You probably already know this, but to enjoy The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in 2025 under good conditions without spending hours installing complicated mods, people use OpenMW:

Introduction on Wikipedia: What is OpenMW? [en.wikipedia.org]

Latest releases on GitHub: I want to download OpenMW! [github.com]

OpenMW is a free and modern engine that allows you to play Morrowind much more comfortably: better compatibility, stability, modern support, etc.

I won’t go into detail here on how to install or configure OpenMW (the official documentation is very clear and accessible).
What interests us here is how to link OpenMW to Steam in order to:

Track your playtime on your Steam profile,

Enjoy the overlay (screenshots, chats, etc.),

Launch the game directly from Steam, while using the OpenMW engine.

The problem
If you only use the OpenMW launcher, Steam won’t detect that you’re playing Morrowind. No overlay, no easy screenshots, and your playtime won’t be recorded.

Some people used to launch both OpenMW and the Steam launcher for Morrowind... but there is a simpler way!

You just need to modify the launch options on Steam:

In your Steam library, right-click on Morrowind → Properties.

In the Launch Options section, paste this line:

"C:\Program Files\OpenMW 0.49.0\openmw.exe" %command%

⚠️ Obviously, adjust the path to where your openmw.exe file is located.

And that’s it!

From now on, when you launch Morrowind from Steam, OpenMW will start. You’ll have the Steam overlay, your playtime will be tracked, and you can capture your adventures in Vvardenfell with a single click.

Enjoy your (yet another?) adventure in the Lands of Morrowind… or maybe your very first one!

Don’t forget to rate this guide, and for those who tried it, feel free to leave a short comment to let us know if it worked for you!