World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is a refreshing take on a nearly twenty-year-old title. From dynamic Dragonriding to its chaotic world events, WoW’s newest expansion keeps drawing us all in for more. So much so, that you’ve likely been eyeing your Steam Deck, wondering if you could take your dragon with you wherever you go.
Can You Play World of Warcraft on a Steam Deck
Yes, you can play World of Warcraft: Dragonflight on a Steam Deck, but it’s not as easy as simply launching the game. There are a number of steps involved in the initial installation due to the game’s exclusivity to the Battle.net Desktop App. Once installed, however, the game can simply be opened via Steam.
How to Play World of Warcraft on a Steam Deck
To play World of Warcraft on a Steam Deck, follow these steps:
Battle.net Desktop App Installation
- Enter Switch to Desktop mode by holding down the Steam Deck’s Power Button
- Install Proton GE, software that allows the Steam Deck to run non-native games
- Download the Battle.net Desktop App
- Open your Steam Library and select Add a Game, then Non-Steam Game
- Select /home/deck and go to Downloads (or the location you downloaded Battle.net Desktop App to)
- Select Battle.net Setup.exe. You may need to select All Files to be able to see this
- Select Properties, and then Compatability
- Use Proton to Force the Use of a Specific Steam Play Compatability Tool
- Launch Battle.net Setup.exe and log in
- Close Battle.net and remove it from your list of Steam Games, if you wish
Game Installation
- Select the folder icon
- Open the menu with three horizontal lines in the top right corner
- Select Show Hidden Files
- Open Steam and add Battle.net.exe to your list of games. It should be under /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata > Pfx > Drive_c > Program Files (x86)
- Right-click Battle.net and go to Properties, as you did in the first step
- Use Proton to Force the Use of a Specific Steam Play Compatability Tool
- Launch Battle.net via Steam
- Install World of Warcraft
Once successfully installed, we recommend using the Battle.net Desktop App to play World of Warcraft: Dragonflight every time, as the game regularly needs updating, and using the app will automatically log you into the game.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is available now for PC
