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While it was never designed to run on Valve's portable gaming system, Diablo 4 does run surprisingly well on Steam Deck. That is, if players can install Blizzard's ARPG and run it on Linux without any issues. Thankfully, it's entirely possible and not as painful as most may imagine.
To think, it's possible to play what is considered the granddaddy of the ARPG genre on a handheld system anywhere in the world, and all it takes is a little setup. Let's go over how exactly to install Diablo 4 on the Steam Deck, how to run it without issues, and get the most from Valve's handheld and Blizzard's latest release.
Updated by Brandon Morgan on June 12th, 2023: Diablo 4 runs relatively smoothly at medium settings on the Steam Deck, especially when utilizing third-party software such as Lutris to download and install both the client and the game. However, some players find it difficult to run Lutris successfully, or they don't want yet another third-party app on their handheld, and that's fine. There is another method to install Diablo 4 on Steam Deck, and it's completely manual without much room for error in the process.
Installing Battle.net Using Lutris
The most significant challenge of running any non-Steam game on the Steam Deck is dealing with Linux. This especially reigns true regarding games that utilize a third-party launcher, like Battle.net. Thankfully, someone with more experience working with Linux than most designed a simple method to install and run third-party games on the handheld. The tool is known as Lutris, and it allows players to install Battle.net, and other clients, without much hassle.
To properly install Lutris, players must enter Desktop Mode on the Steam Deck. It's recommended to have a mouse and keyboard to navigate this section, though not a requirement.
- Launch the Steam Deck and open Desktop Mode (You can enter Desktop Mode by clicking the Steam button, navigating to Power, then selecting Desktop Mode).
- Navigate to the Discover icon on the taskbar, or locate it within All Apps if previously removed.
- Search up Lutris under the Games tab on the left-hand side.
- Begin the installation process with a single click.
With a single click of the installation button, Lutris will begin working in the background and be accessible via Desktop Mode. But that's not the end of the equation. Players will have to run Lutris once the installation is complete, and then open the software and click the plus icon in the top left corner of the program. From here, it's possible to search for Battle.net and then install the launcher with yet another click.
From there, follow the instructions during the Battle.net installation process. The Steam Deck is likely missing various dependencies, but the launcher will ask to install these beforehand. Go ahead and install any required files.
Lastly, once the installation is complete, launch Battle.net and log in. It's then possible to download Diablo 4. Adding Lutris to Steam is recommended as a non-Steam game for ease of use. Then, when in the Steam application, players can launch the game using the Steam Deck UI instead of switching to Desktop Mode.
Best Settings on Steam Deck
Diablo 4 is a beefy game, and, despite its overall power, the Steam Deck is somewhat lacking in the GPU department. It's important to tweak a few settings to ensure Diablo 4 runs well on the Steam Deck.
For the most part, with the recommended settings that we've detailed below, players can run Diablo 4 on Steam Deck at a relatively stable frame rate of 40 FPS, for the most part. It will fluctuate, and that's okay. Players should not experience any significant frame drops or lag.
- 40Hz Cap the Steam Deck Settings.
- 40 FPS Cap in Steam Deck Settings.
- In-game, change the overall graphics to the Medium Preset.
- Set the sharpness to 30-60, based on personal preference.
- AMD FSR 2.0 set to Quality.
- Distortion set to Off.
- Font Size set to Large.
- Cursor Size set to Medium.
- Low FX set to Off.
These settings should produce a stable game, though the battery life is as expected. Players should expect, at most, two hours of game time on the Steam Deck, which is honestly quite an achievement.
Installing Diablo 4 On Steam Deck Manually
Suppose the player finds it difficult to install and run Lutris. In that case, the other option is to install and play Diablo 4 on Steam Deck by manually installing the Battle.net client and game by adding both programs as non-Steam Games via the launcher.
- Hold down the Steam button on the lower left-hand side of the Steam Deck, then enter Desktop Mode.
- Open the web browser—Firefox is installed by default—and search for Battle.net, then download the application but do not install it yet.
- Once the Battle.net installation exe is downloaded, open Steam via Desktop Mode, then in the lower left-hand side, add a non-Steam Game to the launcher. From here, locate the Battle.net installation file, specifically the .exe, and add it to Steam.
- Next, open Steam and check the properties of the installation file to ensure it's set to Proton Experimental. If so, go ahead and run the installation file through Steam and finish the client installation.
- Once installation is complete, add the newly-installed Battle.net launcher to Steam as a non-Steam Game using the same method as before for the installation file. Then, run the launcher. It will ask players to log in, which can be cumbersome if 2FA is installed (it should be!), and from there, it's possible to install Diablo 4 using the touchscreen manually.
Once this step-by-step process is complete, switching back to the usual Steam Mode and running the launcher from there is okay. The player will need to launch and sign in to the Battle.net launcher each time they want to run Diablo 4, though it becomes easier with time to quickly get in-game using the touchscreen.