You add the cracked game as a "Non-Steam game." Steam’s client telemetry reports the executable hash. If Valve detects a cracked steam_api emulator, they can ban your entire Steam account, not just the game. For a Steam Deck owner, a banned account means losing your entire library.
You would need to:
Even then, performance is worse, and you lose SteamOS features like per-game TDP limits, FSR, and quick resume.
The Legitimate Version – Forza Horizon 5 is "Steam Deck Verified" by Valve. This is the gold standard. i--- Forza Horizon 5 Cracked Steam Deck
Performance Review (Legit Copy on Steam Deck):
| Setting | Result | |---------|--------| | Default Graphics | Medium/High preset | | Framerate | ~50-60 FPS (drops to 40 in jungle/city) | | Battery Life | ~1.5 – 2.5 hours | | Install Size | ~110 GB | | Anti-Cheat | Works fine (no issues on Deck) | | Sleep/Resume | Works perfectly |
Pros of legit version on Deck:
Cons:
Warning: This is for educational archiving only. Do this at your own risk.
For $15/month, you can play Forza Horizon 5 via Xbox Cloud Gaming directly on your Steam Deck (using Microsoft Edge). No installation, no storage space used, and you get all the DLC. The input lag is minimal on decent Wi-Fi. You add the cracked game as a "Non-Steam game
Before you risk your $400+ device for a $60 game, consider these options that get you driving on your Steam Deck today.
If you are dead set on running cracked Windows games (not recommended), install Windows 11 on a microSD card. Running a pirated copy on native Windows on Deck eliminates the Proton translation layer. However, you still face Denuvo and online lockouts. And you lose the smooth SteamOS experience.
Proton is designed to translate Windows API calls to Linux. However, many crack .dll files (like steam_api64.dll or xboxlive.dll) use low-level hooks that Proton does not recognize. You may see: Even then, performance is worse, and you lose