Nvidia GeForce Now is slightly easier to install on Steam Deck

Christopher Harper
·2 min read
GeForce Now.
GeForce Now.

Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming service now has a streamlined install script specifically for Steam Deck, available from Nvidia's download page. GeForce Now streaming on Steam Deck is technically nothing new, as our header image and prior postings show, but now Nvidia is providing a greatly-streamlined process compared to the previous methods, which required you to install and configure your browser manually.

Basically, you won't be installing a dedicated Steam Deck application. Instead, Nvidia's recently-announced script assumes you haven't already installed Google Chrome through Steam Deck's Gaming Mode prompt, and part of the script includes installing and auto-configuring a Chrome shortcut to point directly to GeForce Now from Gaming Mode. Like with our past DOS_deck coverage, it's worth noting a setup like this can compromise web browsing without going to Desktop Mode to launch the browser without the now-forced GeForce Now shortcut.

As Nvidia points out in its blog post, this new installation method has dropped to coincide with last week's GeForce Now update, which improved gamepad support for browser users, including those on Steam Deck. The blog post notes that GeForce Now is also available in-app or install-script form for the other major handhelds, and even provides a manual Steam Deck GeForce Now installation guide.

Since Chrome installed through Gaming Mode is easily the best browsing experience on Steam Deck, we recommend that GeForce Now users could also consider following Nvidia's manual install guide and using it with Microsoft Edge instead. Due to the way Steam (and by extension, Deck Gaming Mode) currently works, you can't configure two shortcuts pointing to the same browser without giving up one of them.

For those curious about GeForce Now on Steam Deck but on the fence, there are some upsides worth considering. As long as your Internet connection can maintain strong low latency with the server, streaming games from a server or home PC is way less intensive on battery life than rendering them on the handheld, even if Deck can handle the game already. At the very least, it should offer longer battery life because your Deck isn't handling the game.