Best Free Alternatives to Battle.net

Stop paying Free. Discover professional-grade tools that won't break your budget.

Category: Gaming LauncherVerified for 2025

Top Recommended Replacements

Steam

FREE

Best Native Alternative

Why we like it

You can now play Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, and COD directly on Steam; gain access to Steam Input (controller mapping), Shader Caching (smoother gameplay), and the Steam Deck's native interface without tinkering.

Keep in mind

Some games (like COD) still launch a 'thin' version of the Battle.net client in the background; you must rebuy games if you own them on Bnet.

Try Steam

Lutris

Best for Linux / Steam Deck

Why we like it

The engine that powers Blizzard games on Linux; its community install scripts automatically configure the specific Wine dependencies needed to run World of Warcraft or Starcraft II smoothly on non-Windows machines.

Keep in mind

Interface is utilitarian; requires occasional manual tweaking when Blizzard pushes a launcher update that breaks Linux compatibility.

Try Lutris

Heroic Games Launcher

Best Universal Launcher

Why we like it

While famous for Epic/GOG, Heroic now supports sideloading other launchers; it provides a much cleaner, ad-free interface to manage your Wine prefixes than raw Lutris; actively updated for 2025.

Keep in mind

Battle.net support is less 'native' than its Epic support (it essentially wraps the Bnet installer).

Try Heroic Games Launcher

Xbox App (Game Pass)

Best Value

Why we like it

The new home for Activision/Blizzard titles; play the latest Call of Duty or Diablo on Day 1 with your Game Pass subscription ($10-$17/mo) instead of paying $70 on Battle.net.

Keep in mind

The Xbox Windows app is notoriously buggy compared to Steam or Battle.net.

Try Xbox App (Game Pass)

Playnite

Best Library Manager

Why we like it

Combines your Battle.net, Steam, Epic, and console libraries into one beautiful fullscreen interface; allows you to launch Bnet games without ever seeing the Bnet advertisements.

Keep in mind

It still needs Battle.net installed in the background to function.

Try Playnite

Bottles

Best for Sandboxing

Why we like it

A modern, containerized way to run Windows apps on Linux; keeps your Battle.net installation completely isolated from your system files; easier to 'rollback' if an update breaks the game.

Keep in mind

Steeper learning curve than Lutris for beginners.

Try Bottles

NonSteamLaunchers

Best Steam Deck Tool

Why we like it

A script specifically for Steam Deck users; installs Battle.net, automatically adds it to your Steam Library, and sets up the Proton compatibility layer in one click.

Keep in mind

No graphical interface (it's a script you run once).

Try NonSteamLaunchers

Need more options?

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