How to Play Genshin Impact on Steam Deck

Franklin Bellone Borges

and

Gordon Bicker

Published: Nov 2, 2023 06:03 am

Genshin Impact has been a mainstay for years and there is always fresh content from time to time added in for everyone. However, some may also want to switch their play area sometimes and the Steam Deck is perfect for that.

How to Install and Play Genshin Impact on Your Steam Deck

After heading to the game’s site and downloading the Installer for its PC version while in Desktop Mode, you will be able to install Genshin Impact on your Steam Deck. First, right-click on the Installer and then select Add to Steam. You can also add the file to your Steam Library by opening it, heading to Add a Game, and selecting Add a Non-Steam Game before selecting the file.

After adding the file to your library, select it, and then head to the Properties before heading to Compatibility and turning on the ‘Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool’ option. After doing that, just select Play and then Install the game as you were on a PC. In order to make the process as smooth as possible, make sure not to enter Gaming Mode during the installation and updating process.

How-to-unlock-the-underground-Court-of-Fontaine-Teleport-Waypoint-in-Genshin-Impact — Image: Attack of the Fanboy

I find this next part the most tricky out of everything but when it’s done you will be ready. Once Genshin Impact is fully installed on your Steam Deck, you will be able to play it by first heading to the place where the game’s launcher is. You will be able to find the location by heading to Home, Deck, and then selecting “Show Hidden Files” before heading to .Steam, and then to the steamapps folder.

After opening steamapps, just head to compatdata, and then to Genshin Impact game, where you will be able to find the game’s launcher. Once you spot the launcher, just add it to your Steam Library —you can do that in the same way you added the installer a few steps back.

After successfully adding the launcher to your library, you will be able to play the game by selecting it from your list, heading to Properties, renaming the entry to Genshin Impact, and selecting it in Gaming Mode.

Is it Worth Playing Genshin Impact on Steam Deck?

Genshin-Impact-Fontaine — Image: Attack of the Fanboy

Yes, absolutely, I personally would say that it is highly worthwhile to try out Genshin Impact on the Steam Deck if you just want to relax away from your desk (or couch) and be in bed or in the kitchen, etc while playing Genshin. There is no main downside to playing the game on Steam Deck so you can happily do so without worry.

Now that you know how to set up Genshin Impact on the Steam Deck, you can properly try this out and see if it’s something you thoroughly enjoy.

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Author

Franklin Bellone Borges

Franklin is a writer and journalist. A video game fanatic with more than 3 years of experience, his work can also be seen on sites such as The Click, Games Atlas, and Try Hard Guides. When not writing, he is most likely making his wallet cry while playing Gacha Games or ending the reign of the Crystals in Final Fantasy XVI.

Author

Gordon Bicker

Gordon is a contributing writer for Attack of the Fanboy, a Games Design (BA) Honours student, and a Video Game Ambassador. He has been writing at AOTF for over a year and a half, with four years of games writing experience for outlets like Green Man Gaming. When he's not busy, he'll no doubt be experiencing games, writing poetry, playing guitar, adventuring, or happily starting a new Skyrim playthrough! As an avid Final Fantasy XIV player, he also hopes that you'll gain a warm feeling from his community stories. Gordon has reported on Fallout 4 and Destiny 2, whose favorite genres include action RPGs, MMORPG's and First Person Shooters but is always experimenting with many other types of games.