Is Metal Gear Solid Detlta Steam Deck compatible?

The Metal Gear Solid Delta Steam Deck rating doesn't make for great reading if you're hoping to play this huge remake on the Valve handheld. Ongoing issues with Unreal Engine 5 games on PC and home consoles have been bad enough, but they're further amplified on a handheld such as the Deck.

We still rank the Steam Deck as the best gaming handheld your money can buy on our buying guide, even if it is starting to struggle with some of the latest releases. A big reason for this recommendation is the Steam ecosystem and the ease with which SteamOS just works on the device, compared to Windows on a handheld PC.

Metal Gear Solid Delta is currently Unsupported on the Steam Deck. The reason given by Valve for this rating is that the graphics cannot be configured to run well on the handheld.

This lack of support was partly suspected when the Metal Gear Solid Delta system requirements were released, but the current status appears to be confirmation that the game is too demanding for the Steam Deck to run presently.

As is often the case, this doesn't mean the game won't boot, and it also doesn't mean that you can't get the game running with an acceptable frame rate. However, to achieve this, you'll need to use aggressive upscaling via AMD FSR, which will compromise the image quality. An alternative option is to use the lossless scaling app from the Steam store alongside Decky loader.

Valve doesn't take external performance mods into account when rating games for the Steam Deck, and the developer must find a default graphics configuration that works great throughout the game or risk an Unsupported rating.

For now, MGS Delta is Unsupported on the Steam Deck, but if Konami can address some of the major performance issues and optimize the game for the limited Steam Deck hardware, there's always a chance that the game will get its rating upgraded in the future.

Whether you're playing on PC or a gaming handheld, you can check out the best MGS Delta mods to spice up your save file. Elsewhere, if you're struggling to take on some of the harder enemies in the game, you can read our MGS Delta bosses guide to learn more about how each one works.

Have you tried MGS Delta on the Steam Deck, or will you be staying clear because of its rating? Let us know over in our community Discord server.