Grounded 2 on Steam Deck: Verified Status and Patch History
Short version: As of Oct 22, 2026, Valve rates Grounded 2 Steam Deck Verified, with one note that external controllers aren't supported for the primary player. Obsidian's Steam patch notes list Deck or handheld changes in eight posts between Sep 2025 and May 2026, and none since. The biggest one for settings is 0.4.1 (May 27, 2026): Obsidian said all player settings were reset once, so older settings advice needs re-checking.
Short answer: as of Oct 22, 2026, Valve lists Grounded 2 as Steam Deck Verified. Obsidian’s last Deck-specific patch note was in 0.4.1 on May 27, 2026. That same update reset everyone’s settings once, so older “best settings” advice needs a fresh look.
What Valve says today
On Oct 3, 2026, Steam’s Deck compatibility data for Grounded 2 returned the Verified category. In Valve’s review criteria, Verified means the game passes all of Valve’s compatibility checks and players don’t need to change any settings to reach all of the game.
Valve’s report for the game lists these items:
| Item in Valve’s report | Result | What the check covers (our summary of Valve’s criteria) |
|---|---|---|
| Default controller configuration fully functional | Pass | The default controls let you reach all of the game’s content |
| Controller glyphs match the Deck | Pass | On-screen button prompts match the controller you’re using |
| Interface text is legible | Pass | Text on screen is easy to read on the Deck |
| Default configuration is performant | Pass | Valve’s report marks the default settings as performing well on Deck |
| External controllers not supported as the primary player | Informational note | Not part of the pass list |
The report doesn’t show when Valve tested the game. Steam Deck HQ reported on March 27, 2026 that the game had earned the badge, but that date is the site’s account, not Valve’s.
What this means on Deck: you shouldn’t need to rebuild the controls or fix the on-screen prompts to play. If you plug in an external controller, Valve’s note says it isn’t supported as the primary player’s controller. The report doesn’t say more than that, and we haven’t tested it.
Every Deck line in Obsidian’s patch notes
Dates are when the post went up on Steam (UTC). Quotes are from the posts.
| Date | Post | What the notes say about Deck or handhelds |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2025 | 0.2 Update | “Fixed an issue where Grounded 2 did not launch properly on Steam Deck.” Also “Various Handheld Improvements” and “Tweaked Steam Deck Settings with the updated Graphics Options in the settings” |
| Dec 3, 2025 | December Feature Update | “Various Handheld bugs were fixed” |
| Feb 24, 2026 | Playgrounds PTB post | “Various Stability fixes have been made on the handheld platforms” |
| Mar 4, 2026 | Playgrounds PTB Patch 0.3.1 | “Added SteamDeck Icons” and “Updated SteamDeck Default Factory Settings” |
| Apr 14, 2026 | Beat the Heat | “Fixed a bug on Steam Deck where launching the game with an external controller would cause the title to stop reacting to input from the embedded controller.” and “Fixed a bug where opening some text fields was causing Steam Deck inputs to stop working.” |
| Apr 15, 2026 | Hotfix 0.4.0.1 | “Fixed a bug on Steamdeck that forced joystick icons on screen” |
| May 12, 2026 | 0.4.1 public test | “The 0.4.1 Public Beta also includes big changes for Steam Deck Support”; exe swap and settings reset (below) |
| May 27, 2026 | 0.4.1 | “The 0.4.1 Update also includes Steam Deck Support”; exe swap, Microsoft account linking, settings reset, and four Deck fixes (below) |
The 0.5.1 patch (Sep 24, 2026) and Hotfix 0.5.1.1 (Oct 1, 2026) don’t mention the Deck. Neither do the other posts we checked between May 27 and Oct 3. The Rot and Ruin 0.6.0 patch notes (Oct 20, 2026) don’t mention the Steam Deck or handhelds either. See what changed in 0.5.1.
What 0.4.1 changed for Deck players
The 0.4.1 notes from May 27, 2026 say:
- “We have officially changed our exe version: WinGRTS → Win64.”
- “As of this update, Steam Deck Users can now link a Microsoft account and play online with their friends/use crossplay functionality.”
- “With this executable change, all player settings will be reset as a result of this change. This is a one-time reset, and we plan on saving your settings in the future permanently.”
It also listed four Deck fixes:
- “Fixed a bug where Player on Steam Deck was always joining first Multiplayer lobby listed instead of the selected one.”
- “Fixed an issue where turning on “Read to Me” and setting subtitles to All would crash a game on Steam Deck.”
- “Fixed an issue with the Steam Deck hard locking in certain menus.”
- “Fixed an issue with Xbox Network Login screen remaining on the Main Menu screen on Steam Deck.”
Trying to play online on Deck? The account link is covered in our join-game guide.
Old advice vs now
| Before 0.4.1 (up to May 27, 2026) | Since 0.4.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Your settings | Whatever you or a guide set | Reset once, per Obsidian; re-check them |
| Microsoft account on Deck | The notes present linking as new in 0.4.1 | “Can now link a Microsoft account” and use crossplay |
| Menu hard lock, Read to Me crash, lobby list | Not yet listed as fixed | Listed as fixed in 0.4.1 |
If a settings guide was written before May 27, 2026, its numbers came from before the reset. They may still suit you, but the game didn’t carry them over. We don’t list frame rates here: the only figures we found are third-party measurements, and none of them is from Obsidian or Valve.
What’s next
Obsidian posted the full Rot and Ruin 0.6.0 patch notes on Oct 20, 2026, and they don’t mention the Deck. When we checked again on Oct 22, 2026, Valve’s rating and the five items in its report were the same as on Oct 3. There’s no date yet for the update after Rot and Ruin (see the Grounded 2 update schedule). We’ll update this page if a new post adds Deck lines or Valve’s rating changes.