Steam Deck is the latest offering from Valve, the makers of Steam, the largest online game store in the world PC. The Steam Deck is a portable game console that runs on Steam OS, a proprietary operating system based on the Steam online store and focused on games.

epic games library on steam deck

The Steam Deck runs on a dedicated AMD processor that is optimized for the device and can easily handle most titles from your Steam library. But what if you want to play all the free games you have collected from the Epic Games Store? We have a solution for you.

Let us get started.

How to Run Epic Games Launcher on the Steam Deck

Installing Epic Games Launcher on Steam Deck might be a problem for some people. A good alternative is Heroic Games Launcher, which allows you to play all the games in your Epic Games library directly on the Steam Deck.

Heroic Games Launcher is an app that lets you access your entire Epic Games library without having to install Epic Games Launcher on your Steam deck. All you have to do is sign in with your Epic Games credentials, and you are done.

heroic games launcher on steam deck

We’ll show you how to install Heroic Launcher on your Steam deck to get access to your Epic Games library. Follow the instructions below.

Pre-requisites:

Try to connect a keyboard and a mouse to your Steam deck to be as efficient as possible. If you can not connect the peripherals to your Steam Deck, you can use the trackpads available on the Steam Deck along with some keyboard shortcuts to access certain functions.

The right trackpad can be used to move the cursor and trigger the left mouse click. The left trackpad can be used to scroll and trigger the right mouse click.

Steps to Install Heroic Games Launcher on Steam Deck

  1. Once your Steam Deck is powered on, press and hold the power button to bring up the power menu.
  2. From the Power Menu, select Switch to Desktop to enable desktop mode on your Steam Deck.
    power menu on steam deck
  3. Once in desktop mode, use your mouse or trackpad to navigate the taskbar and open the Discover app, the icon with the shopping bag at the bottom left.
    app store for steamos
  4. Click on the search bar, which you’ll find in the top left corner, and type Heroic. You should see the application on your screen. Just click install and wait.
    searching for the heroic app
  5. Once the app is properly installed, the next thing you need to do is add it to your Steam library. This way, you will not have to open the desktop mode whenever you want to launch the application.
  6. To add the application to your Steam library, go back to the desktop by minimizing the Discover application. Open the Steam application by double-clicking or tapping the Steam icon at the top of your screen.
    add a non-steam game to your steam library
  7. In the Steam application, click Add Game in the bottom left corner, and then click Add a non-Steam game > Select Heroic from the list of applications > Add Selected Programs. This will add Heroic Games Launcher to your Steam library.
    add heroic to your steam library
  8. You can find it on the Non-Steam Games tab in your library. Select the application and tap A to open Heroic Games Launcher.
  9. Once it’s open, you’ll see the option to sign in to either your Epic Games or GOG account. Click the “Sign In” button on the Epic Games option and follow the on-screen instructions to sign in to your Epic Games account.
    epic games library in heroic
  10. Once you are successfully logged in, you should see your username in the Epic Games option.
  11. On the left side, you now have the option to open your Epic Games library and even the Epic Games store in a browser. Just go to the “Library” option, and you should see all the games that are available in your Epic Games library.
    epic games store in heroic

Click on the game and follow the instructions to install a game. The installer should automatically choose the best version of Wine and Proton for a given title. Still, you can change that later via a game’s individual settings in Heroic Launcher if you have trouble launching a particular game.

control on heroic

After the setup is complete, you should be able to launch all games through Heroic Launcher.

Access Your Epic Games Library on Steam Deck

Now that you know the secret to access your Epic Games library on the Steam Deck, you can enjoy all the great titles you have collected for free.

If you have issues with a particular game, such as lag when typing or getting stuck in loading screens, you can always tweak the settings to solve the problem. Just note that some titles are incompatible with the Steam Deck because they use anti-cheat software like BattlEye and PunkBuster. Valve offers some simple workarounds for BattlEye and Easy Anti-Cheat, but not all game developers customize their games to work.

Overall, Valve has done a good job of making the software on Steam Deck as open as possible. It allows users to access all external game libraries and also install emulators on the Steam Deck to enjoy games from several different platforms. This makes Steam Deck a worthwhile purchase for people who do not want to rely only on their Steam Library.

We hope this guide has been helpful. If you have any suggestions or questions about tweaking the Steam Deck, feel free to leave them below.

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