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Overwatch 2 with Season 20 has some very annoying crash-bugs on Linux / SteamOS

By - [updated]
Last updated: 10 Dec 2025 at 8:42 am UTC

Update 10/12/25 08:42 AM UTC - Blizzard actually fixed it directly in the game. Really great to see actual direct support like this. From the Overwatch forum from developer Bee:

Hi all, apologies for this issue. We have released a patch that we believe resolves this crash. Thanks!


Original article below:

Overwatch 2 has launched the big Season 20 update but unfortunately for Linux / SteamOS fans, it comes with some really annoying crash bugs.

Such is the way with live-service type games, where Linux clearly isn't a tested platform before updates are rolled out. Something that may cause issues over time with Valve's new upcoming Steam Machine. However, as long as you don't do a few things you should be okay. The issue is that certain menu interactions will just completely crash the game. We'll have to wait for Valve developers to get a fix into Proton for the game to work properly again.

From the bug report on Valve's Proton GitHub the game will crash and quit if you do any of these:

  • Open the chat and close it or press enter with it open (confirmed myself).
  • Clicking on a prestige tier in the new battle pass (confirmed myself).
  • Potentially pressing ESC during a match (didn't happen for me).
  • Clicking around in the Missions section of the menu.

So, stay off the chat entirely during matches and you should still be able to play. As annoying as that may be. I've played quite a few rounds and it will reliably crash if you try to interact with the chat box. There's also posts on the Steam forum about it crashing on Linux PCs and Steam Deck too.

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Hopefully we'll see a fix soon!

Overwatch 2
Platform: Proton / Wine

Official links:

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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4 comments Subscribe

Calinou 14 hours ago
So, stay off the chat entirely during matches and you should still be able to play.
Blizzard accidentally implemented a solution to toxicity in chat, but only Proton users may benefit from it. :P
greasefang 14 hours ago
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Someone apparently fixed it by putting
 [Overwatch.exe] dxvk.hud = compiler 
https://old.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1pijkf8/overwatch_2_season_20_crashing/ in their dxvk.conf
shimmy 5 hours ago
Does anyone if it happens on DX11/DXVK only or is DX12/VKD3D impacted too? I've been playing on it for months and it's been really good, but I haven't run Season 20 yet.
pazzoeo 3 hours ago
Wait. Is it the same bug I've been having for months, where every time the mouse cursor appeared/disappeared, the game had a random chance to crash? I posted about it on Reddit a few days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/s/oTYhDYeb1p

It's been absolutely driving me crazy, I can't wait to get home and see if that's actually it
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