How to play Diablo 4 on Steam Deck

Diablo 4 has finally arrived, and I’ve already played more of this game on my Steam Deck than on my more powerful gaming desktop. The game I played was so good that it spoiled me. Diablo 3: Ultimate EditionNot only did I love the controllers, but also that I was able to grind my characters out wherever it fit me. And now, I can’t look back.

What is the thing for PC? Diablo 4 is on Battle.net only, not Steam, so it isn’t natively supported by the Steam Deck. It is still possible to run the game (and it will work). You can also read more about it here.With a bit of effort. The whole process takes roughly 30 minutes, depending on your experience with the Deck’s desktop mode. This guide is for everyone, regardless of their familiarity with the Deck’s desktop mode.

Press the Steam button on your physical deck to enter desktop mode. In the pop-up window, select the power option, and then select “Switch to Desktop.”

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You’ll need a web browser for this, so in case you don’t have one, head to Discover (the little shopping bag icon) on the taskbar, and search for Chrome (or your browser of choice) in the top left corner. If you don’t have a Bluetooth keyboard paired with your Steam Deck, you can summon the on-screen keyboard by pressing the Steam and X buttons at the same time.

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Open the browser and type in Battle.net. The first time you click on it, there is an option for downloading the launcher.

Click the Dolphin folder icon in the taskbar to open the downloads folder. If you have a mouse connected, right click the file “Battle.net-Setup.exe,” or pull the left trigger that mimics the right click action. Then, in the drop-down menu, click the option that says “Add to Steam.” You may see a pop-up from Steam that asks you to add a non-Steam game. If so, simply tap “Browse” on the lower left corner, then select the installer in your downloads folder.

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We’re not done yet. Open Steam (you should see an icon by default) on your desktop. When Steam launches, you should see the name of the Battle.net installer file that you just downloaded along the left side within the “Library” view. Click once to select it, then move your cursor over to the gear-shaped icon on the right (hovering over it shows the word “Manage”). Click it, then navigate go down to “Properties.”

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In Properties, you’ll see two options: “Shortcut” and “Compatibility.” Under Compatibility, you’ll find an option that says “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool.” Check the box, and you’ll be provided a drop-down button containing a list of different Proton builds. Select “Proton Experimental,” close the settings menu, and then run the installer.

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Battle.net can be installed on your computer just as you’d do it at home. The installation is done on the onboard storage by default. However, you can change the destination to a microSD card and store your app as well as your games. On my Steam Deck, it’s nested within the “Z” directory. After clicking into that, expand the “run” folder, then the “media” folder. Lastly, you’ll click the name attached to your microSD card. In our case it’s “mmcblk0p1.” If you mess up at this stage, simply delete the installer from your Steam library, and start the process over.

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Once the installation is complete, you’ll be prompted to enter your login credentials, after which you can follow the prompts to install Diablo 4You can install the game on your Steam Deck as you normally would. If your Steam Deck’s SSD doesn’t have enough free space, you can change the installation location of the game to your removable storage using the same process as before.

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Almost done. With Diablo 4 installed in Battle.net, click the settings icon next to the blue “Play” button, then select “Show in Explorer.” This will open a small window that contains the game’s files. Copy the destination directory by highlighting the text in the bar, right clicking it, and selecting “copy” (in our case, it’s Z:runmediammcblk0p1Diablo 4), then go to your desktop.

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Paste the location into the bar on top of the file browser (the Dolphin folder icon). Diablo 4Install the software. Install the Diablo 4 folder, scroll down a little, and you should see a file called “Diablo IV.exe,” right-click on it (or, again, as an alternative, you can tap the left trigger), and select “Add to Steam,” just like we did with the Battle.net installer.

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Now, head back over to the Steam app, and you’ll find that file (Diablo IV.exe) in your library. Like before, you’ll want to change the compatibility to “Proton Experimental” using the same steps we outlined earlier for the Battle.net installer.

Launch the application in Steam, and you’ll be taken through the steps of installing and logging into Battle.net again. Don’t worry — you didn’t mess up. After you complete the installation process, it will automatically detect that your system is already installed. Diablo 4.

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With all that done, press play, and it’ll launch Diablo 4. For future sessions, you can launch the game from the Steam Deck’s default view, called “gaming mode.” Just select “Play” once you’ve logged into Battle.net.

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Although the framerate may dip or stutter at times, Steam Deck manages Diablo 4It works pretty well. Currently, the biggest issue I’ve encountered is with using suspend mode on the Steam Deck. You will be disconnected from Steam Deck if you power off for more than a minute. Diablo 4 servers, and I haven’t found a way to reconnect without exiting the game altogether.

Make sure you have a good idea of what your Diablo 4If you want an icon that is more interesting than a plain box, you should visit the Steam Grid Database, which contains fan-made artwork you can use on your Deck.