Xbox Cloud Gaming streams your Game Pass games directly to any web-connected device. All the processing and graphics rendering is handled by Microsoft’s servers, making it a perfect service for devices with limited storage and processing power like the Steam Deck. Even better, you don’t even need a special app for it since it runs in your browser. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can get Xbox Cloud Gaming on your Steam Deck.
Play Game Pass Games on Steam Deck
Microsoft’s Game Pass is one of the most popular game subscription services, giving you access to hundreds of titles, from the latest AAA games to indie favorites. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on Linux and likely never will (Microsoft is the company behind Windows, after all). The good news is that you can still access your Game Pass library on Steam Deck, thanks to Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform, Xbox Cloud Gaming.
1. Install Microsoft Edge
The first thing we’ll do is install Microsoft’s Edge browser. Technically, Xbox Cloud Gaming will run on almost any modern browser, but Microsoft recommends Edge (of course), so to avoid any future compatibility issues, that’s what we’re going with.
Go into Desktop Mode by pressing the STEAM button, selecting Power, then selecting Switch to Desktop.
Click on the Application Launcher (the Steam Deck icon on the bottom left of the screen) and launch the Discover App.
Search for Microsoft Edge and install it. Make sure to install regular Microsoft Edge and not the developer version.
2. Grant Permissions
Now that you’ve got Edge installed, we need to give it permission to make changes to the Steam Deck’s file system.
Click on the Application Launcher and launch Konsole, then type in the following command:
flatpak –user override –filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.Edge
If it asks you to type in a sudo password, go ahead and do that. If you haven’t set your sudo admin password yet, you’ll be prompted to do so at this stage. Remember your password, write it down, and store it somewhere.
3. Add Xbox Cloud Gaming to Gaming Mode
Edge now has the appropriate permissions, but you won’t be able to access it in Gaming Mode. The next step is to add Edge to Steam.
While still in Desktop Mode, click on the Application Launcher and search for Microsoft Edge. Right-click on the icon and select “Add to Steam”, this will add it to your Steam library.
Now fire up Steam and head over to your Library. Right-click on Microsoft Edge and click on Properties, then look for the Launch Options section. Type the following text into the text box:
–window-size=1024,640 –force-device-scale-factor=1.25 –device-scale-factor=1.25 –kiosk “https://www.xbox.com/play”
What this does is set the resolution, scale factor, and default address when you run Microsoft Edge. With these settings, Edge will automatically open into the Xbox Cloud Gaming website when you launch it.
This is also a good opportunity to change the app’s name to something like “Xbox Cloud Gaming”.
4. Log Into Xbox Cloud Gaming
Still in Desktop Mode, open up Microsoft Edge and navigate to the Xbox Cloud Gaming website at: https://www.xbox.com/play
Log in using your Microsoft Game Pass account, making sure to tick the “Remember Me” option so you don’t have to type in your username and password every time you launch the app.
Ta-da! Mission complete. All you have to do is hop into Gaming Mode and launch Xbox Cloud Gaming, like you would any Steam game. Enjoy your games served to you from the cloud!
Now that you have Xbox Cloud Gaming set up on Steam Deck, you can access all your Microsoft Game Pass titles on the go. Remember that with cloud gaming services, the quality of your experience depends on the speed and stability of your internet connection. Streaming at high resolutions also eats up a lot of bandwidth, so make sure you’re aware of any data caps your ISP applies.
