I’ve owned the Xbox Series S, which I affectionately call the Baby Xbox, since launch day. And yet I hardly ever play games on it, compared to my other devices. Why? Because until recently I didn’t have the option to stream Xbox games to my Steam Deck. Now, thanks to a little app called XBPlaythat costs $7 but is worth every penny, I’m finally going to boot up my Xbox as often as I do my PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Allow me to explain: I simply enjoy playing video games in handheld mode. Sure, I have two computer screens and a very impressive television, but handheld gaming has huge advantages, namely for playing games while also watching TV in the background. (Like a less unhinged version of the three TV lifestyle.) Especially if it’s a huge RPG with lots of little side missions, like e.g. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for the PlayStation 5, if I can get through some of it on Steam Deck, I can complete and enjoy the experience much more easily.
It took a huge amount of effort to get PS5 Remote Play working properly on the deck; it requires the use of a tool called Chiakiwhich I only understood how to get started after reading multiple Reddit threads and watching multiple how-to videos on YouTube. The end result? Still worth it. I use PS5 Remote Play on my Steam Deck all the time – again, mainly for big RPGs.
I recently got Metaphor: ReFantazio for the Xbox, which started out fine when I played it on a big screen. However, I soon realized that this massive (but delightful) RPG would be so much better if I could also participate in some handheld play sessions. I remembered how annoying it was to get PS5 Remote Play to work on my Steam Deck, and I figured I’d have to go through a similar hassle this time.
No. Not even close! There’s currently a $7 app on the Steam Store called XBPlay, and folks, it just works. I can’t believe how well it works and how great it is Metaphor: ReFantazio looks like on my Steam Deck. Setting up XBPlay took a maximum of five minutes. The hardest part was that Steam didn’t list XBPlay in my game library, so after I bought it I had to manually search for it on my Steam Deck and create a shortcut for it so I could easily find it in the future.
Ever since I installed XBPlay, I’ve been proselytizing about it to everyone I know who owns an Xbox. At this point I’m using it so much I have to shout it from the rooftops (i.e. post about it on Polygon dot com). If you have an Xbox and a Steam Deck, this app is a must-buy. Don’t postpone it.
