The Last of Us PC Port Steam Deck Approval Cut After Lackluster Launch

It’s not unheard of for some game’s PC ports to be rough around the edges at launch. Some even release as buggy, broken messes. Unfortunately, the most recent example of the latter is The Last of Us Part 1, and it’s been dealt another blow this week thanks to its rough launch.

Alongside the multiple issues surrounding the game’s launch, Valve has now officially listed the games as “Unsupported” on Steam Deck, with the game’s developer Naughty Dog stating they are “prioritizing fixes and patches before submitting it for verification.” As you’d probably expect, this has only added to the already poor reception the port has received since its launch.

Bugs and performance issues plagued Sony’s newest PC Port

Naughty Dog took to their official Twitter account to announce a new hotfix and Patch coming this week. They followed up by informing players that they would focus on fixing and patching the game before considering it for verification. It’s currently not known how long it will be before the developers move on to optimizing the game for Steam Deck, but given the current state the port is in, it makes sense that they would be focused on fixing and improving the game’s PC performance first. We shouldn’t expect Steam Deck support anytime soon.

A reminder that we will have a new hotfix live for The Last of Us Part I on PC tomorrow, and a patch on Friday.

We will share patch notes when the hotfix is live, and let you know some of what to expect in Friday's patch ahead of its launch.

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) April 3, 2023

Since release, players have been experiencing a host of issues that have affected the game. Some are more humourous ones, like characters suddenly becoming soaking wet. In contrast, others have been major hindrances like shaders not loading in, performance issues, memory leaks, mouse and camera issues, straining the CPU, and frequent hard crashes and freezes, with one player reportedly crashing 12 times in two hours. This isn’t helped by the fact that the release was delayed by nearly a month to get the game “in the best shape possible.” This is another port handled by Iron Galaxy that has not gone down well with fans. For those unaware, Iron Galaxy has a reputation for poor PC ports, including 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, and now they can add the Last of Us Part 1 to that list.

Related: All differences between The Last of Us TV show and game

While you can still play the Last of Us on Steam Deck if you want, given its poor performance on PC and lack of optimization, we wouldn’t recommend it. For now, all players can do is wait for fixes and patches till the game is in a better state, though you may be waiting a while.