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I've been using Xbox Cloud Gaming and my phone for this on and off, but squinting at tiny text on a standard 6.8-inch screen isn't a fun experience. In my small apartment, where battles over the TV are commonplace, being able to hand off my Xbox gaming session instantly to another platform is a godsend. There are a handful of games on Steam that support cross-platform save syncing, such as Destiny 2 and The Witcher 3, but it's almost standardized on PC Game Pass.
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I use my PC for games, too, such as World of Warcraft or Heroes of the Storm, but if I can, I prefer PC Game Pass or games with Xbox cloud-based save syncing between PC and Xbox. My PC is next to my Xbox, and I tend to use my PC for work-related stuff even if I'm gaming ( don't tell Dan Rubino). I use my RTX 2070 Ti PC with Steam for PC-exclusive games, but generally, I opt for my Xbox Series X as my primary platform of choice. I think the truth is that I just don't have a huge preference for Steam. Playing Persona 5 on Steam Deck with Windows (Image credit: Windows Central | Jez Corden) PC Game Pass + Steam Deck = Xbox Handheld
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Should YOU run Windows on the Steam Deck? That depends. I've had Windows running on my Steam Deck for a week, and the experience thus far has been completely smooth across Steam,, Xbox PC games, and beyond.
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Steam Deck Tools took care of the controller compatibility problems out of the box, and some tweaks to Wi-Fi drivers solved download speed issues. To my delight, getting Windows 11 running via an SD card was easy as can be. The Windows on Deck community on Reddit has also been incredibly helpful for sorting out small issues which crop up from time to time too. Steam Deck Tools is one such package, giving you more granular control over the Steam Deck's power draw, gamepad drivers, and more. Thankfully, developers and modders from across the web have come together to build some pretty nifty tools to improve the experience. Microsoft's help pages also detail some of the ways you can get its services running on Steam Deck, but outside of experiments with a "handheld Windows 11" mode, its support has been relatively scant. Naturally, it isn't exactly designed to be used this way, although Valve provides the drivers for those who want to explore it. There are a fair few hoops to jump through to get things running well on the Steam Deck with Windows 11.
![Windows 11 game pass](https://cdn2.cdnme.se/5447227/9-3/12_64e61dfbddf2b3652190246e.png)