Discover DroidDeck, a project that aims to turn Android phones into Steam Deck-like gaming devices with SteamOS, bringing a PC gaming-style experience to mobile users.
DroidDeck is a platform that enables your Android phone to let you experience the Steam’s Big Picture interface and on-device Windows game. But your phone should be compatible to run the app as it also offers features inspired by the Steam Deck, including desktop mode and controller support.
So check your Android version first because DroidDeck has strict hardware requirements. And be ready to play your Steam library on your Android phone without streaming games from a PC.
DroidDeck is an open-source project that boots Valve’s Steam client in Big Picture mode inside an Android app. Windows games run on-device through ARM64 Proton, with the FEX translation layer handling x86 code. That means your phone’s operating system stays untouched. There’s no rooting and no OS replacement.
It’s basically SteamOS on Android without SteamOS. The look and feel is close enough to fool a muscle-memory Steam Deck owner. A tester running it on the Retroid Pocket G2 said the interface felt familiar, especially for someone used to the Steam Deck.
Underneath, though, it’s a clever compatibility stack rather than Valve’s operating system. If it were only the Big Picture on a phone, nobody would care. The extras are what make it interesting.
The app supports SteamOS-style features like a desktop mode, Decky plugins, and Linux apps through Flatpaks and AppImages. The Desktop tab lets you install a Linux desktop that works like Desktop Mode on a Steam Deck, and it also tries to make emulation easier by letting you install emulators that then show up in that mode.
Controls got attention too. The latest version lets a physical controller act as a Steam Deck controller, which brings the Quick Access button and gyro aiming, and the developers say Offline mode now works. If you have a dual-screen handheld, the second display can act as virtual trackpads and rear buttons, according to VideoCardz, which tested the tool. Third-party tools like Lossless Scaling reportedly work as well.
The DroidDeck own site lists Android 9.0 and up, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Adreno 730 or newer. In practice that means a Snapdragon-powered flagship. If your phone runs a Tensor, Exynos, or MediaTek chip, I’d assume you’re out of luck, though the listing doesn’t spell those chips out. You can play, but good luck getting it to work. The app also stays pretty demanding about hardware, and its requirements are stringent at the moment.
It’s free. The listing shows a $0 price and version 0.4.0, distributed as an APK from the project’s GitHub. That puts it in sideload territory, so don’t expect a Play Store listing.
Performance of DroidDeck is where I’d be careful. Running Cyberpunk 2077 at 60 FPS on a REDMAGIC 11 Pro with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and 16GB of RAM. That’s a $1,000-class gaming phone. A flagship chip with active cooling is the best case, not the typical one. Lighter indie titles are a safer bet on weaker hardware, and early testers say indie and demanding games actually run quite differently.
Installation is simple, you grab the APK from GitHub, open the app, and head to the setup tab, which shows whether your GPU is verified and lets you install the Linux runtime before signing in to Steam. Then you tap Play Steam, and the app downloads the FEX and Proton drivers it needs. Expect a few minutes of waiting, then your library.
Only install from the official GitHub repository. A sideloaded gaming APK is exactly the kind of thing copycat sites will repackage.
Gamers can skip ponying up almost $800 for a new Steam Deck. That’s fair if you already own a Snapdragon flagship or an Android handheld like the Retroid Pocket G2. It’s not fair if you’d have to buy hardware to run it. A real Steam Deck gives you Valve’s own OS, a controller built into the device, and Valve’s compatibility testing. DroidDeck gives you a free experiment on a device you already carry.
This is the most interesting thing to happen to Android gaming in a while, and it works best as a bonus, not a replacement. If you’ve got the right chip, install it this weekend and see what your library does. If you’re shopping for a handheld specifically to play Steam games, buy the Deck and treat DroidDeck as a fun side project, at least until 0.4.0 matures.
👉 New Xbox Games This Week: Planet Zoo 2, Valor Mortis, Boltgun 2 and Castlevania Return
Android users who already own a powerful Snapdragon processor can download the DroidDeck APK from the official GitHub repo. After setting it up, the steam library will allow you to play the games you want without a PC. The hardware requirement is strict for the software to run smoothly and effortlessly.
