The Steam Deck is one of the most popular gaming systems on the market currently. But the question is what sports games work and don’t work on the Steam Deck. And beyond that, which ones are actually good on the Steam Deck?
The Deck is amazing in that it has a Gaming Mode and a Desktop Mode. Gaming Mode offers a console-like experience for your Steam games while Desktop Mode allows you to explore the web, download web apps, files, mods, and more.
There’s even an app that let’s you play games from GOG and the Epic Games Store. But, as we know, PC has a ton of games to play and since the Steam Deck is a PC, that means we basically have access to all of these games.
With such a huge amount of games available, that means we have plenty of sports games to check out from top to bottom. However, it’s important to keep in mind that some games are listed as “Unsupported” for Steam Deck. You can try and see if they work, but it’s more ideal get games that say “Playable” or “Verified” in their tags. You can also check ProtonDB to see which Unsupported games work well on the Deck. Also note that some sports franchises have games that work and some that don’t. So, with that in mind, here’s a list of which popular sports games can or cannot be played on the Steam Deck.
NBA 2K: Playable Or Verified
The NBA 2K games on the Steam store will work nicely on the Deck. The only two games available at the time of this writing though are NBA 2K23 and 2K24, both Verified and Playable respectively. Your best bet to play older 2Ks is by either having them in your Steam Library already, or by Google searching for keys that are on sale (sadly a lot of iconic 2Ks are quite expensive on PC).
I had a copy of NBA 2K14 in my library, and although it was Unsupported it runs very beautifully and looks great on the Deck. There is some work you need to do in Desktop Mode to get it running smoothly (otherwise it will be choppy) but it’s only a three-step process or so. And according to ProtonDB, if you have 2K16, that will also run perfectly on the Deck.
As for 2K23 and 2K24, they both run on the “old gen” engines (PS4 and Xbox One) so they aren’t new gen like on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. This means there’s no City, robust MyCareer, current-gen graphics, or the presence of The W (WNBA MyCareer). However, the games look gorgeous on the Deck thanks to the frame rates being better than on PS4 or Xbox One. So although the Steam versions of the game aren’t getting the current-gen treatment, the smoothness of the games can’t be overlooked.
However, as a heads up: if you plan on playing Park games, just know that the Park is basically empty almost every time you hop on. Sometimes when you hop on, you get lucky and see people playing, but otherwise it’s a ghost town. And as for The Rec and Galleria (where you can do matchmaking 1v1 and 3v3 games), forget about it. Those stay empty. Just wanted to offer up that warning.
MLB The Show 24: Not On Steam But…
So, unfortunately, MLB The Show is not available on Steam but maybe one day it will be. However, there is a workaround as there has been confirmation of gamers playing the popular baseball game on the Steam Deck, and it’s thanks to the longtime PlayStation exclusive now also being available on Xbox.
The method involves getting Xbox Cloud Gaming on your Deck. Once you have it, this will allow you to stream games like MLB The Show on the portable gaming PC. So you would just have to make sure to have a good connection in order to stream it. Microsoft seems to be fully aware of the demand to play Game Pass games on the Deck so they made a nifty little guide to help you get started.
Madden NFL: Unsupported Or Playable
You only have access to Madden 22, 23, and 24 on Steam at the time of this article. Madden 22 and ’23 are Playable but ’24 is deemed Unsupported. However, sometimes Unsupported games still work, but I’d say to wait until there’s s huge price drop on Madden 24 before taking a chance. Otherwise, you’re probably better off with ’22 or ’23 for now.
Although not NFL licensed, one other football game that is completely Verified on Deck is the awesome Sunday Rivals. This game allows you to customize the league’s team to give it an NFL feel as you play with arcade-style gameplay.
It’ll be interesting to see if the next Madden will be Verified or Playable on the Deck. Due to the system’s popularity, I don’t see why EA Sports wouldn’t make the effort to make the game work on the portable. I’m also curious to see if EA Sports College Football will be on Steam as well.
EA Sports FC/FIFA: Unsupported Or Playable
Two of the three games that are on Steam are not playable. However, FIFA 22 is Playable at least. And although some Unsupported games do work, FIFA 23 and FC 24 are sadly not those games, even after checking ProtonDB. So, if you want your football fix, your best bet is playing FIFA 22 or you can get the free eFootball (formerly PES) which is Playable. The Steam reviews are mixed for eFootball, but hey, it’s free, right?
