How to play Overwatch 2 on Steam Deck? Recommended settings and more

Overwatch 2 is the latest release in the world of AAA video game titles. The much-anticipated sequel to 2016's hero-shooter experience is free-to-play and includes many fresh features that fans will enjoy.

One can download the game from Blizzard's official website for all major platforms, including PCs and consoles. Users who have gotten their hands on the powerful Linux-based Steam Deck are also eligible to participate in Overwatch 2, owing to the absence of a kernel-based anti-cheat software integration in the game.

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How to set up Battle.net to download Overwatch 2 on Steam Deck?

The revamped five-versus-five competitive hero-based game is playable on Valve's celebrated handheld device without any special clauses. However, one needs to go the extra mile to set things up.

Overwatch 2 is available via the Battle.net launcher, which needs to be added as a non-Steam game to your Steam profile on the Deck. To install the launcher, you'll require Proton 7.0-2, which lets players run Windows games on Deck and Linux-based systems.

Follow these steps to play the just-launched hero-shooter on Steam Deck:

1. Switch to Desktop Mode on your Steam Deck.
2. Launch Blizzard's website and download the Battle.net launcher on your Deck.
3. Open Steam and choose the option to 'Add a non-steam game to my library.'
4. Navigate to the Downloads folder and locate the Battle.net.exe file. Select the program and choose the option to 'Add selected programs.'
5. Once done, open your Steam Library, locate the .exe file, and right-click on it. Select Properties and then Compatibility. Lastly, select 'Force use of Specific Steam Play Compatibility Tool.'
6. Choose 'Proton Experimental' or 'GE-Proton7-10.'
7. Complete the setup process by following the instructions.
8. Now, choose the option to 'Add a non-steam game to my library' again.
9. Locate the compatdata folder in /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps.
10. Find the PFX folder in the most recently modified folder and open it.
11. Navigate to the pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Battle.net location, and you'll find the Battle.net launcher.
12. Add it to your library. Open the launcher to download Overwatch 2.

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The best settings for Overwatch 2 on Steam Deck

Steam Deck is capable of running Overwatch 2 at 60 FPS with a few frame drops during combat. To tweak the graphics and video settings, head over to Menu > Options. Under the Video tab, one will find three sub-tabs: Video, Graphics Quality, and Details.

Here are the video settings that one can use in the game for the best experience on Valve's handheld device:

Video

• DISPLAY MODE: FULLSCREEN
• TARGET DISPLAY: BEST MATCH
• RESOLUTION: 1280x800 (60)
• FIELD OF VIEW: 103
• ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
• DYNAMIC RENDER SCALE: ON
• RENDER SCALE: AUTOMATIC
• FRAMERATE: AUTOMATIC
• VSYNC: OFF
• TRIPLE BUFFERING: OFF
• REDUCED BUFFERING: OFF
• GAMMA CORRECTION: 2.20
• CONTRAST: 1.00
• BRIGHTNESS: 1.00

Graphics Quality

• GRAPHICS QUALITY: MEDIUM (Set it to LOW if you experience frame drops)
• HIGH QUALITY UPSAMPLING: DEFAULT
• TEXTURE QUALITY: LOW (Can set it to HIGH if graphics quality is LOW)
• TEXTURE FILTERING QUALITY: MEDIUM - 2X (Lower it if frame drops)
• LOCAL FOG DETAIL: MEDIUM
• DYNAMIC REFLECTIONS: OFF
• SHADOW DETAIL: LOW
• MODEL DETAIL: MEDIUM
• EFFECTS DETAIL: LOW
• LIGHTING QUALITY: MEDIUM
• ANTIALIAS QUALITY: LOW - FXAA
• REFRACTION QUALITY: MEDIUM
• SCREENSHOT QUALITY: 1 X RESOLUTION
• AMBIENT OCCLUSION: LOW
• LOCAL REFLECTIONS: ON
• DAMAGE FX: DEFAULT

Details

Here, one can enable the option to display details like framerate, VRAM usage, and other system details to monitor data while in-game.

All other options can be kept to default or tweaked as required. Such changes will not affect Overwatch 2's performance on Steam Deck.