What Are the Risks of Using Steam Deck Tools With Anti-Cheat Games?

Updated

Using Steam Deck Tools with anti-cheat games carries a real ban risk: the project can manipulate kernel memory through inpoutx64.dll, which anti-cheat and antivirus software may flag, and the README explicitly warns this "could result in interference or issues in games that use anti-cheat technology (including the possibility of a suspension or ban)." The risk only applies when kernel-level features are active — the application does not use them by default, and you must acknowledge a prompt before enabling a change that might trigger anti-cheat detection. If you play online games, disable kernel features and stick to the safe settings below.

Why the tool can trip anti-cheat

Steam Deck Tools provides Fan Control, Performance Overlay, Power Control, and Steam Controller support on Windows. Some of its deeper functions reach the hardware by directly manipulating kernel memory via inpoutx64.dll. Anti-cheat systems watch for exactly this kind of access, so the same mechanism that enables fan curves and TDP changes can look like tampering. The README also notes the software is provided on a best-effort basis and "can break your SteamDeck," and that it may connect to a remote server for update checks or error tracking.

What you give up by staying safe

The README defines the safe configuration for online play as:

  • Fan Control: Use Default FAN
  • Performance Overlay: OSD
  • Kernel Drivers: DISABLED

With kernel drivers disabled, these features are unavailable:

Feature What you lose
Fan Control Optimised SteamOS FAN curve
Performance Overlay CPU % and MHz, GPU MHz, APU W usage
Power Control Ability to change TDP, CPU settings

You keep the basic overlay (FPS and other stats) and default fan behavior, but lose the tuning that makes the tool attractive for offline use.

Deciding whether to use it

  • You play online games with anti-cheat: keep kernel drivers disabled and accept the reduced feature set. Do not enable kernel-level options while those games are running.
  • You only play offline or single-player titles: kernel features are usable, but weigh the README's warning about system instability and the best-effort support.
  • You use other controller tools: the README strongly advises uninstalling or disabling SWICD, GlosSI, and HidHide before installing, since conflicts add another failure path.

Before you install

The installer is SteamDeckTools--setup.exe from the latest GitHub Releases. A portable archive requires manually installing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, Rivatuner Statistics Server, and ViGEmBus. For troubleshooting and beta builds, the README points to GitHub Releases and the #windows channel of the Steam Deck Discord.