Fallout 4 is one of the most popular Fallout games, and for good reason. The game became an instant classic when it came out, and the Fallout TV show made it even more popular. If you’re wondering whether or not your Steam Deck can support the game, here’s a guide to help you out and make sure you have the best gameplay possible.
Can Fallout 4 be run on Steam Deck?
As of April 25, 2024, the game has been verified to play on Steam Deck. Bethesda released a major update after the success of the Fallout TV show, meaning the game received new items and a host of performance improvements for current-gen consoles.
However, even before this update, the game was marked as “playable” and ran almost flawlessly on the Steam Deck. The only issue before the update was the game launcher (which players now want back) and sometimes the game required you to type with the virtual keyboard. Overall, the game ran well before the update and runs even better now that this update has been made.
How to recover the Fallout 4 start and settings menu on Steam Deck
The only downside to removing the game launcher is that game settings are now harder to change. To fix this, you can add “SteamDeck=0 %command%” to the game launch options (make sure you capitalize SteamDeck, otherwise it won’t work). To do this, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Fallout 4 and press the options button.
- From the list of options, select “Properties.”
- Select “General” and scroll to the bottom of the “Startup Options” bar.
- Type “SteamDeck=0 %command%” and save it.
Once you’ve done this, you should be able to see the game launcher again, which is where it will allow you to change the settings.
Related: What year is Fallout 4 set in?
Best Settings for Fallout 4 on Steam Deck
When looking at Fallout 4’s settings, players have a few options, depending on what they prefer to optimize the experience for. Some settings are best for optimizing your Steam Deck’s battery life, and others prefer to tweak settings to ensure the game runs as smoothly as possible. It completely depends on what you prioritize. I’d rather have better battery life than prettier images, but I also travel quite a bit and don’t always have a charger.
The best settings to save battery
Here are the best settings if you want to have better battery life and extend your gaming session without needing a charger. While these settings are on the lower side, they ensure that you can play for much longer and still float around. 60FPS most of the time, which I find is enough to play with ease. I also highly recommend staying away from FSR while trying to save battery; drains the battery like nothing else.
- Adhesive quantity: Half
- Detail Quality: Low
- Lens flare: Off
- Lighting quality: Half
- Motion blur: Off
- Rain Occlusion: Off
- Resolution: 1280×800
- shadow distance: Low
- Shadow quality: Low
- texture quality: Half
- Humidity: Off
Best settings for graphics
Here are the best settings if you want to have amazing graphics and not worry too much about the battery. You can always tweak them a little and increase them even more if you want, but this is what I found to be the sweet spot to ensure there wasn’t too much lag. I maintained regularly between 45 and 50 FPS using these settings on my Steam Deck OLED.
- Ambient occlusion: SSAO
- Antialiasing: TAA
- Adhesive quantity: High
- depth of field: bokeh
- Detail Quality: High
- Godray quality: Off
- Lens flare: In
- Lighting quality: High
- Motion blur: Off
- Rain Occlusion: In
- Resolution: 1280×800
- Screen Space Reflections: Off
- shadow distance: Half
- Shadow quality: Half
- texture quality: High
- Humidity: In
I also found that activating FSR It can really help you in your game, but keep in mind that it will drain your battery quickly. However, if the system is docked, it could be the perfect opportunity to use it.
For more information on Fallout 4, check out All Fallout 4 DLC Ranked from Worst to Best and How to Build Lucy MacLean in Fallout 4.