Technologies

Will the Diablo IV Beta Run on Your PC?

Laptop, Mac or Steam Deck, here’s which computer platforms you can play Diablo IV on.

There are a couple of ways to play Diablo IV, the latest installment of Blizzard’s action RPG series. First, you could wait until June 6, 2023, when the game is due to launch on PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms. Or you could get early access through a public beta program running March 24-26, following an earlier invite-only beta that ran March 17 to 19.

Running the console versions should be straightforward, but if you’re a PC gamer and want to know if Diablo IV will run on your machine, you’ll need to check a long list of required and recommended hardware specs.

For a Windows-based gaming laptop or desktop, the official specs are as follows:

Minimum requirements

(720p resolution, low graphics settings, 30 frames per second.)

OS: 64-bit Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-8100
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R9 280
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: SSD with 45 GB available space
Internet: Broadband Connection

Recommended requirements

(1080p resolution, medium graphics settings, 60 frames per second.)

OS: 64-bit Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K or AMD R3-1300X
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 470
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: SSD with 45 GB available space
Internet: Broadband Connection

Pretty much any laptop with a discrete GPU from the past 10 years should be able to play the game, even if not at high resolutions and graphics settings. Because of the wide base of Diablo fans, the system requirements are on the lighter side, compared to some more intensive games, including Hogwarts Legacy.

As always with PC gaming, the spec recommendations may change over time, and you may have to experiment to get the best results. Note also that the final game may behave differently than the beta, which is an unfinished product.

Will Diablo IV run on a Mac?

Like most popular PC games, there is no Mac-native version of Diablo IV planned as of right now. The latest Apple Silicon chips also make it hard to dual-boot Windows in order to try Windows-only games.

But there are some potential options. If Diablo IV comes to a cloud gaming service such as Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Amazon Luna or Xbox Cloud Gaming, that would be one way to play on a MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini.

Read more: Best Cloud Gaming Services

No cloud support has been announced yet, but Microsoft, which is in the process of buying ActivisionBlizzard, recently announced a deal to bring more games to GeForce Now in general.

diablo-4-on-steam-deck — Dan Ackerman/CNET

Will Diablo IV run on a Steam Deck?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: Yes, but it’s a little complicated and takes a good amount of effort to get set up.

The basic steps are as follows:

Go to the Steam Deck desktop mode
Download Blizzard’s Battle.net installer
Add and run the installer as a «non-Steam» game from within the desktop version of Steam
Add the now-installed Battle.net app as a «non-Steam» game
Run the Battle.net app from within Steam, log in to Battle.net as usual
From there, you can run Battle.net to install Diablo IV, in either a Steam Deck desktop or SteamOS modes

That’s just the broad strokes for people already familiar with how Steam and SteamOS work. For a more specific step-by-step, this guide from overkill.wtf is one of the most detailed I’ve seen, including exact file paths you’ll need to map within Steam. Gaming on Linux also has an excellent detailed guide.

A few troubleshooting tips from my own experience: If the game either doesn’t start or starts without sound, you may need to force the game to use a specific version of Proton (which allows Windows games to play under the Linux-based Steam OS). Right click on the Steam library entry for Battle.net, and go to Properties > Compatibility and require the app to use the recently released GE-Proton 7-51-diablo_4_beta version, specifically tweaked for Diablo IV.

To get that specific Proton version, if you don’t already have it, go to the Discovery app on the Steam Deck desktop, which is like an app store. Search for ProtonUp Qt. Install and run that app, and from there find and install the special «7-51-diablo_4_beta» version.

I told you it’s complicated.

Once I’d done all that, Diablo IV ran pretty well on the Steam Deck for me. At low graphics settings and 1,200×800-pixel resolution, I hit 40 to 60 frames per second most of the time, with some occasional lag and stuttering. If the game is missing audio or the Steam Deck controls don’t work, you may need to double check the version of Proton Battle.net is using, restart the Steam Deck or reinstall Diablo IV. Some combination of those finally got everything working for me.

Game console reviews

See the latest CNET gaming coverage here.

Technologies

Resident Evil Requiem Revealed, but Where’s Leon Kennedy?

The Resident Evil 9 trailer showed off a new character, but not the much-rumored return of Leon.

After a fake-out earlier in Summer Game Fest on Friday, Resident Evil Requiem, or Resident Evil 9, was shown for the first time.

The new title is the first mainline entry since Capcom released Resident Evil Village in 2021, and is rumored to feature series stalwart Leon Kennedy. In the trailer, the only person we saw was a character named Grace Ashcroft, who works for the FBI and appears to have ties to Raccoon City.

For the most hardcore Resident Evil fans, the name Ashcroft will ring a bell. Alyssa Ashcroft was one of the survivors of the online-only title, Resident Evil Outbreak for the PS2. Alyssa was a journalist who was trapped in Raccoon City during the events of Resident Evil 2, and she, along with other survivors, had to escape the city before it was destroyed.

Grace is Alyssa’s daughter, and in the trailer, she is going to visit the Remwood Hotel, where Alyssa was murdered. Later in the trailer, images from what appears to be the remnants of a destroyed Raccoon City are shown — including the police department from RE2 — so it appears Resident Evil 9 will return to where the series started.

Leon’s (rumored) return is a big deal for the series, which has made some of its best games with him in the starring role. He first showed up as a rookie cop in Resident Evil 2, which built on the original game’s success with more story and improved monsters and level design.

He showed up again in Resident Evil 4, which took the series in a new direction by introducing an over-the-shoulder perspective, instead of the usual static camera angles and tank controls. Leon was also one of several playable protagonists in Resident Evil 6, a game that seemed to forget about its survival horror roots. We mostly don’t talk about that one.

But the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 was an excellent return to form, bringing RE4’s gameplay and much better graphics to a fan-favorite entry. The RE4 remake was a similar success.

Resident Evil Requiem is set to drop Feb. 27, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, but we’re hoping to get our hands on it this weekend. If you want to catch up on older Resident Evil games, Capcom is having a sale that includes basically all the games, including Village and the three remakes.

Technologies

The Switch 2 Is Here, and I’ve Scoured the Internet for Every Accessory Available Right Now

Technologies

T-Mobile’s Free Premium iPhone 16 Pro Deal Explained. Learn Exactly How It Works

Along with a free iPhone, you can get an extra $800 to pay off your old device.

If you’re starting a new cell phone plan, most major mobile carriers require a multiyear commitment so it’s a big decision you need to consider carefully. First, think about the plan and provider itself: What’s the best coverage in your area and how many lines do you want to add? Next, compare the best mobile phone plan deals to save yourself the most money

T-Mobile has some fantastic deals right now you can take advantage of that make it a pretty competitive pick — especially for Apple fans looking to upgrade.

T-Mobile’s incentives include free lines and streaming services but one huge highlight is the chance to snag the top-rated iPhone 16 Pro free. The language on some of these offers can be a little confusing so we’ve broken down how T-Mobile’s current deals work below. Note that there aren’t any set expirations for these offers so they could vanish at any moment. We wouldn’t wait too long if you’re hoping to take advantage of these savings.

Why these deals matter

You more or less need a phone with reliable coverage these days but costs can add up quickly. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your mobile device or shopping for the best family plans, these T-Mobile deals can help save you some serious cash each month.