It is free and features have not been compromised, so it’s a big deal for the gamers who love to play Steam games. It boots Valve’s Arm-native Steam client directly on your Android phone so you don’t have to re-purchase a game again.
Master Diablo 4 Season 7 endgame with top builds, boss strategies, and gear tips. Conquer The Pit, Uber Bosses, and Infernal Hordes!
That’s the spirit to make it out of the Diablo 4 Season 7 endgame! Now is when the real fun starts. Prepare to encounter challenging dungeons, massive bosses, and legendary fights! This guide will make you a winner in all that you do.
Season 7 brings Witchcraft Powers and Occult Gems. These give your character even more strength and abilities. Let’s get ready to dominate!
Shoot, before you even get started on the toughest challenges, you’ve got to get ready. Let’s get you set up!
Necromancers are super strong this season. The Blood Surge build can take hits and destroy groups of enemies.
Key Skills: Blood Surge, Blight, Corpse Tendrils, Soulrift
How to Play?
The Incinerate Sorcerer is strong this season. It employs fire, lightning and ice to inflict crazy amounts of damage.
Key Skills: Incinerate, Frost Nova, Flame Shield, Teleport, Ice Armor, Inferno
How to Play?
Use this special ring to boost your damage by switching between Frost, Shock, and Pyromancy skills.
This build melts enemies and makes you almost unstoppable.
The HotaQuake Barbarian hits like a freight train. It runs Hammer of the Ancients (HOTA) and Earthquake for large damage.
Key Skills: Whirlwind, Hammer of the Ancients, Earthquake
How to Play?
Skill Points Allocation
Put points into Lunging Strike, Thick Skin, and Heavy Hitter for more damage and defense.
Use Heavy-Handed and Invigorating Fury for bonus damage and healing.
Paragon Board
This build is perfect for players who love smashing enemies up close.
Cataclysm Druids have powerful storm magic to Prideful opponents, stunning and overpowering them with it. Key Skills: Earthen Bulwark, Debilitating Roar, Hurricane, Cataclysm
How to Play?
Gear & Aspects
Gems & Elixirs
This build is perfect for players who like controlling the battlefield with nature’s fury.
The Pit is a tough dungeon that tests your build and skills. It’s the best place to level up Glyphs and farm materials.
Uber Bosses drop unique items and make your character even stronger.
The Infernal Horde drops tons of materials for upgrading gear.
Your journey doesn’t end here. The Diablo 4 Season 7 endgame is a new beginning. All dungeons, bosses and events are opportunities to get stronger. Hone your skills, power-up your equipment and keep wandering.
Your legend is just starting. The world of Diablo 4 is waiting. Go forth, and crush the darkness!
Dive into the cinematic world with Fandomfans and get to know your favorite shows endgame, summary, and cast.
New Xbox games this week: Planet Zoo 2, Valor Mortis, Boltgun 2 and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. Dates, prices and what to play first.
The new Xbox games this week run from October 12 to 16, and four of them are worth clearing your evenings for. Planet Zoo 2 and Valor Mortis, these two are coming on October 13, if you like these kinds of games then the wait is over. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 launching on October 14, and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse lands October 15.
Valor Mortis is the first-person soulslike about an undead Napoleonic soldier from the Ghostrunner studio, and it slid from September 24 to dodge a crowded month. It also hits Game Pass on day one. Boltgun 2 is the retro shooter for anyone who wants a fast, loud 1990s-style fix, and Belmont’s Curse puts a new Belmont, Rose, at the centre of a 2D Castlevania.
| Game | Release | Price (US) | Worth knowing |
| Planet Zoo 2 | Oct 13 | 49.99(64.99 Deluxe) | Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC |
| Valor Mortis | Oct 13 | 39.99(59.99 Deluxe) | Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, day one |
| Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 | Oct 14 | 24.99 | Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC |
| Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse | Oct 15 | 29.99(39.99 Midnight) | Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC; Switch later in 2026 |
Microsoft’s own list for the week runs to about 40 releases. Tales of Eternia Remastered (October 16), The Jackbox Party Pack 12 (October 15) and the Game Pass addition Deep Dish Dungeon (October 13) are the other names worth a glance.
