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Sad news today Linux gamers, Psyonix emailed us directly to make sure we saw the news that they're officially ending support of Rocket League on Linux and macOS.

Their published statement on this was quite short and didn't really explain much:

As we continue to upgrade Rocket League with new technologies, it is no longer viable for us to maintain support for the macOS and Linux (SteamOS) platforms. As a result, the final patch for the macOS and Linux versions of the game will be in March. This update will disable online functionality (such as in-game purchases) for players on macOS and Linux, but offline features including Local Matches, and splitscreen play will still be accessible.

If you purchased Rocket League for Mac or Linux on Steam, the game will still work with full functionality when installed and played on a computer running Windows 7 or newer.

So the Linux and macOS versions will still be there, but left old and online play will be disabled. Not good. Not good at all and as a huge Rocket League fan I'm not pleased—annoyed you might say.

This "new technologies" bit was interesting, perhaps they've decided to go DirectX 12 with an Unreal Engine upgrade? At this point we can only speculate with so little information. In the expanded support page, for Linux they mentioned playing Rocket League with Steam Play Proton is possible although they will not be supporting it.

When Psyonix became part of Epic Games back in May last year, many speculated that Rocket League would not only drop Linux support but also leave Steam. I didn't think either would happen but here we are, Psyonix has still never said they will continue to sell the game on Steam only that it would see "continued support". Originally, I thought meant it would go free to play, but with this move it seems a little more likely it will move over to the Epic Store which doesn't support Linux.


Update: Psyonix are now suggesting to request a refund from them on their support portal.

Update 2 - 24/01: Psyonix are now telling us "macOS and Linux players can reach out directly to Steam to request refunds and they will be honored. In these cases, Steam will make an exception to their 2 hours limit rule.". Their own support ticket team are now also saying to ask Steam for the refund, although Valve has denied my own refund twice.

In situations like this, Valve ideally need a better support system in place or at least an option of platform removal to get around the usual way. As we end up going in circles.

Update 3: After making their PR team aware what was going on with the refund situation, they've now released a statement on Reddit. Refunds will be accepted on Steam now, plus they gave the reason behind removing Linux and macOS support.

It's what I suspected as written above, they're upgrading to a higher version of Direct X which is a problem as the "macOS and Linux native clients depend on our DX9 implementation for their OpenGL renderer to function" and they're not willing to put resources into Vulkan/Metal for Linux/macOS when the combined player-base was apparently "0.3%" of the active total and when "viable workarounds exist" with Wine being mentioned.


They could have gone for Vulkan though to get Windows + Linux (and Stadia) and possibly even macOS with MoltenVK. It's a shame another company decided to stick with a proprietary API. That said, it may not have been possible if they're on quite an old version of Unreal Engine.

If you do get a refund for it, be sure you use that Steam Wallet funding for a developer that does support Linux. Make it count.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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226 comments
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GustyGhost Jan 25, 2020
Quoting: CyrilNot to mention the reason behind all of that... a newer version of DirectX, really?

That is the entire purpose of the existence of DirectX, to tax development against any other platform. The strategy is working brilliantly as evidenced by Psyonix's decision and countless other games, studios and projects which have fallen for the bait over the decades.
NovenTheHero Jan 25, 2020
I tried to get a refund and it was rejected.
Cyril Jan 25, 2020
The "Get money from Linux users, remove Linux release, refuse to refund" is the new "Sorry we won't support Linux after all (in KS campaign...)" :)
lod Jan 25, 2020
Quoting: Cyril... this is indeed terrible for us and for Apple users...

Well, they have to drop it anyways for apple users. Because macOS Catalina will not support 32bit software anymore.
Cyril Jan 25, 2020
Quoting: lod
Quoting: Cyril... this is indeed terrible for us and for Apple users...

Well, they have to drop it anyways for apple users. Because macOS Catalina will not support 32bit software anymore.

Yeah I know, that's another terrible shitty move.
namiko Jan 25, 2020
Quoting: ShmerlIf that prevents you from writing negative review due to dropped Linux support, that amounts to censorship.
It's a placating move done by Valve to prevent review bombs from completely ruining game scores, at least on the surface. It's a user-based profile option (opt-in) to change it back to how it was. It sort of nerfed review bombs, which is partly good and partly bad, depending on whether you think the review bombers have a point or not.

Still hate that decision, but at least the bad reviews/scores aren't "disappeared" by default when "abnormal activity" is detected. The developers/publishers have been given more ability to delete reviews (in the case of off-topic abusive remarks in the review, apparently), but it can also be abused to make the game look better.

At least most of the time, there isn't any major abuse apparent on most store pages (there are still scathingly bad reviews mixed in with gleefully worshipful reviews, and also "meh" reviews too), even if they could remove reviews that make the game/developers/publishers look bad.

EDIT: forgot the subject in a sentence, derp


Last edited by namiko on 25 January 2020 at 5:33 pm UTC
namiko Jan 25, 2020
Sorry for the double post, but here's some good news update for a change. My partner did get Rocket League refunded on Steam his SECOND try.

1. He selected the option: "My reason is not listed" for the reason for the refund request.

2. He posted a link to this GoL article, but now that Psyonix has posted their update regarding refunds, it may be a better idea to link to that instead.

3. He acknowledged he was over the typical limit of play time for a refund.

4. He asked for a "special exception", considering the situation of Linux support being unexpectedly dropped.

Keep trying, it may just be the wording or reasoning that matters. (And he was very Canadian-ly polite to Valve staffers too, which didn't hurt...)
Adam_eM Jan 25, 2020
Not a single word of thank you, nor apologize. Embarrassing - that's how they treat their userbase
NovenTheHero Jan 25, 2020
I Have tried twice, with the 2nd time using the exact verbiage from the reddit post with a link to the post. Denied both times.
pete910 Jan 25, 2020
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Quoting: pete910Just requested refunds on all gift purchases too.

£134 worth + £15 for my original

Guess Linux don't pay

Nope, all refused
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