How to change your Steam Deck boot-up animation (2024)

You might want to spruce up Steam Deck's load-up animations by adding your own personal touch. Imagine loading up your Steam Deck with a GameCube's startup sounds and graphics, hitting all the nostalgic spots from when you played GameCube as a kid. The good news is that you can do so by changing the boot animation on your Steam Deck.

There are different ways to change the opening video animation. One is adding .webm directly inside the steam/root/config folder. Another includes downloading plugins that provide repositories for videos. In this guide, we go over all the possible and easiest methods; we cover how to use the Decky Loader plugin to download new animations, ways to access intro videos from Valve's official version using the Steam Store, and finally, how to add your own custom animation directly in File Explorer.

How to change Steam Deck boot animation using Decky Loader

You can add custom boot animations using Decky Loader, an open-source plugin that acts as a secondary hub. Decky Loader aggregates other plugins and apps that expand a Steam Deck's capabilities beyond what Valve offers. Decky Loader can stylize system sounds and graphics and change additional system menus. If you're looking for extra customization options, Decky Loader becomes an essential player for any Steam Deck owner.

Before proceeding, download the Decky Loader plugin from the GitHub link. Alternatively, you can install the plugin using the Konsole (Linux Terminal).

1. Hold down the Power button on your Steam and select Switch to Desktop.

   

2. Install the Decky Loader plugin through the GitHub link or the Konsole.

   

3. Enter your sudo/admin password. If you still need to set one up, open Konsole and type passwd; choose your preferred password. You can also use Decky! as the temporary pre-set password set by the installer.

   

4. Return to the desktop screen and select Return to Gaming mode.

   

Install Animation Changer plugin with Decky Loader

1. Once you have Decky Loader installed on your Deck, open the Decky Loader plugin using the Quick Access button (three dots).

   

2. Tap the Shop icon to open the Decky Loader plugins page.

   

3. Search Animation Changer plugin and select Install > Install (again).

   

Add a custom animation using the Animation Changer plugin

1. Navigate to the Quick Access button (three dots) on the Steam Deck and select the Plug icon.

   

2. Open the Animation Changer plugin from the Decky Loader menu and select Manage Animations.

   

3. In the Animation Changer menu, browse the animations and choose the one you want to download.

   

4. After picking a boot video, select Download Animation.

   

5. Once you've downloaded a custom animation, return to the Animation Changer menu from the Quick Access screen.
6. Under the Animation Changer menu, choose Default under the Boot dropdown menu.

   

7. Replace the current option with the new opening video.

You can repeat these steps to add custom animations for Suspend and Throbber.

How to add Steam Deck boot-up animations using Valve's Steam Startup selection

If you prefer to keep it simple and have Steam Points to spare, you can select a new animation from the Steam Store. We teach how to do this in our tutorial below.

1. Press the Steam button.
2. Select Settings.

   

3. Navigate to the Customization tab.

   

4. Scroll to the bottom and select Visit the Points Shop.

   

5. Navigate to the Startup Movies tab.

   

6. From the selection of movies, choose one and purchase it.
7. Select Equip Now. This will add your purchase as a Startup Movie; you can change the movie by revisiting Settings > Customization.

   

How to manually add and change Steam Deck boot animations

You can also change the Steam Deck animation using a pre-set animation you obtained online (SteamDeckBootVids subreddit, for example). The animation needs to be in a .webm video file.

1. Navigate to Switch to Desktop mode and open the File Explorer app.
2. Enable Show Hidden Files (View > Show Hidden Files, Ctrl+H as a shortcut).
3. Inside the File Explorer app, go to /home/deck.

   

4. Open .steam/root/config and create a new folder called uioverrides.

   

5. Open the uioverrides folder and create a new folder called movies.
6. Copy the .webm file containing the movie and place it inside the movies folder.
7. Rename the .webm file to deck_startup.webm.

Have you encountered issues with the Steam Deck?

Valve's propriety hardware is still far from perfect. Even if SteamOS (Linux-based operating system) is open to many neat tricks compared to Windows, troubleshooting isn't always easy. Before you panic after seeing errors and bugs, look back to see if there's a common fix for the problem. Sometimes, it only requires pushing through a simple update, and you're back in business.