Roblox is the most popular game in the world, and since it’s resource-light and has loads of game modes, it feels tailor-made for the Steam Deck. Unfortunately, due to some cheat-busting snafus, Roblox doesn’t officially support Linux and probably won’t any time soon. Fret not, though, because thanks to the efforts of resourceful community members, there are ways to get Roblox running on Valve’s chunky handheld, and this guide is going to share them with you. So, grab your Deck and scroll on down for the full details on how to install Roblox on Steam Deck.
The Different Ways to Play Roblox on Steam Deck
There are three ways to get Roblox running on Steam Deck. This section will cover all three and provide a comparison of the pros and cons of the different methods.
| Method | Version | Pros | Cons |
| Waydroid | Android | Allows you to run almost any Android game or app that you want on Steam Deck | Setup requires messing with sudo admin access and the Konsole terminal. Easy but can be daunting for less technical users. |
| Sober | Android | Up to 200% the performance of Windows Roblox. | Uses a specialized runtime that may be blacklisted or disabled in future versions of Roblox. |
| Windows | Windows | Easiest to set up and run. | Requires installing Windows on your Steam Deck, which is its own can of worms. |
How to Install Roblox on Steam Deck with Waydroid
This solution involves installing the Waydroid Android emulator on Steam Deck and using it to download and play the Android version of Roblox. The process is simple enough to follow but involves typing into the Konsole terminal, so a USB or Bluetooth keyboard is recommended.
A bonus of using Waydroid is that you can install and run any Android game or app, not just Roblox. Explore the Play Store and try out some games; you might prefer them on your Steam Deck!
1. Enter Desktop Mode
In Game Mode, press the STEAM button and select the Power menu, then select Switch to Desktop Mode.
2. Install Waydroid
Once Desktop Mode is loaded up, click on the Steam Deck logo on the bottom-left of the screen. Then look through the menu for Konsole, or type it into the search bar, and open up the Konsole terminal.
The first thing we’ll do is set up a sudo admin password. If you’ve already done this before, you can go skip this part. Type this command into the terminal:
passwd
This will prompt you to set a sudo password. Memorize this, write it down, and keep it safe! If you forget it, the recovery process is tedious. With your sudo password set, it’s time to install Waydroid.
Type the following commands into the terminal to start installing Waydroid. Type each line in one by one, making sure to press the Enter key after each line.
cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/ryanrudolfoba/steamos-waydroid-installer
cd steamos-waydroid-installer
chmod +x steamos-waydroid-installer.sh
After you input the last line, the installation should begin. Eventually, you’ll be asked to type in your sudo password. Type that in now (it won’t look like it’s receiving your keystrokes, but it is) and let the download complete.
At some point, the installer will ask you what version of Waydroid you want to install. Make sure you pick GAPPS. This installs Google Play Store along with Waydroid, which we’ll need to download Roblox later.
3. Launch Waydroid
Hop back into Game Mode and open up your Library. You’ll find the Waydroid app under the Non-Steam Apps tab. Select it and launch it like you would any game.
4. Install and Run Roblox
The Waydroid desktop looks just like the desktop of an Android device. You’ll find the Play Store app there. Use the touchscreen on your Steam Deck or hold STEAM+X to use the trackpad and launch the Play Store app.
Since this is your first time launching the Play Store, you’ll be asked to Sign In with a Google account. Go ahead and do that now.
After logging in, use the search bar to find the Roblox app page and install it. Once the install is complete, you’ll find Roblox on the Waydroid desktop. Don’t jump right in just yet! You have to set up proper controls first.
5. Set Up Your Controls
Android Roblox is set to use the touchscreen by default, which makes for a pretty bad gaming experience on the Steam Deck. Thankfully, the Steam Input settings give us minute control over every action. To save time, we’re going to use some of the excellent layouts that community members have already created.
Go into the Controller Settings and select the current button layout (Gamepad with Joystick Trackpad). This will take you to the Layout template selector screen.
For Roblox, we’ll use the Android_Waydroid_Cage.sh: Gamepad with Mouse Trackpad layout. This simulates a mouse and keyboard, which Roblox on Android supports.
Now go back into Waydroid and launch Roblox from the home screen. Have fun!
How to Install Roblox on Steam Deck with Sober
If you’re worried about tinkering with your terminal, the developers at the Vinegar team have helpfully ported the Android version Roblox over to Linux. It doesn’t require an Android emulator like Waydroid, and through some mythic coding wizardry, it has up to two times better than the Windows version. It’s called Sober, and the setup is as simple as installing the application on your Steam Deck. Here’s how to do it:
1. Enter Desktop Mode
In Game Mode, press the STEAM button and select the Power option, then select Switch to Desktop Mode.
2. Download the Sober Application
Open up your browser (the Steam Deck’s default is Google Chrome) and head over to the Sober website.
Scroll down until you find the Installing section. Click on the “Get Flatpak” button.
Once it’s downloaded, double-click the Flatpak to start it up. If you’re asked to pick an app to open the Flatpak, choose the Discover Store app. Let the installation process complete.
3. Find a Roblox Android APK
Now you need to find a copy of the Android version of Roblox to run with Sober. A quick Google search will return a ton of APK repositories, like APKPure and APKMirror, so pick one, search for Roblox, and grab the latest version of the APK.
4. Add Sober to Steam
Right-click on Sober and select Add to Steam. This will make it accessible from Game Mode.
5. Set Up the Controls
We have all we need to start playing Roblox on Steam Deck, but the game doesn’t detect the Steam Deck’s gamepad automatically. We can configure this manually by going into Konsole and typing in the following command:
flatpak override –user –device=all org.vinegarhq.Sober
Now you can use Steam Overlay settings in-game to change the controls to whatever you want. To start with, you can use the Gamepad with Mouse Trackpad layout as a base for further customization.
5. Launch Roblox
Now all you have to do is run Sober and select the APK bundle you just downloaded. Enjoy!
How to install the Windows version of Roblox on Steam Deck
Most Windows applications will work just fine if you run them through Wine. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for Roblox, so the only way to enjoy the Windows version of the game is by installing Windows on your Steam Deck.
Installing Windows is outside of the scope of this article, but if you already have a Windows partition on your Steam Deck, or you plan to install Windows in the future, follow these easy steps to set up and play the Windows version of Roblox on Steam Deck:
1. Download and Install Roblox
Navigate to the Roblox download page in your web browser: https://www.roblox.com/download
Click the Download Windows App button and wait for the download to complete. Once it’s done, double-click the file (RobloxPlayerInstaller.exe) to run the Roblox Installer. Again, wait for the download process to complete. When it’s done, you’ll see a pop-up notification that says ROBLOX IS SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED.
2. Launch Roblox
Now, all you have to do is pick any Roblox Experience you want and click the play button (▶) to launch it. If your browser asks you to choose an application to run Roblox-player links, select Roblox from the list and click Open Link.
Header image credit: TypicalBlox on Reddit.