PAYDAY 2 came to Linux officially back in 2016 but as of today they've removed support for it, so it will no longer see updates on the Native Linux version.
They're also bringing the game to the Epic Games Store, although not exclusive, as it will remain on Steam and PAYDAY 3 will also be on Steam. As for why they're removing official Linux support they said this:
Note that Linux users will not receive this update or any following updates coming to PC. In addition, Linux players will be unable to matchmake with other PC clients following this update.
We tried to find a solution, but ultimately found it unfeasible due to the Linux version being on an older version of the PAYDAY 2 engine.
It does, however, still work quite well with the Windows version via Steam Play Proton on desktop Linux and is Steam Deck Verified against the Windows version in Proton. So while it's a loss of support for their Native build, it's still fully playable on Linux.
We've seen this a few times over the years, due to a mixture of reasons but the ultimate reason is pretty much the same as always — Linux and Steam Deck together hold a less than 2% user share on Steam. For many developers, right now, it's not worth the extra overhead to continue Native support until there's more of a market.
Quoting: JordanPlayz158I honestly don't know what happened, Epic Games used to be one of the more pro Linux development studios. Up until Unreal Tournament 2004, they'd have Linux clients. Then the debacle of Unreal Tournament III... Granted their naming for those are as horrible as Windows versions...Quoting: GuestQuoting: DrMcCoyInstead, you need to make portability a feature of your code outright, you need to make the same single codebase run on all the individual platforms. No forks, just one portable repository that can run everywhere. That's not new knowledge either, we've known that for decades!
Proton totally nuked this concept.
There is only one platform for personal computer gaming and it's DirectX.
Even Apple gave up dedicated ports, they went fully Wine.Quoting: slaapliedjeHonestly, this is likely a coincidence but it is funny, literally yesterday Epic Games gives away PAYDAY 2 for free and on that same day, Linux support is droppedQuoting: GroganI don't sympathize at all, moreover, these "corporations" are adversaries to me. They hate their customers and don't deserve to have any.Pretty much. It is far worse in my mind to say you are going to support a port, and then drop support while still updating the other platforms, than it is to never support Linux in the first place.
You put something out, that people bought in good faith and are still using, you bloody well fix it. You don't just say "too bad, we're adding new shitware to our game and have decided to exclude you"
I'll just make sure to not buy anything from them later. Granted I never got around to playing Payback 2...
Quoting: TurkeysteaksVery disappointed with this to be honest. Payday 2 was one of the first games I was amazed to have linux support, I played it so much at that point.
I understand their reasoning, though in my opinion it doesn't bode well for Payday 3.
Let's be honest Linux native games outside of indie games are dead it's going to be proton or you don't get to play from now on. Thankfully the steam deck success could change that but as long as valve are fitting the bill for dxvk vulkan and proton. Native triple a games are a thing of the past. Now that feral are dead on Linux
Quoting: Mountain ManSeems a lot of developers are counting on Proton to give them zero effort access to the Linux market. The good news is that Proton works extremely well. The bad news is... hmmm... Is there bad news? I'm not sure.
It does rely on steam continued support for proton dxvk and vulkan as well as continued funding for Mesa. Now at the minute the steam deck has been a success thank god but much like Google valve has form for getting bored and dropping projects see steam controller steam link and steam boxes
Quoting: Whitewolfe80Native triple a games are a thing of the past.Were native triple A games ever really a thing of the present?
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 10 June 2023 at 4:30 pm UTC
Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: Whitewolfe80Native triple a games are a thing of the past.Were native triple A games every really a thing of the present?
Not regularly, but a few did happen. I don't know if Total War counts as triple A, but Half-Life (Alyx) sure does.
Last edited by Eike on 10 June 2023 at 9:41 am UTC
Quoting: Eike[...]but Half-Life (Alyx) sure does.Are you sure? On the Steam store I do not see the Linux icon or the minimum requirements for Linux

https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/
Quoting: stormtuxQuoting: Eike[...]but Half-Life (Alyx) sure does.Are you sure? On the Steam store I do not see the Linux icon or the minimum requirements for Linux.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/
Oops!
I'm quite sure people played through it natively, but I'm very surprised that it doesn't have the icon!
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2020/05/half-life-alyx-now-available-on-linux-with-vulkan/
Maybe it is available but not officially supported? There is a Linux depot in steamdb:
https://steamdb.info/app/546560/depots/
Quoting: EikeIt's weird. It has a native build (there's a depot), and it did have the Linux iconQuoting: stormtuxQuoting: Eike[...]but Half-Life (Alyx) sure does.Are you sure? On the Steam store I do not see the Linux icon or the minimum requirements for Linux.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/
Oops!
I'm quite sure people played through it natively, but I'm very surprised that it doesn't have the icon!
QuoteChangelist #8453284but I can't see where they've removed it, and it doesn't show in the store now. Interestingly, although "Steam Deck does not support VR games," they've picked the Windows build through Proton as the one that will be downloaded on the Deck (recommended_runtime: Proton-stable).
3 years ago · 15 May 2020 – 20:29:35 UTC
Added oslist – windows,linux
It also doesn't seem to be an automatic override from being "VR required;" the VR-only builds of Talos Principle and Serious Sam list Linux support on the store page.
Last edited by CatKiller on 10 June 2023 at 3:56 pm UTC
Last edited by lejimster on 10 June 2023 at 4:08 pm UTC
See more from me