The Steam Deck is compatible with hundreds of games, but competitive titles are another story. Heavy hitters like Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, and Apex Legends are all incompatible with the Steam Deck due to their third-party anti-cheat software or lack of developer support.
Unfortunately for Halo Infinite players looking to take their fight into the handheld theater, Master Chief’s latest outing is not playable on Steam Deck. The newest Halo epic was tested on Feb. 18, according to the Steam Deck Verified game list. The results of the tests flagged Halo Infinite as Unsupported. Notes attached to the listing indicate that Valve is still working to support Halo Infinite.
Game Informer’s Alex Van Aken gave his first-hand account of what it was like trying to boot up Halo Infinite for the first time. Van Aken was able to download the game just fine, but when it came time to actually load it up, there was no way it was going to happen. The Steam Deck dragged him back to the SteamOS on every launch attempt.
Master Chief’s absence from the Steam Deck is a bummer, especially considering how comfortable the Steam Deck controls can be, something that is echoed by Van Aken. The good news is that the compatibility notes indicate that Valve may be working to resolve the issue. Unlike other first-person shooters that are incompatible, Halo Infinite‘s notes do not list anti-cheat as an issue, contrasting The Master Chief Collection‘s.
If you’re on the fence about reserving a Steam Deck due to worries surrounding game compatibility, there are multiple ways to check. The two most convenient ways are through the Great on Deck page and the CheckMyDeck tool. If you run the CheckMyDeck route, be sure to keep this guide handy.