After years of anticipation,Starfieldfinally released on PC and Xbox Series X|S a few months ago. Though critic and fan feelings on the game are somewhat mixed, one criticism that the game faces from all sides is its performance.Starfieldis not a terribly well-optimized game, especially for low-to-mid-tier PCs – and nowadays, theSteam Deckfalls somewhere in that category.
The Steam Deck is a powerful little device that offers a surprising amount of power, but it does struggle withStarfield. Compared to other AAA games of the last year or two, likeElden Ring,Starfieldhas a hard time running on the system. But with the rightin-game graphics and external Steam DecksettingsStarfieldbecomes relatively playable
Starfield In-Game Graphics Settings
To best optimize performance forStarfieldon the Steam Deck, players can use two different settings menus: the graphics menu in-game, and the external Steam Deck settings themselves.
The settings below should be enough to getStarfieldplayable on the Steam Deck, but don’t expect 60 FPS – especially not in cities like New Atlantis, Neon,and other open-world city hubs. These settings should get the game to at least a relatively stable 30 to 45 FPS, before adjusting external Steam Deck settings.
To get to the in-game Graphics settings menu, open up the main menu, select “Settings” then scroll down to “Display.” Not all settings in the menu are listed below, only theStarfieldGraphics settings that players can actually adjust directly.
Starfield Steam Deck Settings
The external settings on a Steam Deck aren’t necessarily game-changing, but they can have an effect on how well a game runs – and can be manipulated toenhance the Steam Deck’s ability to runStarfield.
The settings below are recommended settings to makeStarfieldrelatively playable, though the GPU Clock can be manually changed and set to a higher refresh rate to boost the Steam Deck capabilities. Don’t set this too high or it could damage the Steam Deck’s lifetime by overworking the GPU.
To get to the Steam Deck settings menu, press the button with three dots on the right side of the Steam Deck. Then, scroll down to the Performance section, which should contain the following modifiable settings.
Starfieldis available for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
