Can You Play Warzone On Steam Deck?

"Call of Duty Warzone" is one of the biggest multiplayer games on the market. And Raven Software's battle royale regularly receives new content and patches that keep the game fresh. Additionally, "Warzone 2.0" is on the horizon, offering a new and improved anti-cheat initiative, among other improvements. But "Warzone" is only officially available on consoles and PC. So, what if a player wants to dive into Caldera or Fortune's Deep while away from their at-home setup? 

If any handheld could run "Warzone," it would be the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck has been in the hands of gamers for some time now, letting them play triple-a PC titles on the go. And first-person shooters like "Deathloop" and "Apex Legends" are completely playable on the Steam Deck. So, some may wonder if "Warzone" is also playable on the portable console. Now that players can finally order a Steam Deck without a reservation, it's the perfect time to find out.

Steam Deck owners across the internet have reported that "Warzone" is completely playable on the Steam Deck. Some users, such as Gary_BBGames, have showcased gameplay of "Warzone" working on the Steam deck running at 60 fps on low settings. TA Tech is another Steam Deck owner that uploaded gameplay of "Warzone" on the Steam Deck, demonstrating that the game only runs at around 30-40 fps on high settings. So, for a competitive shooter where performance is vital, gamers should stick to low settings if they want the best results on this system. However, although "Warzone" works on Valve's portable console, it isn't as simple as just downloading "Warzone" and launching it.

"Warzone" requires the user to install a special kernel-level anti-cheat system to play online. But because the Steam Deck runs on a custom SteamOS that isn't supported by the "Warzone" anti-cheat, the Steam Deck cannot run "Warzone" using the native operating system. However, users can install Windows to their Steam Deck and play the game through the Battle.net launcher to get around this. Any Steam Deck owner that attempts this must also remember to install the appropriate drivers to play "Warzone."

Although the process of getting "Warzone" playable on the Steam Deck may be a bit too much for some, it remains the only way to play "Warzone" on a portable device. At least until "Warzone Mobile" releases.