EVE Online’s Frontier Aims for Steam Deck: A Portable Adventure Awaits!

At this year’s EVE Fanfest, the team behind Frontier, the offshoot of the legendary EVE Online, was buzzing with excitement about their latest game features. They showcased new driving controls and enhanced gamepad support, transforming the game into something fresh and dynamic compared to Fenris Creations’ previous MMO offerings. Naturally, as a fan of the Steam Deck, I couldn’t help but wonder if this new gamepad support could lead to a version for Valve’s portable console.

Scott McCabe, the product manager for Frontier, has been experimenting with the game on the Steam Deck as part of a personal “side quest”. “I’ve got a Steam Deck right at my desk, and we’re just testing it out,” he shared, emphasizing their interest in making it accessible on this platform. He explained that any game compatible with the Linux-based Proton can easily be adapted for the Steam Deck, making it just like a regular PC if you overlook power and performance differences.

While the original EVE Online has been playable on the Steam Deck for a while, its reliance on a mouse and keyboard made it less suited for handheld gaming. McCabe pointed out that with a gamepad-friendly control system, there’s no reason not to bring Frontier to devices like the Steam Deck.

However, McCabe also noted that official support for Steam Deck isn’t currently on any development timelines. Despite that, he believes it’s a logical move given the manual controls they’ve implemented. Game director Sæmundur Hermannsson was even more enthusiastic when I spoke with him later, saying, “It’s a no-brainer.” He joked about potential backlash from marketing for overselling the idea but reiterated that making the game gamepad-friendly was a more significant challenge than the Steam Deck compatibility itself.

“We have some experiments running on the Steam Deck,” Hermannsson revealed. “We just didn’t have the time to finalize it because we prioritized the gamepad features. The main roadblock was the launcher rather than the game itself—it was more about some configuration files.” Unlike many multiplayer titles that struggle with anticheat compatibility on Linux, Frontier takes a different route by avoiding traditional anticheat methods. Instead, it’s being designed to be highly moddable, eventually aiming for an open-source model while incorporating safeguards against cheats and exploits, a concept they refer to as “digital physics.”

While Hermannsson isn’t particularly invested in handheld gaming himself, he recognizes the importance of expanding Frontier’s reach to a broader audience. Development director David Bowman succinctly summed it up when discussing the game’s future on the Steam Deck: “Our goal is to get this to as many players as possible.”