Red Dead Redemption 2 will run great on my Steam Deck soon thanks to an update

Arthur Morgan’s horse can finally gallop at better speeds

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If, like me, you rushed to installRed Dead Redemption 2on yourSteam Deck, only to find it running at a disappointingly low speed, a fix has arrived to alleviate that.

According toGaming on Linux, Rockstar’sgamehas been included as part of a Mesa update, which allows a bunch of games to run on theSteamDeck’s SteamOS, alongsideLinux PCswith anAMD GPU.

Thecomment in this updatedescribes a memory leak, which is where an application erroneously uses too much memory in a device, slowing everything down.

Expect this fix to arrive as part of the next SteamOS update, but it could arrive sooner if you’re on the Beta channel, found in the Settings menu.

The fast pace of updates

I’m only a fortnight into owning my Steam Deck, and already it’s one of the best purchases I’ve made in recent years. It’s already replaced myPS Vitathat I’d carry in my bag for the commute, so being able to playResident Evil 2 Remake,Outer WildsandTomb Raider Legendon the train is a sight to behold.

Yet seeingRed Dead Redemption 2play at full speed is a greater sight, and it makes me excited for what future models of the Steam Deck could bring.

I have to keep reminding myself, though, that it’s not a handheld – it’s a PC, and so it’s constantly being updated by Valve to bring enhancements and fixes to games that have been running slow before.

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To highlight this quick pace of updates, Valve has already brought out another one thatenables youto load custom boot animations for when you switch the Steam Deck on – so if you want to have an Xbox animation, you only need to place it into a folder.

While all this is going on, I’ve installed a 1TBmicroSD cardto put more games on, but I can’t help but wish for other games to find a way to work on the Steam Deck. From DragonBall FighterZ toDestiny 2andFortnite, these all have an anti-cheat system built-in that stops the Deck from making them playable.

Hopefully there’ll be a way thanks to Valve and the developers involved someday. But for now, there’s plenty to love with this handheld PC, and its best days are clearly ahead of it.

A previous version of this article stated that Proton was involved in this update, and was available soon - this has now been corrected.

Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time, he’s written a book, ‘The Making of Tomb Raider’. His second book, ‘50 Years of Boss Fights’, came out in 2024, with a third book coming in 2025. He also has a newsletter called ‘Springboard’. He’s usually found playing games old and new on his Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that’s about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.

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