How to play PlayStation Plus games on Steam Deck

❘ Published: 2024-08-16T15:51:14

Dexerto

Without having to turn on your PS5, you can play your PS Plus library on Steam Deck and we’ve got all the steps to show you how.

The Steam Deck can support a variety of other game launchers, from Epic Games to Xbox Game Pass. Valve’s iconic handheld can even be a PS Portal substitute, letting you remote play your pixel-pushing PlayStation 5 console without the extra cost.

By running the PS Plus cloud streaming app through the Steam Deck, you can free up your PS5 for someone else. Thanks to Decky Loader, getting the PS Plus app up and running is a breeze, here’s how to set it up.

Keep in mind that you will need the highest tier PlayStation Plus subscription tier, PS Plus Premium, to access PS Plus on Steam Deck.

1. Download PS Plus via Decky Loader

Download & install Decky Loader
Open Decky by pressing ‘Quick Access’ button
Scroll down to the plug icon
Select the shop icon
Type & search ‘NonSteamLaunchers’ in text box
Select install when prompted
Return to Decky Loader
Select ‘NonSteamLaunchers’ followed by ‘Game Launchers’
Choose ‘PlayStation Plus’ & click install

The NonSteamLaunchers Decky plug-in has finally left testing and is available for anyone who has access to Decky on the Steam Deck. This plug-in is the easiest, and fastest way to get the PS Plus app on your Valve handheld.

If you don’t already have Decky up and running, you can check out our handy Decky guide.

After you have Decky on your Steam Deck, we need to access the Decky plug-in store. Select the options button on the handheld, and scroll down to Decky, represented by a small plug icon.

While in Decky, select the small store icon, next to the cog and type “NonSteamLaunchers” in the available text box. Once the NonSteamLauncher plug-in has appeared, select ‘install’ to get it downloaded onto your handheld.

Once installed, selecting NonSteamLaunchers through Decky will load up a list of game launchers, including the PlayStation Plus cloud app.

Select the toggle next to ‘PlayStation Plus’ followed by ‘install’ to install PS Plus on your Steam Deck. It may take a few moments to fully install.

2. Log in to PS Plus on Steam Deck

Navigate to the ‘Non-Steam’ tab of your Steam library
Select PS Plus thumbnail & click ‘Play’
Select ‘Log-in’ in the upper right corner
Log-in with PS details
Select the game you want to play & click on ‘Start’

The PS Plus app will now be available from the ‘Non-Steam’ games tab from your Steam Deck’s game library. Select the app, and select the small ‘log-in’ text available at the top of the screen.

Here, log in with your PlayStation Network details. If you’re having problems, remember you can bring up the built-in Steam Deck keyboard by pressing the ‘Steam’ button + X simultaneously.

After logging in, your PlayStation Network icon will appear in the top right corner of the screen. From here on out, you will now have access to the entire PS Plus game library on Steam Deck.

Once a game is running, it will automatically register the Steam Deck controls as a gamepad. However, without a PS5 DualSense in hand, you will be missing out on the haptic feedback features of some PS5 games you decide to play.

Custom photo of a Steam Deck OLED running the PS Plus app.

This method essentially runs the PS Plus PC app on the handheld. As a result, every game you play is cloud-streamed, and not natively running on the Deck. As always with cloud gaming, you will need to have a stable internet connection to avoid any annoying connection hang-ups.

Looking for more Steam Deck guides? We have you covered with our ultimate starter guide. Check out our How to add Xbox and PC Game Pass games on Steam Deck if you’re looking for even more Steam Deck games to play on the go.