Valor Mortis ran away from a fight, and it was the right call. The game was dated for September 24, then moved to October 13. Publisher Lyrical Games’ Blake Rochkind has said the September date looked clear when they picked it, before the summer showcases packed the calendar.
The studio then cut the price. Valor Mortis was originally pegged at $49.99 and now sits at $39.99, with a $59.99 Deluxe Edition that adds story DLC. There are no pre-orders. One More Level wants you to buy it after the reviews are out, and that’s a confident move.
It follows a military action story where a Grande Armée soldier died for Napoleon and was resurrected by him. The voice of Napoleon will guide you while you battle former comrades now turned into plague-ridden undead. The fight not only depends on the voice but relies on stamina, with dodges, blocks and parries, and the levels loop back on themselves the way good soulslikes do.
The supernatural powers makes this game more interesting as it unlocks shortcuts and also the pistol that arrives in the second zone, allowing it to switch blade swings for gunshots.
If you played Ghostrunner, picture that momentum bolted onto Dark Souls-style discipline. The studio says the story runs about 20 hours. A Napoleonic setting is rare in games, and Game Pass makes this the lowest-risk pick of the week.
It’s been nearly seven years since the original Planet Zoo arrived in November 2019. Frontier’s sequel finally adds the two things players kept asking for: aquariums and aviaries.
The aquatic side includes black-tipped reef sharks and hawksbill turtles. The flying side includes the toco toucan and the secretarybird, a long-legged raptor that stomps its prey. Aviaries let birds actually fly, with custom barriers and support poles. Building one that doesn’t feel like a glorified cage will be the real test of the engineering.
The other big change is conservation. Beyond your zoo, you can restore wildlife reserves and release animals into them. Career, Franchise and Sandbox modes are all confirmed. The Deluxe Edition adds six more species.
If the first game was your comfort sim, buy this on day one. If you want quick wins, skip it. Frontier’s games reward patience, not impulse.
Auroch Digital’s sequel arrives October 14. Microsoft’s description calls it a fast-paced retro first-person shooter with a branching single-player campaign. That’s most of what’s officially confirmed.
The 2023 original cast you as Malum Caedo, a Space Marine hunting a power-source shard on the heretic-infested forge world Graia. It played like a pixel-art Doom with a heavy-metal attitude. The price is $24.99 published on Steam and it also gives a 10% discount when you buy it, so check the store page before you buy.
Doom (2016) fans will know what they’re getting. It’s the shortest-lead-time pick of the week, and the one most likely to be gone from your mind in two weeks.
This is the release with the most history behind it. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is set in 1499, 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. Trevor Belmont is the hero who beat Dracula, and now his daughter Rose carries the Vampire Killer whip into a burning Paris.
Konami is publishing, with Evil Empire and Motion Twin, the studio behind Dead Cells, doing the development. That pedigree matters. Dead Cells has some of the tightest combat of the last decade, and that’s the bar here.
Bosses you defeat are sealed into Rose’s tarot cards as Arcana, which you can use as spells and special moves. You can also use the whip to swing through vertical spaces. The map covers Paris streets, sewers and catacombs, plus Dracula’s castle. Weapons come in seven categories, with Relics for offensive and defensive effects.
It’s a 2D action-exploration game, the style often called a metroidvania: a connected map where new abilities open old doors. Evil Empire’s director Emmanuel Nouaille has said the team doesn’t want the label, because Castlevania already works as its own genre. Fair enough.
It costs $29.99, or $39.99 for the Midnight Edition with extra costumes and a bonus Relic. It lands October 15 on Xbox, PS5 and PC. Steam appears to get it a day earlier, a Switch version follows later in 2026.
If you loved Symphony of the Night’s wandering, or Dead Cells’ combat, this is where you start.
The new Xbox games this week bring lots of fun and stories so you could free your evenings. There is a long-list of games which are going to be released in October but these four are worth playing for.
Overall, Valor Mortis is the first game to watch if its reviews deliver, especially if you have Game Pass. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse looks like the safer choice for fans of 2D action, while Planet Zoo 2 makes more sense for players who enjoy building and managing their own world. As for Boltgun 2, it’s worth waiting for the price and Game Pass details before making a decision.
