Igalia and Valve Work to Make Firefox Run Better on the Steam Deck

# What this project is

Igalia — an open-source consulting firm — is working with Valve to improve the Firefox browsing experience on the Steam Deck. The project and status were presented by Eri Pazos Pérez at XDC 2026. The core goal is to move Firefox off its X11 path on the Deck and run it natively on Wayland under Valve's Gamescope compositor, using the wl_compositor protocol.

# Why this matters for Steam Deck users

Firefox currently runs on the Steam Deck using X11 compatibility layers that introduce limitations when combined with Gamescope, the micro-compositor Valve uses for game-focused desktop sessions. Running Firefox natively on Wayland aims to remove those limitations and yield smoother, more consistent behavior in areas that affect everyday browsing on a handheld device.

# Fixes and improvements being worked on

Igalia's efforts include practical, user-facing fixes and lower-level plumbing work:

• Gamepad input. Ensuring browser interactions with controllers work reliably under the Deck's input model.
• Fullscreen handling. Addressing how Firefox enters and exits fullscreen when Gamescope is the compositor.
• Touch-scrolling stutter. Reducing stuttering during touch-driven scrolling on the Deck's touchscreen.
• Notification handling. Improving how web notifications appear and behave within Deck sessions.
• HDR video support. Enabling correct HDR playback paths and session handoff for HDR content.

# Technical work still underway

A few technical pieces remain before the full transition is complete or broadly available:

• Upstreaming Gamescope patches. Some compositor patches are currently specific to Gamescope and need to be merged upstream where appropriate.

• Finishing HDR support and session management. Finalizing how HDR is negotiated and how browser sessions integrate with the Deck's session lifecycle.

# Where to see the details

# Practical implications for users now

This is a targeted engineering effort rather than a cosmetic update. Expect incremental improvements: controller handling, fewer fullscreen glitches, smoother touch scrolling, and better notification behavior as patches land. HDR and the deeper input/session changes will come later as upstream merges and additional work complete.

# How this fits with related work

The effort sits alongside other recent Valve and community work around the Deck and Linux graphics stacks, such as compositor and driver changes that improve recording, remote play, and ARM64 gaming support. Those projects and the Firefox Wayland transition may interact, especially where compositor behavior and driver capabilities affect browser features like HDR and video playback.

# Bottom line