How to play Amiga games

The Commodore Amiga was a computer gaming system that featured advanced games for its time with titles that displayed animations, colors and sound that were often better than the SNES and Sega Megadrive/Genesis. It featured notable games like Prince of Persia, Flashback and Speedball 2. It was closer to a PC than a game console with its own operating system, screen, keyboard and mouse.

Running from 1985 to 1996, the Amiga PC series continues to be fondly remembered by those who grew up on these machines. Whether you're looking to recapture your youth or try some Amiga titles as a retro gaming enthusiast, this guide will walk you through the steps of running Amiga Games on Steam Deck.

Enable developer mode

• Press the button Steam button.
• In the Steam menu, select System and enable Developer mode.
• Close the System menu.
• Search Developer and turn on CEF Debugging.
• Press the Steam button and select Urine.
• Switch to desktop mode.

Before installing EmuDeck

• An microSD card A2 to install EmuDeck and games.
• To format the SD card, open the Steam menu, select Storage and choose to format the inserted SD card.
• Legally owned Amiga ROMS.
• Keyboard and mouse are recommended for file transfer and search tools.

Download EmuDeck

The Amiga is a complex system to emulate, but the EmuDeck program and the built-in Emulation Station application that runs Steam Deck games are less of a problem if the steps are correct:

• Open the EmuDeck website using the browser of your choice and download the EmuDeck program.
• Select Steam operating system version, and choose Custom installation.
• With EmuDeck running, select SD card image thus naming the card as Primary.
• You can install all emulators or select RetroArch, emulation station, and Steam Rom Manager and click Continue.
• Turn on AutoImpose.
• Skip a few more screens and select Complete

Transfer Amiga Games & Kickstart files

Kickstart files are similar to console Bios files. For emulators to work properly, files must be organized into appropriate folders. Unfortunately, just like ROMS, you have to search for Kickstart files and how to get them yourself.

Transfer the Kickstart files

• Open the Dolphin file manager.
• Select the primary SD card.
• Open the Emulation folder.
• Then select BIOS and place the Kickstart files in the BIOS folder.

Transfer The Amiga Games

With your Kickstart files in place, it's time to transfer your Amiga games to the correct folder.

• Open the Emulation folder again.
• Select the ROM
• Then place your games in the Amiga folder.

If your ROMs are for Amiga 1200 series or Amiga CD32 files, transfer them to their respective folders.

Steam ROM Manager

With the Kickstart files and games in the correct folders, it's time to add the games to your Steam Deck library.

• Open EmuDeck and select Steam ROM Manager from the panel that appears.
• Select “Yes” to close Steam.
• Click Next to take you to the Analyzers screen.
• Select Amiga tab and click the button Add games.
• SRM should find and add your Steam Deck's library cover.

Fix missing artwork

If your game's cover art is missing, follow the steps below to add it.

• click on Repair icon.
• Enter the name of the game in the field fix Artwork and Title search bar.
• Choose one of the game covers.
• Click on Save and close.

Uploading missing artwork

If the emulated game doesn't have a cover, you can upload your own by searching for images on Google Images or DuckDuckGo.

• Click image search for a save the cover in the Pictures folder on Steam Deck.
• Steam Deck users can add their own game cover and save it in the Images folder.
• Open the EmuDeck program.
• Run it Steam Rom Manager.
• Click on Record on the game frame.
• Open it Folder with images and select a new cover image.
• Choose Save and close.

Playing Amiga games on Steam Deck

Now you can play your Amiga games directly from the Steam Deck library or use the Emulation Station.

• Switch Steam Deck to game mode.
• Press the button Steam button and open Library.
• Open it Collections table
• Then open the Amiga folder find and play your games.

Emulation station

Alternatively, you can play Amiga games through Emulation Station using the following steps.

• Switch Steam Deck to game mode.
• Press the button Steam button and open Library.
• Open it Without Steam tab and run Emulation station program.

If you're having trouble running Amiga games from the Steam Deck library, Emulation Station should run them without issue and makes it easy to access the RetroArch settings.

• Open it Amiga section.
• Select Menu button.
• Choose Scraper and decide for TheGamesDB.
• Then in Scrape These Systems select the Amiga library and Start.
• Emulation Station downloads and displays the covers and metadata for your Amiga games.
• Select the games and launch them, for example, from the ES menu.

That's all in place for running games as complex as the Amiga library on Steam Deck.