If you have a Steam Deck handheld gaming PC, that’s great. Because, the Steam catalog has over 50,000 games, and hundreds of them have been proven to fit Steam Deck. However, sometimes, you may still feel that the number of games is too small, or you don’t like most of them. So, have you ever thought about adding games from the Epic Games Store and Good Old Games (GOG) to your Steam Deck as well?
The Epic platform is especially notable because it’s the PC home of Fortnite… and because the Epic Games Store is known for offering a steady stream of free games that gamers can add to their libraries. For now, Fortnite isn’t running on Steam Deck, but many of the other games on that service will run after a little back-end tinkering.
Next, we’ll show you how to install the Epic Games Store on Steam Deck. You’d better connect your Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, as this will make things much easier:
How to install the Epic Games Store on the Steam platform
1. Start by going to Steam > Settings > Power > Switch to Desktop. That will take you to the traditional-looking Linux desktop view. Firefox is already installed as a web browser, but you can add Chrome or other browsers as well.
2. Download the Epic Games Store app and save it in your system’s download folder. The package you download will be called EpicInstaller-13.0.0.msi.
3. You need to pay special attention to the fact that you cannot click on the installer at this time. Don’t try to run it as is, forget about it for a moment. Instead, launch the desktop version of Steam.
4. Once you’re in the Steam app, go to the top menu and follow this path: Games > Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library. In the resulting pop-up window, navigate to your Downloads folder and select that EpicInstaller-13.0.0.msi file.
Installation succeeded.
5. Now that the Epic Installer is in your Steam games list, right-click it and go to Properties > Target. You’ll have to find the correct location to link this shortcut. If you’ve left everything at the default settings, it should be here:
“/home/doorstop/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/[numerical_identifier]/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Epic Games/Launcher/Portal/Binaries/Win32/EpicGamesLauncher.exe”
And under Properties > Start In, the link is similar :
“/home/doorstop/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/[numerical_identifier]/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Epic Games/Launcher/Portal/Binaries/Win32/”
Now you can launch the Epic Games Store from Steam Deck. The shortcut is called EpicInstaller by default, but don’t worry: it launches the actual Epic application. The first time it may take some time for you to log in and possibly enter a two-factor authentication code sent to your email.
Setting up the first time will be a complicated process, but only the first time. Because now the Epic Games Store can be accessed from the normal Steam Deck interface. Simply restart from desktop mode to the handheld SteamOS view and navigate to the Steam > Library > non-Steam, where the same EpicInstaller shortcut will be. Launch it and you’ll be back in the Epic Games Store.
Relatively speaking, mastering the Steam Deck is a bit more cumbersome than downloading and running games on a Nintendo Switch or PS5, but if you have time to do a little more exploration, you should be able to have more fun playing.
