With one hand FromSoftware giveth (a goat-horse in a more opportune location, for instance) and with the other it taketh away; Elden Ring’s newly released 1.12 update has introduced a bug that can break things on Steam Deck – but FromSoftware says it’s investigating.
As detailed on the developer’s social media feed, leaving Elden Ring inactive for too long on Steam Deck renders the game unplayable in some instances – something you’ll probably want to be mindful of if you need to wander off and punch something, or have a little cry.
“A Steam Deck related issue has been identified and a hotfix is being worked on,” the studio wrote on X. “Leaving your Steam Deck inactive for more than five minutes may stop the game from accepting inputs. We apologise for inconvenience.” For what it’s worth, I left Elden Ring running for multiple five-minute windows in the interests of science and had no problem resuming each time – so it’s possible this isn’t an especially widespread issue.
ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree | Official Launch Trailer As for when a fix is likely, that’s currently unclear, with FromSoftware only saying, “The date and time of the hotfix will be announced separately.” Replies to the developer’s post also include multiple reports of Steam Deck users being blocked from playing online after receiving the message, “Inappropriate activity detected”. FromSoftware is yet to acknowledge these reports, but hopefully concerned player will have more news soon.
In other Elden Ring news, its hugely anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is currently approximately 23 minute away from releasing. I’m now going to close my laptop, sit on the sofa, and stare at Steam until it arrives. Goodbye!
