I got Morrowind working on Steam Deck — here's the best way to do it (2024)

The year is 2002. I'm 9, and two of the most important games of my life are released — Medieval: Total War and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

Both of those games were my first introduction to two epic franchises, and had tremendous impacts upon my gaming life, defining the games I would primarily go on to play for the next two (plus change) decades, as well as the gaming platforms I invested in. I was already into strategy gaming thanks to Age of Empires II, but that first Total War started me down the path of grand strategy, something solidified by release of Rome: Total War, two years later.

Morrowind is the game that set the benchmark in my young mind for what an RPG should be: open world, vast in scale and rich in storyline, full of danger, combat, weapons and armor. And interestingly, while I find it very difficult to play Medieval: Total War now due to its age and simplicity versus newer franchise entries, I have never stopped returning to Morrowind. The opening sequence and waking up on the ship still gives me goosebumps every time, and I always find new things each time I play, even after all these years.

This weekend, I feel like returning to Vvardenfell once more, for some grand and intoxicating fun. But I'm also away visiting a friend. Is it possible to get Morrowind running on Linux so I can play on my Steam Deck?

Morrowind on Linux: OpenMW

The great thing about Morrowind is that it had such an impact and created such a legacy, that people still play it today. But not only do they play it, they still pour love into it. That means investing time and dedication into modding, but also into just getting the game to work on modern hardware. The latter isn't as straightforward as you might think, and Morrowind runs like crap on modern hardware without the right engine additions and tweaks.

Thankfully, the aforementioned dedicated Morrowind community has created numerous tools to keep the game alive and thriving to this day. As such, it's no surprise to me that Morrowind will run just fine on Steam Deck.

There are a few ways to get Morrowind running on Steam Deck. But the one I chose to use was OpenMW. If you're a Morrowind player, that name will likely be very familiar to you. It's the engine replacement package that many players use to get the game working at its best on PC, and is required for many mods to work. OpenMW's creators also have a version for SteamOS — not only does this run the game perfectly at decent frame rates, but it also allows mods to be used too!

The process of installing OpenMW and using it to play Morrowind on Steam Deck is relatively straightforward, but takes some poking around in Desktop Mode and a couple of steps that wouldn't be obvious unless you knew already. So, I thought I'd put together a guide in case you want to do the same.

How to play Morrowind on Steam Deck

Before we start, you'll need to install a copy of Morrowind on your Steam Deck. Even though it won't run without the OpenMW (or similar) engine, you can still install it just fine on Steam Deck.

Now Outlander, all there's left to do is simply enjoy Morrowind! Check your frame rates with our guide on how to enable the performance overlay on Steam Deck. Capture your fight against Dagoth Ur by learning how to take a screenshot on Steam Deck. And if you need some more space before you can install Morrowind or OpenMW, find out how to format an SD card on Steam Deck.