Skip to main content

How to get PS Plus on Steam Deck

Steam Deck
Courtesy: Valve Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re a serious console gamer but you also have – or want – a Steam Deck for mobile gaming, you may be wondering if the two can work together at all. The good news is that the Steam Deck is versatile enough to try. We’ve already discussed how you can use a workaround to get Xbox Game Pass on your Steam Deck. Now it’s time to look at how you can create a way to get PS Plus on the handheld, too!

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Hard

Duration

1 hour

What You Need

  • Steam Deck

  • PS Plus account

  • Patience

Before you begin: While the Xbox Game Pass method is largely stable, this route to get to PS Plus has been very buggy in the past. Make sure to keep all apps involved updated, and if you encounter bugs, try shutting everything down and rebooting your Steam Deck to see if it helps. Hopefully, there will be better support in the future, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated on the best method.

Further reading * Best games on PlayStation Plus, Extra, and Premium

How to get PS Plus on your Steam Deck

These steps will be much easier if you use a connected keyboard and mouse, but it’s not entirely necessary. Thanks to Reddit user u/PlanetSmasherN9 for first working out the kinks to this process for PS Now. Here’s where to begin.

Step 1: Start up your Steam Deck. When it’s on, hold the Power button down until a new menu pops up, and choose Switch to desktop mode.

Step 2: Once in Desktop Mode, look in the bottom left and choose Discover app, with the icon that looks like a shopping bag.

Step 3: In the Discover app, use the search function and search for "ProtonUp-Qt." This is an app that will help manage software that otherwise wouldn’t be very compatible with the Steam Deck. When you locate it, choose the Install for menu and select Steam.

You should then select Add version, and choose Proton-6.21-GE-2, which is currently the latest version. Now you’re ready to select Install.

Step 4: When ProtonUp-Qt is finished installing, you can exit from the Discover app. Now it’s time to grab PS Plus. Visit this webpage on your Steam Deck and select the option to Download PlayStation Plus app. This should download an installer for PS Plus.

Step 5: Now search your recent downloads on your Steam Deck, find the PS Plus installer, and right-click it to choose Properties. Head to the Compatibility tab, make sure it is enabled, and select Proton-6.21-GE-2.

Now you can start the installer and let it do its work. If you see an option to Run PlayStation Plus after the installation, always disable this option, otherwise it will crash your Steam Deck.

Step 6: Go to your Steam Library and look for the PS Plus app. Currently, we have a situation similar to Game Pass where we have to turn a similar app into PS Plus to get everything working right. In this case, find the PS Plus Installer, then right-click it to choose Properties.

Here, you can rename the app whatever you want (probably something like “PS Plus”), but you’ll have to change the target, too. Find the PSPlusLauncher.exe file among the files that the Installer downloaded onto your Steam Deck, and choose Copy file location. You can then paste the path in the Target section of Properties. Paste it again in the Start in section, but cut out the “PSPlusLauncher.exe” text.

Step 7: Now select your new PS Plus app to run it. If everything works correctly (you may want to carefully check your file path wording in the Properties section), the app will open and you will be able to select Login to enter your PlayStation Plus account information. Some users have experienced failure to log in at first, but try it a few times in a row to see if this happens. PS Plus should eventually open.

Step 8: Again, your experience will vary based on the games you play, some of which aren’t very compatible with the Steam Deck (especially older-generation games). Many have found that if the PS Plus app needs an update, they have to reinstall it all over again to apply the update, so be prepared for some awkwardness at this time.

Tyler Lacoma
Former Digital Trends Contributor
If it can be streamed, voice-activated, made better with an app, or beaten by mashing buttons, Tyler's into it. When he's not…
The best Metroidvanias on PS5
A hero looks up in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist.

The Metroidvania genre takes cues from the two namesakes for which it is called: Matroid and Castlevania. Specifically, one of the best SNES games, Super Metroid, and one of the best PS1 games, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It describes a kind of game where the player explores an open map with multiple paths and areas locked off until they acquire some item or power with which to unlock and further explore. That formula has become so popular that dozens of current and upcoming video games have iterated on that style with new mechanics, perspectives, art styles, and more. Some of the best PS5 games are Metroidvanias, and the platform is home to the best the genre has to offer. If you're searching for your next Metroidvania to get lost in, here are the best ones you can play right now.

Animal Well

Read more
This free plugin will make games on your Steam Deck look even better
Ghost of Tsushima running on the Steam Deck.

A modder named SnooOranges3876 has released a plugin for Steam Deck titles that lets players adjust graphics on the fly, improving appearance and performance, and the best part is that it's both free and easy to use. Called LetMeReShade, this plugin allows players to adjust illumination, contrast, colors, and much more on the fly. It can be particularly beneficial to older titles, too.

The plugin is available through GitHub. It circumvents the often-complicated install processes for ReShade mods and instead lets players quickly apply those mods to games. In the example video, SnooOranges3876 is seen changing shaders in Cyberpunk 2077 and Heavy Rain, with several other titles like Alan Wake and Monster Sanctuary as potential options.

Read more
One of 2024’s most overlooked games just came to consoles. Don’t miss it twice
A young girl in a white dress looks back. She carries a bag and a bow on her back while holding an orange leaf in her hand.

We are currently in something of a Metroidvania boom. With the genre reaching peak saturation, new releases -- of which there are many -- are forced to expand upon the core formula fans know and love in hopes of standing out. Take the thrilling Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist as an example, which imbues the Metroidvania with RPG systems and a focus on player builds. Momodora: Moonlit Farewell, on the other hand, believes that simple is better.

Originally released in January 2024, Moonlit Farewell is the fifth and final entry in developer Bombservice’s Momodora series. While it might not have any ostentatious additions to the basic Metroidvania formula, Moonlit Farewell’s devotion to a sleek rendition of the genre’s core pillars make it a refreshing adventure. The game went under the radar in 2024 but now, with its release on consoles, Metroidvania fans have the perfect way to tide yourself over until Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Read more