Can I Run RawCheats on Steam Deck?
No. RawCheats runs on Windows 10 and 11 only. Steam Deck uses SteamOS, a Linux distribution running games through Proton (a Wine-based compatibility layer). Our loader, spoofer, and cheat overlay are Windows binaries that require native NT kernel APIs, NDIS-level MAC rewrite, and WMI for SMBIOS spoofing — none of which work in Proton. Dual-booting Windows on Steam Deck is technically possible but defeats the purpose and introduces extra detection vectors. Use a real Windows PC.
Steam Deck looks tempting as a portable cheating platform — small footprint, dedicated gaming device, low profile — but the technical reality kills it. The OS architecture is wrong for our toolchain, and the workarounds make detection worse, not better.
Why SteamOS blocks the workflow
Steam Deck runs SteamOS 3, an Arch-based Linux distro using KDE Plasma desktop and the Proton compatibility layer to run Windows games via Wine. Proton handles most Direct3D, Vulkan, and Win32 API calls, but it does not — and cannot — translate the NT kernel-level operations the Raw Spoofer relies on: WMI calls for SMBIOS reads, NDIS rewrite for MAC randomization, registry edits to HKLM Cryptography MachineGuid, and direct ATA queries for disk serials. Those operations require the actual Windows kernel.
Why Proton can't fix it
Proton is a user-mode compatibility layer. It does not implement the Windows kernel — it translates user-mode Win32 calls into Linux equivalents. Operations that require kernel cooperation (driver loading, NDIS, WMI providers backed by ACPI) have no Linux equivalent. The Raw Spoofer would partially execute, leaving the load-bearing identifiers (SMBIOS, motherboard serial) at their original Steam Deck values while spoofing only what user-mode code can touch (volume serials, MachineGuid). That partial spoof leaves obvious detection patterns.
Dual-booting Windows on Steam Deck
Steam Deck supports Windows via dual-boot. Some users install Windows 11 to a microSD card and boot to it. Technically the Raw toolchain would run on Windows on Steam Deck — the hardware is x86-64. But three problems make this a bad idea:
- Steam Deck's SMBIOS reports the exact same Manufacturer/Product string across all Steam Decks (Valve / Jupiter / 256GB or 512GB) — your fingerprint sits in a small population of "Steam Deck cheaters" which is a trivially-filterable cohort
- The Steam Deck has a fixed AMD APU (Aerith / Sephiroth), no discrete GPU, no NIC variation — randomizing serials inside this fingerprint is conspicuous
- Performance is marginal for cheat-overlay-plus-game workloads at acceptable framerates
Anti-cheat compatibility on SteamOS
This is a separate issue: Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye added Linux/Proton support starting 2022, but adoption is selective. Fortnite (Epic stripped EAC-Proton support in 2022), Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Rust (originally yes, now contested) don't run on Steam Deck regardless of cheat status. Marvel Rivals NetEase NeacSafe doesn't support Linux. PUBG BattlEye blocks Linux. Most of our roster is incompatible with Steam Deck even without cheats.
What Steam Deck IS good for
Legitimately, Steam Deck is great for non-anti-cheat games — single-player, indie, retro, emulation. If you want a portable competitive FPS rig with cheat support, buy a small mini-PC or a Windows handheld (ROG Ally, MSI Claw, Legion Go) running native Windows 11.
Windows handhelds — different story
ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go run native Windows 11 with x86-64 AMD APUs. The Raw toolchain runs on these. Performance is workable for most Raw products (Fortnite at 30-60 FPS at lowest settings, Rust at 50+ FPS, Marvel Rivals at 30 FPS). HWID spoofing works fully because Windows is the actual OS, not Proton.
Cloud streaming alternatives
GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Boosteroid — these stream the game from a server. The Raw cheat runs on your local hardware, but the game executes server-side. There's no surface for the cheat to attach to because the game isn't on your machine. Cloud gaming is incompatible with all cheat workflows.
Summary
Use a Windows PC. Steam Deck SteamOS is incompatible at the kernel level. Dual-boot Windows on Steam Deck is technically possible but creates a worse fingerprint than a normal PC. Windows handhelds work. Cloud streaming doesn't. For supported hardware see what hardware do I need for RawCheats and the Raw Spoofer pillar.
Related Pages
Sources
- SteamOS — Valve
- Proton compatibility layer — Valve
- About Easy Anti-Cheat — Epic Games
Related Questions
Buy the Raw cheat for your game plus the Raw Spoofer add-on, cold boot Windows, run Raw Spoofer as administrator and enter your spoofer license to randomize 16 hardware identifiers, launch the Raw loader and enter the cheat license, select your game from the dropdown, then start the game via Steam, Epic, or Battle.net. Click Inject in the loader at the main menu and press INSERT in-game to open the overlay.
Cold boot Windows before launching anything, right-click the Raw Spoofer binary and select Run as administrator, paste your spoofer license into the activation field, and click Spoof. The tool randomizes 16 hardware identifiers including SMBIOS UUID, motherboard serial, disk serials, MAC addresses, GPU UUID, MachineGuid, RAM SPD, and monitor EDID in about 4 seconds. Reboot is not required. Launch your cheat loader and game afterward.
Modern anti-cheats fingerprint a composite of 16+ identifiers: SMBIOS UUID, motherboard serial, all disk serials (SATA + NVMe), every NIC''s MAC address, GPU UUID, MachineGuid (Windows registry), Windows Product ID, Windows install date, RAM SPD strings, USB controller IDs, PCI device IDs, monitor EDID, BIOS strings, TPM 2.0 endorsement key (unspoofable from user-mode), CPU ID, and Microsoft Remote Attestation. Raw Spoofer randomizes 13 of these; TPM EK and Pluton are firmware-baked and out of reach.
Yes. RawCheats runs on Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11 22H2/23H2/24H2/25H2. Both versions support the same loader, spoofer, and cheat overlay code. Windows 11 is preferred because TPM 2.0 enforcement and IOMMU defaults match what modern anti-cheats (Fortnite EAC, Riot Vanguard, Marvel Rivals NeacSafe) require. Windows 10 still works but you must manually enable Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 in BIOS. Windows 7/8.1 are unsupported. ARM Windows is unsupported.
Any Windows 10 or 11 PC with an Intel or AMD CPU (Ryzen 3000+ or Intel 8th-gen+), 16GB RAM, an Nvidia GTX 1660 / AMD RX 580 or better, and at least 50GB free SSD space for the game plus loader. TPM 2.0 must be enabled for Windows 11 anti-cheats. Secure Boot enabled for Fortnite (Feb 2026 IOMMU rule). No DMA hardware, no second PC, no expensive setup — RawCheats is software-only. Native Windows is required; Steam Deck SteamOS is incompatible.
