I have been having so much fun with this Steam Deck in the last month that I felt compelled to write this for anyone that might stumble on it considering a Steam Deck in 2026.

TLDR: So long as you’re okay with not playing big multiplayer games on it like COD, Battlefield, PUBG, Fortnite, buy a Steam Deck. You’ll be amazed at how much gaming you’ll get in again. Almost frictionless gaming whenever you have a some time to pick it up and play.

Back Stroy: I remember getting the SNES for christmas back in the early 90s. Then Christmas of 95 with the PS1 and NHL Faceoff. Nothing short of AMAZING. I loved games like Metal Gear Solid, Gran Tourismo, Tekken, Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot and on and on.

From there I remember buying a GameBoy color and Pokemon red with my own money and having gaming on the go!

Around 2000 I received an N64 as a gift and enjoyed Starfox, Donkey Kong and Pokemon Stadium. But I didn't “love” it. I then saved up and purchased a used PS2 from a friend in 2001. Again, AMAZING experience probably the most amazing gaming times of my life other than HALO LAN parties.

I tried PC gaming through this time too and found Diablo, then Diablo II, played Final Fantasy, Sim City, Age of Empires and more. I had other consoles too, SEGA, SEGA Saturn, Gamecube, but these never excited me like the Playstations did. Onto PS3 of course, a dedicated gaming computer and then PS4.

Not long after the PS4 released had my first kid. I turned 30, I was coming into my career and working long hours and maintaining a home life with family. Games went to the wayside. In 2020 we saw COVID and a resurgence of gaming! What an amazing time that was while it lasted.

Welcome to 2025. I am 40 years old. I hadn’t gamed since Covid. Life has only gotten busier. Travelling for work began emulating old games on my phone for fun. I picked up a phone controller attachment to play things like PUBG and COD mobile. All fun but killed my phone. Without doing any research I thought I’d buy a Switch Lite to mod as an emulator….. I am sure you can guess how that turned out… It didn’t. I bought a few switch games but have never been a “Nintendo person”. I wanted more.

I started looking into Android handhelds like the Anbernic and Retroid. In my research I kept hearing “just get a Steam Deck”. I was aware of Steam and had used it in the past for VOIP while gaming in other games but was never a customer.

I caved and bought the Steam Deck. And it feels like 1995 or 2001 all over again. Gaming is exciting and fun. I can actually find time to play because I’m not stuck in front of a TV or monitor. I can play for 30 minutes on lunch, or on the couch next to the wife, or on a plane or in bed! I’m reliving old titles through emulators, playing remasters and even some newer games.

I was disappointed to find out I can’t play multiplayer COD or Battlefield or PUBG. Truly disappointing. But at least I’m gaming. I’m playing other games that are a ton of fun. Do I wish I could play the big multiplayer titles? Yes. Am I happy enough? Yes, again.

The Steam Deck is pretty much on par with the Switch for “pick up and play” ability. No fees for online play or cloud saves.

Have time, pick up the Deck, play, be happy.