I am developing games using Godot, especially 2D ones, with the feel and aesthetic of SNES-era RPGs, like Zelda Link to the Past and I very much love to play my games on a real handheld device. I own plenty of handhelds but I have no clue how I can "export" the game for them. I googled around and I couldn't find a straightforward answer apart from "it should be doable" without any further explanation. So some question I have:

  • Do you play your Godot games in a handheld device? If yes, then which device? How did you make it happen?
  • Is there any officially supported hardware handheld device for this?
  • Is there any official supported retro-OS (e.g. Retropie) that I can export my game into?
  • Are there any plans to support a handheld device or I am the only one interested in this?

PS: No, I am not talking about smartphones or android phones.

Yes, I've run my Godot demos on Steam Deck with no additional work. You can also purchase the devices from Anbernic, like the RG280V. It uses a stripped down version of Linux and should be able to run Linux builds from Godot, though I haven't tried this yet. I'm not sure if there is anything specific you need to do, but I can check it tomorrow. I have a few of those devices.

https://anbernic.com/

@fire7side said: Godot supports Steam Deck.

Good point! Indeed, according to the documentation, it states that: "Godot supports the Linux-based Steam Deck". This was updated last November for Godot v3.3 and 3.4. I've also seen @cybereality blogpost. There is also evidence from SteamDeck's devkit FAQ, stating: "we're talking to Godot as well and are actively supporting them and want their engine to work well with Steam Deck".

so it's pretty clear that SteamDeck works and it's officially supported console :D

What I am still missing though is some sort of docs (or tutorials) about the procedure. I have seen in YT videos about SteamDeck that there are two ways to play games (1) via SteamStore (obviously) and (2) Flatpacks. So, I guess it has to be exported as standalone self-contained executable to make it work.

I don't have SteamDeck to try it out, so I would be interested to know what's the development process there. For example, there is a SteamDeck Dev guide, does this also works for Godot? When you are developing the game, are you able to hit "Play" and forward it to SteamDeck (e.g. via USB cable) to playtest & debug it? Is there any specific export configuration settings you have to do or just a simple Linux x86 export should suffice? Where do I have to place the gamefiles into SteamDeck's filesystem? Are there any tips to optimise the game specifically for SteamDeck in terms of controls & performance? etc, etc ...

@cybereality said: You can also purchase the devices from Anbernic, like the RG280V.

That would be awesome if you can give it a try whenever you have the time. I also have Anbernic RG351V so I could use this as well. I've seen people who have already tried that and seems to be working fine. I've found some resources:

Some of those devices are running Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 and Raspbian is installed. Still though, docs are not easy to follow or clear, and looks more of a hack.

Steam Deck works on a version of Arch Linux, but it's basically just Linux with some customization. My demos were already on the Steam store, so I just downloaded and clicked play and everything pretty much worked. For testing, you can boot into desktop mode on the Steam Deck and run any standard x86-64 Linux executable that you export from Godot. You can even run the Godot editor on the Steam Deck to develop your game, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are traveling. Otherwise you'd have to build on your PC and copy to the Steam Deck, like with a USB-C drive or SD Card.

Now I'm a bit curious about handheld. Is Steam Deck the only supported one?

Any handheld could be supported, Godot is open-source. It's just a matter of how difficult it is to compile.

I've seen Godot run on the Open Pandora (after compiling it for ARM), although mine is broken so I can't test. It should work on the Dragonbox Pyra (sequel to the Pandora), but you won't be able to get one any time soon (mine is maybe a month or 2 away from shipping, I preordered 6 years ago)

Just a weird thought, but what sort of hardware/software/ whatever do devices need to run Godot games?

Ideally x86-64 CPU and an OS that can run OpenGL apps.