Destiny 2 Creators, Bungie Explains Decision Not to Support Steam Deck

Destiny 2 is still a hugely popular game after more than four and a half years and many big expansions. Bungie has been able to retain communities in a variety of ecosystems. The company is able to do this by improving its product and utilizing technologies such as cross-platform play and Stadia cloud streaming. Bungie, too, appears to have its limitations. The Steam Deck, Valve's popular new handheld device, will not support Destiny 2. Bungie explains why in the latest episode of This Week at Bungie.

To begin, Bungie explains one of the company's top priorities for Destiny 2 development. Bungie's goal is to keep a secure environment for Destiny 2, according to the company. Bungie refers to a secure environment as one that protects the game's integrity. The most obvious threat to Destiny 2's integrity is hacking. However, it's also a necessary component of guaranteeing the game's stability and functionality. Bungie acknowledges working with BattlEye to maintain this integrity, maybe to emphasize how critical it is.

Further more, Bungie makes it clear that it does not trust the Steam Deck platform to guarantee a secure environment free of what it refers to as “bad actors.”

Bungie doesn't give an explanation for why the Steam Deck can't be protected at the moment. However, it does mention that Steam OS and Linux aren't supported. Destiny 2 will not work on Steam Deck until Bungie formally determines that. Nevertheless, its BattlEye anti-cheat, should run on the Linux-based Proton compatibility layer.

However, what this means for Destiny 2 players goes beyond not being able to play on Steam Deck. After all, Steam Deck is a highly open platform, and gamers will try to play Destiny 2 even if they fail. Bungie, on the other hand, is taking things a step further. It explains that playing Destiny 2 with Steam Deck will “trigger” the game's security features, which will treat the user as a potential danger. To put it another way, they may blacklist gamers.

Bungie's statement isn't wholly a surprise. Multiplayer games must have impenetrable security, according to players. In today's oversaturated market, a reputation for hacking can be a multiplayer game's doom. Fans might see Destiny 2 as a risk, because there is no guarantee that it will be totally safe on Steam Deck.

While the news is disappointing for Destiny 2 players who have purchased or will purchase a Steam Deck once they become more readily available, Bungie hasn't completely ruled out future support. Bungie is actively evaluating various platforms, which is about as good as it gets for Steam Deck users. Bungie's future support for the Steam Deck may be contingent on the platform's general performance and player feedback, so players shouldn't give up hope just yet.