How to Install and Play Wuthering Waves on Steam Deck

Wuthering Waves has made significant waves in the gacha gaming landscape, establishing itself as a top-tier title currently available. While accessible on Android, iOS, and Windows platforms with Epic Games partnership, the game remains unavailable through Steam’s official store. The built-in anti-cheat system previously prevented Steam Deck compatibility, but version 1.1’s recent release has enabled full support for SteamOS and Steam Deck hardware. This comprehensive guide walks you through the complete installation and optimization process.

Since the game isn’t officially distributed through Steam, you’ll need to obtain the standalone Windows installer and utilize Steam’s “Add a non-Steam game” functionality. For optimal performance, we strongly recommend installing on an SSD rather than microSD storage, which can reduce load times by 40-60% and prevent stuttering during intensive combat sequences.

Begin by launching Steam within Desktop Mode and navigating to the Add a game option, then selecting Add a non-Steam game from the dropdown menu. This establishes the framework for integrating Wuthering Waves into your Steam library.

Open a web browser on your Steam Deck and visit the official Wuthering Waves website. Locate the download section and click on the Windows platform tile to initiate the WutheringWaves.exe file download. The download typically takes 15-25 minutes depending on your internet connection speed.

With Wuthering Waves successfully added to your Steam library, access the game’s properties by right-clicking on its entry. Navigate to the Compatibility tab and enable the “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool” option. For optimal performance, select Proton Experimental as your compatibility layer, as it provides the most current fixes and optimizations for gaming performance.

Return to Gaming Mode and locate Wuthering Waves in your Steam library. Click Install when prompted—this process installs necessary Proton dependencies and prepares the gaming environment. The initial setup typically requires 5-10 minutes depending on your Steam Deck’s storage speed.

Once installation completes, click Start to launch the Wuthering Waves installer. The game will begin downloading additional content—this process typically requires 30-45 minutes and approximately 20GB of data. Ensure your Steam Deck is connected to power during this extended download period.

After the game finishes downloading, you’ll encounter the Wuthering Waves launcher. Click the folder icon to access the installation directory—this step is crucial for proper game file management and future updates.

Locate the Wuthering Waves launcher within the file browser, then copy the complete file path location for configuration in Steam.

Return to Steam’s game properties and paste the executable path into the target field. This ensures Steam properly launches the game through the correct Proton compatibility layer.

Access the Compatibility section again and verify Proton Experimental remains selected. For users experiencing performance issues, Proton 8.0-4 provides a more stable though slightly less optimized alternative.

Finally, click Play to launch Wuthering Waves on your Steam Deck. The game should initialize properly and be ready for gameplay configuration and controller setup.

No reproduction without permission：Tsp Game Club » How to Install and Play Wuthering Waves on Steam Deck Complete guide to installing and optimizing Wuthering Waves on Steam Deck with performance tips