Playing World of Warcraft on Your Steam Deck: A Guide

The wait is finally over for fans of Blizzard's iconic MMORPG, World of Warcraft. With the recent release of the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming console that runs Linux-based SteamOS, gamers can now enjoy their favorite games, including WoW, on-the-go. But before you start exploring the vast virtual world of Azeroth, let's dive into what it takes to get World of Warcraft up and running on your new Steam Deck.

Is It Possible?

Yes, it is! However, as hinted by our title phrase 'Steam deck World of WarCraft,' getting WoW to work on a Steam Deck requires some technical know-how. You won't be able to simply boot up the game from the Steam store or launchpad; instead, you'll need to get creative and take matters into your own hands.

The Current State

As an avid gamer who currently plays World of Warcraft on a private server, I recently acquired six Steam Decks (yes, it's a lot!) with plans to run Linux and start playing WoW from my new handheld console. It won't be as straightforward as installing the game through Steam or Blizzard's Battle.net client.

What You'll Need

To get World of Warcraft up and running on your Steam Deck:

1. SteamOS: Make sure you have a working installation of SteamOS, which is based on Linux.

2. Proton: This compatibility layer will help run Windows games, including WoW, on your Steam Deck's Linux environment.

3. World of Warcraft Client: You'll need to download the game client from Blizzard or obtain it through other means (e.g., private servers).

The Process

1. Install Proton by following these steps: `sudo flatpak install com.valvesoftware.proton`

2. Configure your Steam Deck's graphics settings for optimal performance.

3. Extract the World of Warcraft installation files to a directory on your Linux system.

4. Run WoW using Proton with commands like `/path/to/wow.exe` or by creating an executable script.

While it may require some technical elbow grease, playing World of Warcraft on your Steam Deck is definitely possible. With these steps and the right tools in place, you'll be exploring Azeroth's vast landscapes from anywhere, at any time – a true gamer's dream come true!

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