God of War Ragnarök Set to Launch on PC: Will the Steam Deck Rise to the Challenge?

2024-08-13 10:32:22

For all loyal PC fans who have been enviously eyeing players of God of War Ragnarök for a while now, salvation is coming soon: the colossal RPG is making its way to home computers.

There is already a corresponding entry on the Steam platform, which also reveals the system requirements. The question now is whether Valve’s compact version of a computer, the Steam Deck, can meet the set requirements and whether the necessity of a PlayStation Network account does not undermine compatibility right from the start.

Why the Steam Deck presumably won’t handle God of War Ragnarök – and why it might after all

The release of God of War Ragnarök for PC is getting closer. Almost two years after its original release, those without consoles can also enjoy the epic adventure surrounding Kratos and his son. To prepare, it is advisable to take at least a fleeting look at the published system requirements to ensure that your device can handle the weight of the game at all.

Steam Deck users should take an even closer look, as the technical requirements are currently the only reference point to assess whether the handheld is suitable for the latest God of War installment. Valve’s Steam Deck ticks off most points of the minimum technical specifications. However, the required GPU performance threatens to tip the balance.

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steamdeckhq puts forth the theory that due to the lower resolution of the handheld, which falls short of the stated 1080p for God of War Ragnarök, a correspondingly lower GPU might be necessary. In this case, the challenge of a stronger graphics card would be directly circumvented. However, there is still the concern about the mandatory linked PSN account that Sony wants to impose on future players. The PlayStation overlay is not compatible with the Linux operating system of the Steam Deck.

Simply the assumption that only a linked account is needed to start the game keeps hope alive. Should all remaining concerns about the combination of Steam Deck and God of War Ragnarök not be confirmed on the release date, September 19, 2024, you will only need to free up 190GB of storage space, which, depending on the fullness of your library, might entail a few uninstalls. If you want to experience perfectly tuned action on your Steam Deck beforehand, we have a tip for you.

Sources: steamdeckhq, YouTube / IGN