Fixing Missing Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime on Steam Deck

Written by: Tushar Sharma

When launching non-Steam games via Proton or Wine on the Steam Deck, you may encounter the following error:

This is a common issue when certain runtime libraries (like vcrun6sp6 or vcrun2022) are missing. This guide provides two solutions: one for Proton games using Protontricks, and one for Lutris-based installations (especially via Flatpak).

🧭 Solution 1: Using Protontricks (for Steam/Proton games)

1. Enter Desktop Mode

Hold the POWER button → Select Switch to Desktop Mode

2. Install Protontricks

Open the Discover store (blue shopping bag icon), then search for: Protontricks and install it.

3. Launch Protontricks GUI

Open Konsole (terminal), and run:

From the list, select your game:

Example: Non-Steam shortcut: Sifu.exe
(If your game isn't listed, run it once in Gaming Mode first.)

4. Install Visual C++ Components

Choose: Select the default wineprefix
Then: Install a Windows DLL or component
Check: vcrun2022 or another relevant package (e.g. vcrun6sp6)

Accept all prompts and wait for confirmation.

If you are getting error: Could not lock database: Read-only file system, run this command

sudo steamos-readonly disable

remember to enable it after installing

sudo steamos-readonly enable

🧩 Solution 2: Lutris (Flatpak) – Wine DLL Missing in Non-Steam Game

If you're using Lutris installed via Flatpak and running into missing DLLs like isskin.dll, follow these steps:

1. Create a Custom Wine Prefix

In terminal:

This sets up a new Wine environment specifically for your game.

2. Install the Missing Runtime (`vcrun6sp6`)

This installs the required Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 components, including isskin.dll.

✅ Make sure you have native winetricks installed, not the Flatpak version.
Install it with:

3. Configure Lutris to Use This Prefix

Open Lutris
Right-click your game → Configure
Go to the Game Options tab
Set Wine prefix to: /home/deck/Games/MyGamePrefix

4. Relaunch the Game

Now that the correct DLL is available in the prefix, the game should launch without runtime errors.

🧩 Solution 3: Use Nix

Nix is both a package manager and a build system.

Unlike pacman/apt, it installs everything into its own store (/nix/store) with exact versions and hashes.

It does not overwrite system files → so it works perfectly with SteamOS (where the root partition is tiny & immutable).

SteamOS 3.5+ even ships a /nix directory on the big /home partition, specifically to support it.

Install it :

            sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install) --daemon

# This makes sure your shell picks up the Nix environment.
sudo reboot 

nix-env --version

# Start the Nix daemon manually

sudo systemctl start nix-daemon.service
# enable it in next boot
sudo systemctl enable nix-daemon.service

#  install winetricks 

nix-env -iA nixpkgs.winetricks
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.wine
WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.local/share/NonSteamGames/prefix winetricks vcrun6sp6

          

🧪 Advanced Tip: Register a DLL Manually

If a DLL like isskin.dll is still not detected, you can download it manually (from a trusted source), place it in: ~/Games/MyGamePrefix/drive_c/windows/system32/

Then register it using:

✅ Summary

Platform	Tool	Fix
Steam/Proton	Protontricks	Install `vcrun2022` via GUI
Lutris (Flatpak)	Wine + Winetricks	Create prefix, install `vcrun6sp6`

By using the correct tools and setting up Wine prefixes properly, you can get even the trickiest non-Steam games running on your Steam Deck.