For anyone unfamiliar with it, DroidDeck is a relatively new, open-source Android application that lets you run Valve’s actual Steam client, along with PC games from your Steam library, on supported Android phones and handhelds. Rather than just launching individual Windows games through something like Winlator, it brings much of the familiar Steam Deck experience to Android, including Steam’s interface, Proton compatibility, controller integration and more. It does all this without needing to root your device or replace Android with another operating system. It’s still experimental, but the progress has been pretty amazing so far.

So I’ve been chatting with the people behind DroidDeck over the last couple of weeks, and I’ve finally put together what turned into a pretty lengthy feature about the project, its history, and the people making it happen.

I interviewed The412Banner, Max, xXJSONDeruloXx, Kimchi and Astro Sky, digging into everything from their earliest experiences with gaming and development to how their separate experiments with Linux, Gamescope and Steam eventually came together. What started as a way of getting the actual Steam client running on Android has grown into something way more ambitious, and I really wanted to tell the story of how that happened rather than just write another overview of what the software can do.

We also got into the technical challenges, the ridiculous pace of development (it updated and changed a few times while I was writing this!), their approach to AI-assisted coding and automated testing, the importance of open source, and where they hope to take DroidDeck in the future. There are some personal stories in there too, particularly about the early breakthroughs and the excitement of finally seeing things work. It’s a long read, admittedly, but I wanted to give everyone involved the space to tell their side of the story. I’m really grateful to all five for taking the time to answer my many, many questions, and I hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about the people behind a project that’s quickly become one of the more interesting developments in Android handheld gaming!

And just to be transparent, since I know it’s a subject people have strong feelings about, DroidDeck does make use of AI-assisted development.

We discuss that openly in the article, including how the developers use AI tools, automated testing and code reviews as part of their workflow.