Should you play Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) on the Steam Deck?

Counter-Strike 2 has officially released, and there are many in the community who are looking to boot the game on the go and play it on the Steam Deck. Valve usually has a great record for supporting its games on the handheld device, so it’s not all that surprising why there are many who are looking to boot the title up on the Deck like they did with CS:GO.

While Valve has not officially stated that CS2 is supported on the Steam Deck, the shooter is still playable and can be installed and booted on the Proton platform, even if it’s not verified.

Hence, it’s because of this, many in the community are wondering if they should at all be playing the game on the Steam Deck or not since titles that are not Deck Verified usually do not run as well as those that are optimized for the device.

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Is Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) playable on the Steam Deck?

The short answer to this is a resounding “No!” at the time of writing this article. While you will be able to download, install, and boot up Counter-Strike 2 on the Steam Deck, playing a game on any one of the maps is easier said than done.

CS2 is riddled with framerate and optimization issues on the Steam Deck. You will be able to have a smooth experience up until the lobby, but after that, when you are in a match, CS2 is close to unplayable.

There were cases where the game even failed to launch on the Deck, leaving many in the community surprised by the state of the handheld title, especially because both the game and the Deck are by Valve.

Valve titles have historically been very well optimized for the Deck, so CS2, which is their biggest title right now, being in a deplorable state on the device comes as a shock to many.

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Will Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) be Deck verified in the future?

CS:GO would run optimally on the Steam Deck, and there were many players who enjoyed the shooter on the go, so it’s safe to assume that Valve is likely to fix the issue due to the popularity of the shooter on the Deck.

While many loved the transition from CS:GO to Counter-Strike 2, there were some in the community who were left wanting more. Certain game modes and maps are not available in CS2. Apart from these, a left-hand view model is yet to be added to the game.

Additionally, although Counter-Strike 2 feels polished on PC, there are still a few performance issues that players seem to be facing.