The Legends of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a sequel to the 2017 Game of the Year, Breath of the Wild—and it might have even more hype in the lead-up to its launch than its predecessor.
Any fan of the Zelda franchise or open-world games, in general, is counting down the days until May 12 when Tears of the Kingdom launches. But some fans are wondering if they will even get to play the game. Specifically, Steam Deck owners are curious if the new Zelda title will be available on their handheld PC.
Related: Is The Legends of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Xbox Game Pass?
The Steam Deck is Valve’s on-the-go PC that allows players to take a gaming computer with them wherever they go. While the handheld device can’t play most games at a super high graphical quality, players are able to access a plethora of titles. Will The Legends of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom be one of them? Keep reading our guide below to find out.
Playing The Legends of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Steam Deck, explained
Unfortunately for any Steam Deck owners, Tears of the Kingdom will be a Nintendo Switch exclusive title. This is nothing surprising for a Nintendo title, though, since the company’s games are almost never available on anything except its own consoles and systems.
Related: How to play The Legend of Zelda games in release order from Gamepur
As such, The Legends of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will not be a supported title on Steam Deck when it launches on May 12. While some users will say that emulation is an option for Steam Deck owners with Windows 10 installed, this is considered pirating the game. If you want to abide by the rules set out by Nintendo, then you will have to pay full price for The Legends of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and play it on a Nintendo Switch console.
