Can You Play CS2 on Steam Deck? Answered

Counter Strike 2 is an overhaul of Global Offensive. It’s also a massive engine-level upgrade from Source to Source 2. As a result, it takes your PC a bit more horsepower to run CS2. There have also been a lot of optimizations, whether in GPU utilization or overall performance. But does all that translate into being able to play Counter Strike 2 on Valve’s handheld? Here, we answer the question: Can you play CS2 on Steam Deck?

Can You Play CS2 on Steam Deck? Answered

Additionally, the default control layout doesn’t work. It’s a Frankenstein’s monster that attempts to overlay a controller layout on top of keyboard and mouse controls. And it fails.

• The only buttons that make sense are the two control sticks and the face buttons. And only in the middle of gameplay.
• Counter Strike 2 requires you to press R2 to engage the left mouse button unless you settle for using the flighty right trackpad as a mouse.

Related: Can You Play Counter Strike 2 on Mac?

Other Issues: Aiming and UI

There are dozens of other oddities I won’t bore you with. However, just moving around in CS2 on Steam Deck is a nightmare between the frame hitching and the awkward controls. Perhaps the worst problem for playing CS2 on the Deck is that because the game assumes you’re using mouse and keyboard, there’s no aim assist.

I’m against the borderline aimbot masquerading as aim assist in modern shooters like Destiny 2 and Modern Warfare 2. That said, the sticks need a bit of help staying on target. It’s a fact no matter what FPS you’re playing, but it’s especially true in Counter Strike, where precision at any distance is paramount.

While I could get headshots at close-mid range, it was never with the speed or accuracy I would need in an actual match against actual humans. To say I wouldn’t even make Bronze in CS2 on Steam Deck would be generous.

There’s also the UI to consider. The buy menu, as well as settings and main menus in Counter Strike 2, assume mouse and keyboard controls. They make no concessions for an awkward “kind of controller” setup.

So can you play CS2 on Steam Deck? Yes. Should you? No. It performs terribly, doesn’t control much better, and unless you’re hooked into ethernet, don’t expect your connection to be very good. PC remains the only place to play Counter Strike, and there it shall stay. For more, check out our other guides on Valve’s shooter.