4 Free Ways Every Steam Deck Owner Can Customize Their Experience
4 Free Ways Every Steam Deck Owner Can Customize Their Experience
https://www.bgr.com/2100361/free-steam-deck-customization-options/
Publish Date: 2026-02-17 15:47:00
Source Domain: www.bgr.com
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When you hear people discuss a Steam Deck, you normally hear about titles worth downloading to play on it. Even if the handheld’s primary use is gaming, there is still a lot of untapped potential. It turns out that in the hands of a user, the Steam Deck can be more than Valve’s proprietary portable platform; it can also be used as a portable media center for other hobbies and be a place to export non-Steam libraries. This is all thanks to SteamOS, which is really just an Arch Linux-based distribution.
The Linux-based SteamOS makes for a great open-source platform for running many Linux apps. Decky Loader is just one prime example of an app that opens up customization options; you can install different plugins to add unique home screen animations, change the UI, the music, and more. But there are many apps and plugins you can add beyond Decky Loader to make your Steam Deck feel even more accessible. And even if you are only interested in gaming, you can still unlock the full potential of your Deck with apps like the Heroic Games Launcher, which lets you play games from other libraries, such as Epic and GOG, more easily. And if building a media library isn’t your thing, you can also use built-in tools for deep control remapping, like setting up radial menus for shortcuts.
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