Can You Play Final Fantasy 14 On Steam Deck?

There are few MMORPGs out there that could claim to even remotely match the success of Square Enix's "Final Fantasy 14." After all, what other title out there has done so well that its publisher literally had to stop selling it? "Final Fantasy 14" was pulled from shelves in 2021 because the servers couldn't handle the number of people playing the game. Understandable, as the title had 25 million registered users as of December 2021 (per Statista).

While brand recognition and consistent content expansions are part of the appeal of "Final Fantasy 14," the team has also tried to make the game more accessible by expanding the list of platforms that the MMORPG is available on (via Destructoid). "Final Fantasy 14" simply debuted on Windows PCs and Sony's PlayStation 3 back in 2013, but the team developed support for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and iMac computers in the ensuing years.

2022 marked the arrival of yet another new console in the gaming hardware market, as Valve introduced the portable-focused Steam Deck. Thanks to the Deck's functionality as a stealth PC, a ton of major modern games that had no official handheld versions, such as "Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered" and "God of War," are now available to play on the go. The prospect of having "Final Fantasy 14" on a handheld is certainly an enticing one, and some fans are no doubt wondering whether it's possible to get the game running on Valve's plucky little system.

Rest assured, handheld gamers — you can take "Final Fantasy 14" on the go with the Steam Deck.

The easiest way to go about getting the MMORPG on the Deck is to purchase the game through Steam. From there, make sure the game runs on Proton 7.0-4, which Valve confirms is optimized for playing "Final Fantasy 14" on the Deck. You can ensure that the game uses this version of Proton by selecting the gear icon on the game's page in your library, selecting "Properties," selecting "Compatibility," checking the box for "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool," and then selecting Proton 7.0-4 from the dropdown menu.

Booting up "Final Fantasy 14" will take you through the launcher and get you into the game. Between the Deck-centric optimization and the new "Final Fantasy 14" data centers to relieve server congestion, it should be a pretty smooth experience overall. However, it's worth noting that Valve currently lists the status of the game on Deck as "Playable," rather than "Verified," (via Steam). That means that some features may not function seamlessly with the Deck, like needing to manually activate the on-screen keyboard to type text in-game. Still, Valve's report suggests that the game performs as intended in most regards.

"Final Fantasy 14" on Steam Deck may not be the most technologically advanced way to experience the game, but adding portability to one of the most expansive MMOs ever is a fantastic addition to an otherwise outstanding MMORPG.