How to install the Diablo IV Beta on Steam Deck

Here is how you can play the Diablo IV open beta on Steam Deck without the „No GPU“ error, including a guide for installing Battle.net on SteamOS.

Update: The public beta will take place between March 24th and 26th, but you can preinstall it now! Valve has also released a new version of Proton Experimental dedicated to Diablo IV.

In a few months (on June 6th), we'll all be able to return to Sanctuary thanks to the release of Diablo IV.

However, if you can't wait you can also preorder the game and get early access to the closed beta — taking place from March 17th to 19th, with a public open beta following a few days later between March 24th and 26th.

But can you play this Diablo IV early access beta on Steam Deck? The short answer is "yes", though the process is a bit more involved — because although Diablo IV only officially supports Windows, thanks to the magic of Proton we can make it run on Steam Deck.

Also, GloriousEggroll has been working overtime and released an update to GE-Proton specifically targeting the Diablo IV beta. Pick GE-Proton7-51 for the best experience, but more on that below.

Because first, we need to install the Battle.net launcher on SteamOS. For this process, I suggest you hook up a mouse and keyboard to your Steam Deck, or alternatively install Steam Link on your PC and use it to remotely connect to your Deck.

How to install Battle.net on Steam Deck and SteamOS

1. On your Steam Deck, go to desktop mode. Click the Steam button, go down to Power, and then Switch to Desktop. Wait for your Deck to reboot.
2. Next, open up the browser of your choice, go to the Blizzard download page (or just search for it on Google), and download the Windows installer.
3. Next, we need to add the downloaded .exe file to Steam. Open up desktop Steam, go to Library, and at the bottom left corner, click on the plus sign, then Add a Non-Steam Game.... Navigate to your downloads folder by clicking on Browse, and then go to home/deck/Downloads and add the Battle.net installer file to Steam. Don't forget to show All Files under File type: if you can't find the installer.
4. Now, navigate to the newly added entry in your Steam Library. It should be called something along the lines of Battle.net-Setup.exe. Don't launch it yet, but instead click on the cog wheel icon, then Properties... and under Compatibility, toggle the Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool option. Choose GE-Proton 7.51 or Proton Experimental. Follow our guide here to learn how to install GE-Proton.
5. Now hit Play to launch the installer, follow the different steps, and wait until it's done. When the installation process is done, you can remove the Battle.net-Setup.exe from Steam again. Right-click it, go to Manage, then Remove non-Steam game from your library.
6. Next, we want to add the installed launcher to Steam. In Desktop Steam,  go to Library, and at the bottom left corner, click on the plus sign, then Add a Non-Steam Game.... Now we need to look for the file. Click on Browse and navigate to the following folder by going through the folder structure: home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/.  Don't forget to show All Files under File type: if you can't find the installer.
7. Here you need to search for the latest added folder under DATE MODIFIED. It should be a 10-character long number. Open it, and go to the following folder: pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Battle.net. Here select the Battle.net Launcher.exe file. Add this one to Steam. If you can't see it, be sure you have All Files selected under File type:.
8. Don't launch it yet, but instead click on the cog wheel icon, then Properties... and under Compatibility, toggle the Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool option, like we did in step four.
9. Phew! We're finally done. Launch Battle.net now. If you want to customize the artwork, I propose you check out the following guide, but don't forget to rename the non-Steam game we've added.

If you want to install games on the microSD instead of internally, we need to do one more thing, so stay on the SteamOS Desktop

How to install Battle.net games on the Steam Deck microSD card

1. Go to the launcher we've just added in the guide above, click on the cog wheel icon, then Properties... and add the following under LAUNCH OPTIONS: STEAM_COMPAT_MOUNTS=/run/media/mmcblk0p1/ %command%
2. Next, open up Dolphin, which is your file explorer and navigate to your microSD card. Here, you can now create a folder for your Battle.net games.
3. Now, when you launch Battle.net and plan to install a game, don't forget to change the Install Location that Battle.net proposes. There will be several drive letters, just look for the one with the newly created folder. In my case, it was drive E:. Now install all the games you want.

Ok, we've got everything up and running — now it's time to install the Diablo IV beta for a little bit of portable action from lauds to vespers.

How to install and run the Diablo IV Beta on Steam Deck

1. If you followed the Battle.net guide above, you now need to start the Battle.net app, and navigate to the Diablo IV Beta install page.
2. Download the game, and don't forget to change your path if you want to install it on microSD card.
3. If you can't see the beta, be sure to change the version from Diablo IV to Diablo IV beta.
4. It is important that you pick GE-Proton 7.51-Beta. I could not get any other version but that one to work!
5. When you start the game for the first time, it'll tell you it can't find a GPU. You can safely ignore that error message. However, if you can't even get into the game due to the "No GPU" bug, be sure you chose GE-Proton 7.51-Beta (or Proton Experimental after updating) as the compatibility layer for Battle.net.
6. While queueing, touch the D-Pad for the game to recognize the Steam Deck‘s controller.

That's it. We have Diablo IV running on the Steam Deck. Enjoy the beta! Or should I say the waiting queue, as we currently need to wait over 100 minutes for a spot.

Here's how the game runs on Steam Deck:

How does Diablo IV beta run on Steam Deck? Best Settings

These are the best settings for the preorder of Diablo IV beta on Steam Deck and SteamOS.

overkill.wtfKevin Wammer