EA Sports NHL: Not On Steam
Unfortunately for hockey fans, the EA Sports NHL games aren’t on the Steam store at all. The last NHL that was on PC was when NHL 09 released. Yes, if you have a key for the game, you can add it to your Steam Library as a “Non-Steam” game, but to play it safe I probably wouldn’t try it. ProtonDB also doesn’t mention any of the EA NHL games.
But although none of the EA games are on Steam, there is one lone NHL game that does work on Deck called Franchise Hockey Manager 8 if you’re into strategic, behind-the-scenes type of sports games and is created by the folks behind the iconic Out of the Park Baseball series. The latest game in the series is Franchise Hockey Manager 10 but is Unsupported and hasn’t been verified on ProtonDB so you’d be rolling the dice on that one.
If strategy and management aren’t your thing, then there are three other hockey games on Steam that will work well on the Deck: Tape to Tape, Super Blood Hockey, and Hockeysplit that are all well received based on the Steam reviews — just don’t expect an NHL license.
PGA Tour 2K: Playable
Both PGA Tour 2K21 and 2K23 run well on the Steam Deck. I will mention that the frame rates seem a bit smoother on 2K21 than on 2K23 but both are still fun to play. And yes, crossplay is available as well, so you can play against players on consoles while you’re playing on the Deck.
Just be warned that I struggled getting online matches on 2K21, so if you want a much more active multiplayer experience then 2K23 is the best option. If not, then you can still enjoy the thousands of community-designed golf courses on 2K21 the same way you would on 23, and the career modes are overall pretty similar.
Main difference on 2K23 is around the MyPlayer where you can give your golfer an archetype and tune your clubs to increase your attributes. And in 23, there are more clothing brands available too but usually come in and out of rotation, including NBA jerseys. Overall though, no matter which game you play, it’ll be a fun experience on the Steam Deck as you tee it high and let it fly on the go.
EA Sports PGA Tour: Playable
EA Sports PGA Tour is Playable on the Steam Deck, so if you’re a big golf fan then you’re in luck with both EA and 2K’s offerings running well on the Deck. EA PGA gives gamers access to all four major championships, which means you can play the legendary Augusta National on the go.
They’ve also been adding the real world major host courses via updates and have also added Jack Nicklaus as a playable legend (with a 99 overall rating, fittingly enough). There are several different shot types that you can use too as you tackle famous courses like St. Andrews, Oak Hill, and The Country Club among many others. Then, of course, you have different brands and such to fit your golfer like in 2K and can even customize your golf bag.
Pro Tennis Games: Playable Or Unsupported
Initially, I was just going to bring up TopSpin 2K25, but since it just came out very recently at the time of this article, Steam hasn’t checked it yet. However, doing a little research, it sounds like the game has a lot of issues on the Deck. So for now, we’ll deem it Unsupported until Steam officially checks it.
However, AO Tennis and AO Tennis 2 both work on Steam Deck. So, there are still a couple of licensed tennis options for sure just in case TopSpin 2K25 gets officially listed as unplayable. But, if TopSpin is Playable or Verified then you have three different games to enjoy on the Valve portable.
And of course, even if none of the licensed pro tennis games worked, there are plenty of indie tennis titles available on the Steam store as well.
WWE: Unsupported, Playable, Or Verified
When it comes to WWE 2K24 on Steam Deck, the latest in the series, the game is listed as Playable.
Unfortunately, if you’re looking to play WWE 2K23 or WWE 2K Battlegrounds, then these are Unsupported. The good news is that if you have WWE 2K16, ’17, ’18, or ’19, these are all Verified for play on the Deck according to ProtonDB. Just be aware that they aren’t currently available on the Steam store — it’s just 2K23, 2K24 and Battlegrounds so you’d need to hunt down some Steam keys for the older games.
Extreme Sports Games: Verified, Playable, Or Unsupported
Since there’s no one true standout extreme sports game at the moment, I’ll just mention a few games from the genre at random. Riders Republic, which might arguably be the biggest extreme sports game at the moment, is sadly Unsupported on Steam Deck.
However, popular skateboard games like Session: Skate Sim and Skater XL are both Playable and Verified respectively. Session is one of the most realistic skateboard games ever made, while Skater XL can become quite a robust experience if you can learn how to get mods for it. Meanwhile, the incredible Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 also works well on the Deck. So, in short, skateboard fans are good to go.
And for you snowboard fans out there, Shredders, which has received “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews is listed as Verified. Some other smaller games that are fun include Scoot, Scooterflow, Driftwood, and Helskate, which all work well on the Deck.
