Can I play ARC Raiders on Steam? There is a before and after ARC invaders. Once you’ve had a taste of exploration in Buried City or Spaceport, there’s no going back. Embark Studios’ extraction shooter is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC, but what about handheld consoles like Steam Deck or ROG Ally? We’ll get you ready to plunder and bring goods to Scrappy.
Of course, before ARC Raiders takes up all your time, we’re fans of Embark Studios’ underrated shooter The Finals – one of the best FPS games on the market. You can exploit our The Finals Steam deck guide to get started in the arena.
Can I play ARC Raiders on Steam?
Yes, you can play ARC Raiders on Steam. Although Embark Studios has not yet revealed more details about the game on Steam Deck, we know from our own experience and conversations with the studio that ARC Raiders is working on Valve’s handheld. Initial versions of the game, such as Tech Test 2, were quite challenging on portable PC hardware. In our ARC Raiders preview, we managed to get decent performance on the ROG Ally Z1e, but the Steam Deck suffered noticeably.
Fortunately, the recent ARC Raiders Server Slam eliminates most of these problems, as performance is better than ever thanks to the latest optimizations. During our ARC Raiders interview with design director Virgil Watkins, we asked him about the game’s performance on the handheld console.
Watkins adds that “obviously the market there is growing, so we’ll keep an eye on that. We’re pretty happy because we’re deliberately targeting a pretty low-end hardware set with minimal specs. It’s really nice that it kind of aligns with where these handhelds are coming out and where you can run the game on them.”
Is ARC Raiders Steam Deck verified?
No, ARC Raiders is not verified on Steam. The game is currently “unsupported” on the Steam Marketplace, but that doesn’t mean it won’t run on Steam. Embark Studios will likely need to improve a few things like in-game text and overall performance before Steam considers it worth reviewing. However, you can still buy the game and start playing. We recommend using the “Proton Experimental” preset before launch to enhance stability.
What are the best ARC Raiders settings on Steam Deck?
If you’re wondering what the best settings are for ARC Raiders on Steam Deck, we can point you in the right direction. Of course, since Valve’s console is a few years elderly, you won’t be able to match high-end desktop setups when it comes to fidelity or exceeding massive frame rates in the 100s. However, if you are willing to sacrifice some of these aspects, you will find ARC Raiders on the Steam deck with the following settings:
- Window mode – Full screen with no border
- Display resolution – 1280×800
- VSync – disabled
- Frame Rate Cap – Unlimited
- Increased resolution – 100%
- Resolution scaling method – XESS
- Render Resolution Scale Mode – Quality
- Field of View – Your preference, but lower values work better
- NVIDIA RTX Global Lighting – Static
- Overall quality level – low
- Display Distance – Low
- Smoothing – Low
- Shadows – Low
- Post Processing – Low
- Textures – Low
- Effects – Low
- Reflections – Low
- Leaves – low
- Global Illumination Resolution – Low
- Game Performance Overlay – Your preferences
- Idle Power Saving – Enabled
- Inactive Window Energy Saver – Enabled
With these settings, you can expect frame rates to be between 40 and 60 frames per second, depending on the area you are in and the intensity of the action.
How to install ARC Raiders on Steam Deck?
You can install ARC Raiders on your Steam Deck by visiting the Steam Marketplace, purchasing and adding the game to your library, and then accepting the download prompt. You need at least 30 GB of disk space. If you need more space on your Steam Deck, check out our review of the WD Black SSN07M drive.
That’s everything you need to know about playing ARC Raiders on your Steam. Want to play more of the best Steam Deck games? You can check out our guides for Black Ops 6 Steam Deck, Fortnite Steam Deck, or GTA 5 Steam Deck.
