The Black Ops 7 Steam Deck rating is still marked as unknown, even now that the game has officially launched. However, the reality is that it's not playable right now. Activision Ricochet has added an anti-cheat system that requires Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, which are features not available by default on the Steam Deck. You can enable them, but not through standard means, and there's a risk of bricking your device if you try.
As such, this effectively eliminates SteamOS compatibility, preventing the game from running on what remains the best gaming handheld you can buy. This means Black Ops 7 is following in the footsteps of games such as Apex Legends, Battlefield 6, and Destiny 2 in not offering support on the Steam Deck. However, other Windows-based handhelds will have no issues running the game.
Is Black Ops 7 Steam Deck compatible?
Black Ops 7 Steam Deck is marked as unknown. Despite this, we are confident that the game will eventually have an Unsupported rating, due to Ricochet anti-cheat requiring secure boot and TPM 2.0 to be activated, which is not officially possible on SteamOS. We tried booting the game and it simply fails to run at all - it's not just a multi-player limitation.
This update to the Ricochet anti-cheat system was deployed with the launch of Season 5 Reloaded in Call of Duty Black Ops 6 in September 2025. It follows similar requirements for games such as Battlefield 6 and Valorant, both of which also don't work on the Steam Deck for the same reasons.
However, if you're using a Windows-based handheld, such as the ROG Ally X, then you'll technically have no issues launching Black Ops 7, so long as it meets the Black Ops 7 system requirements.
If you're keen to take on some titles that do work great on Valve's handheld, you can check out our guide to the best Steam Deck games, which includes everything from indie titles to triple-A blockbusters.
Do you wish you could play more competitive shooters on your Steam Deck, or are these games best saved for a desktop PC? Let us know over on our community Discord server.