Can I play Marvel Rivals on Steam? NetEase’s action-packed hero shooter is a must-have for Marvel fans, bringing together legendary characters in multiverse battles spanning the ages. The game is so fun that it’s just too tempting to take the battle on the move. Join us and we will equip you with everything you need to know Marvel Rivals Steam Deck compatibility.
Before you start scrolling, of course we know that Steam Deck is one of the best portable gaming consoles on the market. We gave it a great rating in our Steam Deck review because we break down everything from Steam Deck specs to mentioning the best Steam Deck docks. Yes, we even have a Steam Deck OLED review. But if you’re wondering what else is on the market, you can check out our list of the best Steam Deck alternatives currently available.
Can I play Marvel Rivals on Steam?
Yes, you can play Marvel Rivals on Steam. Currently, the Steam Deck Compatibility Rating for Marvel Rivals lists it as “playable” on the Steam Marketplace. This is a great sign, but it means that some parts of the game may not function as intended. When the game was released in December 2024, many users experienced issues with Marvel Rivals as the game’s launch indicated that the GPU drivers were out of date or that the Steam Deck VRAM was running low.
As such, there are some caveats to consider when it comes to playing Marvel Rivals on Steam Deck. Since Marvel Rivals uses Unreal Engine 5 to power its crazy battles, it can be quite a demanding game on your hardware. Typically, 4GB of VRAM is enough for most games, but you may want to consider increasing it slightly to accommodate Marvel Rivals.
Also, don’t expect Marvel Rivals to run on high settings when everything is set to maximum. If you can temper your expectations, you can easily set the game to hit 40-50 FPS with some tweaking.
Is Marvel Rivals Steam Deck compatible?
Marvel Rivals is listed as “playable” on the Steam Marketplace, which means it is not fully compatible with all Steam Deck features. As we mentioned above, Marvel Rivals needs a lot of power from your hardware to provide the best performance, and since Steam Deck is a Linux-based handheld device, you can expect some issues. Specifically, Valve lists the following parameters:
- The launcher/configuration tool for this game may require a touchscreen or virtual keyboard, or contain text that is tough to read
- Some features are not available when using the default controller configuration, which requires touchscreen or virtual keyboard, or social configuration
- Entering text requires manual activation of the on-screen keyboard
- Some in-game text is diminutive and may be tough to read
What are the best Marvel Rivals settings on Steam Deck?
If you’re wondering how to maximize performance while playing Marvel Rivals on Steam Deck, you can tweak your settings to get a few extra frames from your game. Unfortunately, this worsens the appearance of the game, but in our opinion it is nothing drastic.
- Frame Generation Mode – AMD FSR3 frame generation
- Anti-aliasing and super resolution type – AMD FSR
- Super resolution mode – performance
- Super resolution sharpening – 70
- Vertical sync – disabled
- Graphics quality – low
- Resolution – 1280×800
Before launching the game, you can also select Marvel Rivals “properties” in your Steam library and change the game’s compatibility profile. After tapping properties, go to “compatibility” and change the profile to “Proton Experimental”. This should fix any black screens you may encounter during cutscenes.
And there you have it, that’s everything you need to know about Marvel Rivals on Steam. For more mobile goodness, you can check out our Nintendo Switch vs Steam Deck or Steam Deck vs Asus ROG comparisons and the best Steam Deck games you can play right now.
