Adding Non-Steam Games to Your Steam Deck Using Heroic Games Launcher

Valve’s Steam Deck, oh man, when that thing hit the market, it was like a tidal wave—sweeping everyone away. Maybe now it’s calmed down a bit ’cause there are a ton of other handheld gaming gizmos out there. But if you ask me, the Steam Deck’s still the big boss of handheld gaming. But let’s get to the point—aren’t you stuck with just Steam games on it?

Nope! That’s a big fat wrong.

You can actually trick out your Steam Deck to run all sorts of games, but yeah, it might take a bit of tinkering. Enter Heroic Games Launcher. I mucked around with this thing on a Linux gaming rig recently—kind of a messy project but fun. This launcher gets you into your GoG, Amazon, Epic game libraries. You know, the ones where we all snag free games like candy and never actually play them. Tell me I’m not alone here. Anyway, it means more games in your hand—for those lazy mornings in bed or when you’re squished on a bus like a sardine.

Alright, so here was my grand plan: shove Heroic Games right into my Steam Library. All of my games, ready to roll from my couch whenever the mood hits. Sounds good, yeah?

First off, I needed Heroic Games Launcher on the Steam Deck. So here’s what I did:

1. Pressed the Steam button, hopped over to “Switch to Desktop” under Power. (Honestly, I sometimes forget the button placement and end up clicking around like a lost puppy.)

So, sitting at the desktop, and my eyes finally land on this Discover icon. It’s supposed to be the app store slash nerve center for software—or something like that. The fourth icon from the left, if I remember right.

I type “Heroic” in there and, bingo, up pops Heroic Games Launcher. Clicked install. Now, here’s where I hit a snag. The thing took its sweet time. Maybe my Wi-Fi was being rude. While waiting, I styled my Steam Deck with, like, stickers of space llamas. I digress, but honestly, it was a good distraction.

Post-installation, I lost track of time. Wait, where was I? Right, getting all up on Heroic. Popped it open. Dismissed a few pop-ups—it was like they wanted to be read, but who has time? Set up my first account, and naturally, I picked Epic ’cause I needed a hit of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. That’s the kind of nostalgia trip I live for.

From there, I added games—picked out a favorite, and fiddled with the settings a bit. Show Wine settings, Proton Experimental? Sounded complicated, but whatever gets the job done. Fingers crossed there aren’t any bugs. But aren’t there always bugs?

Installing a game was another adventure. Shredder’s Revenge zipped through, but Cyberpunk 2077? Let’s just say I could’ve made a sandwich. A whole buffet, even. Pure anticipation torture.

And you know what? Despite a misstep here and there, it played smooth as butter. Okay, smoothish—I faced some hiccups with screen resolution while capturing Deathloop. Tech tantrums. Fun times.

Heroic Games Launcher’s chilling on my Steam desktop now, all integrated like a VIP. But, nope, I couldn’t just leave it there. I wanted to jazz things up a notch. Giving Heroic its own artsy face in the Steam library? Yes, please.

Off I went to steamgriddb—a treasure trove of gaming artwork. Think I downloaded like two, just in case. Not sure if that was overkill. Anyway, now Heroic looks like a real game, and I couldn’t stop grinning. The little things, am I right?

And boom, Heroic’s just a click away now, whenever I power this beast up. Endless games, endless fun. Sometimes I can’t decide if it’s a blessing or a curse—depends on the day and how my thumbs are feeling.

So, there you have it. My chaotic, somewhat successful attempt at tearing down some gaming walls on the Steam Deck. Try it if you dare!