Ever since the character creator demo was first showcased back in 2024, inZOI has been one of the most anticipated games of the year. Yesterday, March 27, the game finally entered early access, giving us our first real look at it. While it was expected to run well on high-end PCs, the developers had some hopeful news for handheld users as well, stating that the game “runs fine, but you may need to adjust settings.”

However, now that inZOI is in the hands of reviewers, the reality behind “runs fine” is becoming clear, as the game is barely playable on the Steam Deck. And gamers aren't the only ones calling it a miss for the Steam Deck. Over on the official inZOI Discord server, the developers have now updated their stance on Steam Deck compatibility, stating that the game “currently does not support Steam Deck.”

Barely a stable 30 FPS experience

One of the performance reviews comes from Steam Deck HQ, which initially encountered black screen issues and game crashes. After experiencing several of these and finally reaching the main menu, the framerate dropped to just 10 FPS. They mention that turning on Dynamic Resolution is your best bet for around 30 FPS, but even then, the experience was barely playable. The only city where performance was slightly better was Dowon, as there were fewer texture issues and RAM usage problems there.

Another performance reviewer also recommends sticking to Dowon if you’re playing on the Steam Deck, as it appears to be less demanding on the handheld. Compared to Steam Deck HQ's performance test, gameplay from Deck Wizard was noticeably more playable. While there were still some stutters, the experience felt much smoother, possibly because Steam Deck HQ was recording directly on the Steam Deck while Deck Wizard recorded externally. And to add to that, there is no controller support at the moment as well, which means you will be using the trackpad quite a lot.

Not worth paying $24.99 for now

For handheld owners, as other reviewers have said and as we recommend, getting inZOI on the Steam Deck is definitely not going to be a worthwhile experience. The performance issues are quite apparent during gameplay, and just to get a barely 30 FPS experience, you have to compromise heavily on visual quality. Shadows disappear, and the overall image becomes blurry, which essentially takes away the point of the game’s “realistic visuals and deep simulation.”

On top of that, since the developers have now announced that inZOI is not compatible with the Steam Deck, it wouldn’t be a wise decision to get the game for the handheld anyway. However, on the bright side, this is still an early access version, and perhaps in the final release, the developers will improve the handheld experience. We’ve already seen them make significant changes based on community feedback, so there is hope for future updates.

If you want to optimize your performance in inZOI, we recommend checking out our crashing on PC and stuttering or freezing guides while you’re here.

About the Author

Hassam Nasir

Hassam boasts over seven years of professional experience as a dedicated PC hardware reviewer and writer.