A new Steam Deck mod has unlocked AMD FSR 3.1 frame generation for a number of games that don’t actively support it, hugely improving performance in the process. The Decky Framegen Plugin replaces Nvidia DLSS DLL files with equivalent files for FSR 3.1, and while the swap isn’t totally perfect, the improvements shouldn’t be dismissed, based on what we’ve seen so far.
The Steam Deck is one of the best handheld gaming PCs you can buy, responsible for kickstarting an entire industry of gaming rigs that offer portable gaming performance. While the Steam Deck performs surprisingly well across hundreds of games, performance can vary quite wildly. Thankfully, the signs so far seem to suggest that this unofficial AMD plugin could be a great help, depending on the game you’re playing.
Decky Framegen allows you to switch from Nvidia DLSS to AMD FSR 3.1 in games that already support DLSS by replacing the relevant DLL files with the AMD equivalents. A user called supershredderdan teased the mod in a post on the Steam Deck subreddit earlier this week.
According to the modder, this is a full conversion, meaning upscaling in games is switched over to FSR as well as frame generation. However, it appears that this swap will only work for games that don’t already have an AMD FSR implementation in place. While the mod hasn’t been officially released yet, it appears to be simple enough to use, with a one-click installer that allows you to install or uninstall the mod in the games you select.
The plugin is currently awaiting approval to join the Decky Loader plugins list, but the source code is available on GitHub for users who want to download and install manually. The plugin is already proving to be popular, however, with videos popping up over Reddit and YouTube that show a stable 60fps in games like Cyberpunk 2077.
Meanwhile, a test by YouTuber Deck Wizard showed that with FSR 3.1 enabled, frame rates in games like Final Fantasy 16 and Hogwarts Legacy doubled from 30-40fps up to a smoother and much more playable 60-70fps.
This isn’t an official mod, so you can expect some visual oddities and stability issues to occur along the way. Deck Wizard’s video showcased some, such as ghosting in Final Fantasy 16, along with some input lag in Hogwarts Legacy, although Deck Wizard did say that this “wasn’t too bad” overall.
Those issues aside, however, this mod seriously enhances the power of the original Steam Deck to play games that, frankly, it has no right playing at these kinds of frame rates. As long as you’re willing to put up with some lag and ghosting issues, a mod like this one might just make the Steam Deck a more appealing handheld gaming PC, although the usual disclaimers about the stability of unofficial mods apply, and your mileage (as far as performance is concerned) might vary.
Looking for an even more powerful portable gaming rig? Check out our Asus ROG Ally X review for a handheld Windows gaming PC that easily beats the Steam Deck on performance.