Honkai: Star Rail is set to be one of the biggest game releases of 2023, with the sequel to Honkai Impact 3rd already boasting 10 million users registered to play even before it releases on April 26.
Of the holdouts yet to register for Honkai: Star Rail, some are waiting to see if they can access the game. Some of those gamers are Steam Deck owners, who are unsure whether or not the new Gacha game will be accessible from the handheld PC.
The Steam Deck is a powerful handheld computer that can play a variety of modern and classic titles from a player’s Steam library. The device runs on its own operating system, but players are able to boot into Windows 10 using some external hardware. It’s usually with this workaround that players are able to access games that they otherwise would not be able to.
So, the question remains, will Honkai:Star Rail be one of the titles that players can access outside of their Steam library?
Playing Honkai: Star Rail on Steam Deck
As many players have already surmised, Honkai: Star Rail is not coming to Steam. Instead, it’s launching for PC on its own platform, which players can pre-register for now. This has led players to wondering if they will be able to access the game on Steam Deck.
The answer is both yes and no. If players aren’t willing to perform the necessary steps to get Windows 10 installed on their Steam Deck, then they will not be able to play Honkai: Star Rail on the handheld PC. However, if players are willing or already have Windows 10 installed, then there is seemingly nothing stopping them from using the Steam Deck like a normal PC to download Honkai: Star Rail from its exclusive platform.
Of course, we have yet to see how Honkai: Star Rail will run on PC and how the game’s Anti-Cheat software will work. Some users are concerned one of the game’s Anti-Cheat programs, called AntiCheatExpert, will cause problems with Honkai: Star Rail running on Steam Deck. In the past, this program has been known to not run properly on Steam Deck, leading players to not access games that use it.
However, with Windows 10 installed and players going that route, they shouldn’t run into too many issues with this particular Anti-Cheat program. The only real concern players should have is how well they will be able to run Honkai: Star Rail on Steam Deck’s hardware.
We’ll find out exactly if Steam Deck can both play and handle Honkai: Star Rail when it launches on April 26.
