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Kerbal Space Program 2 is out and ready for you to make your way to the farthest corners of space. You will need a beefy PC to run the game properly, as the hardware requirements are high. If you have a desktop computer, you might be able to switch out components to make it run well. But what if you had a device whose hardware can’t be switched out, such as a Steam Deck?

How to play Kerbal Space Program 2 on the Steam Deck

Running Kerbal Space Program 2 on anything but the most powerful hardware is difficult, with some players feeling like the game crash landed on launch. The Steam Deck is capable of running Kerbal Space Program 2, but getting there will require some extra effort.

Kerbal Space Program 2 has a launcher from Private Division, which you must go through in order to play the game. Bypassing the launcher is possible, and you must do it to play it on the Steam Deck. Here are the steps you need to take:

  • Open the Kerbal Space Program 2 folder inside Steam. It is usually inside C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\, but you should look wherever you installed Steam on your computer.
  • Look for the PDLauncher folder inside, then create a new text file. The text file should contain “start ..\KSP2_x64.exe %command%” (without the quotes).
  • Change the text file’s extension to “.bat” (without the quotes). Enable the feature in Windows Explorer if you can’t see the extensions by default.
  • Go to your Steam Library and open up Kerbal Space Program 2’s Properties. You should be looking at the General settings.
  • In the box for Launch Options, add “<file>.bat %command%” (without the quotes), with <file> being whatever you named the text file.

    • If done correctly, the launcher can be bypassed and you can run the game on the Steam Deck! It might not always function, and may need to be configured repeatedly if it doesn’t work. This is also not taking into account the hardware requirements of Kerbal Space Program 2, which the Steam Deck may not meet. Adjusting the graphics settings could be necessary to improve performance.

    Until fixes and workarounds are made as the game progresses through Early Access, that’s your best bet for playing Kerbal Space Program 2 on the Steam Deck.

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    Victor Tan

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