Can You Play Diablo 4 on Steam Deck? A Step-By-Step Guide
Are you wondering if you can play Diablo 4 on Steam Deck? We’ve got good news: you can! Despite Diablo 4 not being available on Steam – as a Blizzard game, it’s only available to play through Blizzard’s own launcher, Battle.net – there’s a workaround to get the game up and running on Steam Deck. And, surprisingly, it’s fairly easy to do. Read on to find out exactly how to get Diablo 4 running on your Steam Deck.
Getting Diablo 4 to run on Steam Deck requires a little bit of tinkering “behind the scenes”, so to speak. But there’s nothing too complicated here. Even if you’re not too tech-savvy, you’ll have Diablo 4 installing on your Steam Deck within a few minutes. Follow our step-by-step guide below and you’ll be killing the hordes of Sanctuary in no time.
1. How to install Diablo 4 on Steam Deck: access Desktop Mode
Did you know? Behind the Steam OS, your Steam Deck is running another operating system that looks much more like a regular PC. Accessing it is the first step to installing Diablo 4. Press the ‘Steam’ button, then go to ‘Power’. Next, select ‘Switch to Desktop’. Wait a few seconds, and you’ll now have access to your Steam Deck’s desktop.
2. Install a browser
Now, you need to install a web browser. In your toolbar at the bottom of Desktop mode, you’ll see a Firefox icon. Click this to install Firefox.
If you’d rather install another browser – Chrome, Edge and many others are available – click the shopping bag icon to bring up Steam Deck’s ‘Discover’ panel. From here, click ‘Internet’ on the left-hand menu then ‘Web Browsers’. Click ‘Install’ next to the one you want.
3. Download Battle.net and add to Steam
Once your browser is installed, open it up. You now need to go to Battle.net to install Blizzard’s launcher. Type in ‘battle.net’ then click the ‘Install’ button at the top-right of the webpage.
Once it’s downloaded, click the Folder icon in your bottom menu on Stem Deck’s desktop. This brings up Dolphin, Steam’s system browser. On the left-hand menu, you’ll see ‘Downloads’. Click into it, and you’ll see a file called Battle.net-Setup.exe. Hover your mouse over it, then press the left trigger to bring up a menu. Choose ‘Add to Steam’.
(Note: If a keyboard doesn’t automatically appear on your Steam Deck to allow you to navigate to a webpage, press Steam + X. This will bring up the on-screen keyboard. You can get rid of it again by pressing the ‘Move’ button in the bottom-right corner of the keyboard.)
4. Force Compatibility
Next, open up Steam while still in Desktop Mode. You should have a Steam icon directly on your desktop. Click it and a desktop version of Steam will open up. Browse your library, and you should now have a ‘Battle.net-Setup.exe’ listed. Click it to bring up its game page within your library. Click the cog icon on the right side of the screen, then select ‘Properties’.
In ‘Properties’, go to ‘Compatibility’. Tick the box next to ‘Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool’. You’ll now get a dropdown box appear below. Select the option that says ‘Proton Experimental’. Exit out of the menu.
5. Install Battle.net and Diablo 4
Now, click Play on the Battle.net-Setup.exe within Steam. This will install Battle.net. Once it’s installed, you’ll need to log in with your Blizzard account credentials. Then set Diablo 4 installing. Make sure you’ve got enough space: you’ll need roughly 40GB. No need to install the advanced texture pack!
6. Switch back to Steam Deck Gaming Mode and enjoy Diablo 4!
You’re pretty much done. Once Diablo 4 is installed, head back to Steam Deck’s main Gaming Mode. You’ll see a ‘Return to Gaming Mode’ icon on the desktop. Click it, and wait a few seconds. Ah, back in familiar territory. From here, once again find ‘Battle.net-Setup.exe’ in your library. Launch it, and Battle.net will load up (we recommend having it automatically log you in every time to save having to type in your username and password). Launch Diablo 4 from there, and that’s it: you’re now free to explore Sanctuary to your heart’s content.
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