Steam Deck / Steam Machine / SteamOS game won't launch: how to fix games that won't start

Having trouble with games not launching on a SteamOS device like the Steam Deck, Steam Machine or Steam Frame? Here's some simple steps you can take that might help.

Something to note before you begin - there's a number of games with anti-cheat that won't work.

Restart your device

This is an obvious one right? You will be surprised at just how often this will fix games not launching. The culprit is sometimes the sleep mode in SteamOS not quite reloading everything correctly after waking. So this should be your first thing to try.

I've lost count of the amount of times this fixed issues on the Steam Machine for me. Now I just shut it down instead of setting it to sleep.

Check for SteamOS and game updates

Go into the system settings and check for system updates. You might be missing some SteamOS fixes for things like the Linux kernel, Mesa open source graphics driver updates and more.

If you're in the Beta / Preview update channel, try going back to Stable to see if that helps. Or if you're in Stable, perhaps try the Beta / Preview update channel - you can always swap back any time.

Additionally, go into your Steam Downloads and check if the game has an update scheduled.

Verify the game's files

Now and then, you might have an update for a game that didn't quite work right. Perhaps some files didn't actually download or got messed up along the way by a system issue or network drop-out.

Verifying the game's files is a way to ensure it's all up to date properly. It might take a while though, especially for bigger games (and even more so if they're on an SD Card).

Try a different version of Proton

A warning first - if the game has Denuvo, you can end up locking yourself out of it for 24 hours if you keep swapping the Proton version used.

Proton is the compatibility layer that runs Windows games on SteamOS Linux. Some versions just work better.

Valve will tag a specific version of Proton for games that have gone through their verification testing. At times, you might need a newer version of Proton for a game that has been updated, or even an older version of Proton if Valve broke something.

Swapping the Proton version used for a game is simple and covered in another simple GamingOnLinux guide.

Try GE-Proton

Some games have media files that don't play in the official Valve builds of Proton, and at times that can stop a game actually progressing. GE-Proton includes special changes to help with it - worth a shot. We have another simple GamingOnLinux guide for GE-Proton installation.

Native Linux versus Proton

Some games have a Native Linux version, many don't (which is why Proton exists). But, at times, one version will work better than the other. You can check what you're currently using on the game's Steam Library page.

For example, if you go to a game in your Steam Library, scroll along to the Game Info tab, and look down it might say something like "Steam Linux Runtime" with a version number after it like the screenshot below. This means it's using the Native version - try swapping it to Proton to see if it helps (or, the other way around if the game has a Linux version).

As for checking general game compatibility -> there's another simple GamingOnLinux guide just for that. We try to make it as easy as possible for you to learn.

Is it actually compatible at all?

Valve have their own rating system for Steam Deck, Steam Machine, SteamOS and Steam Frame. If it's noted to be Unsupported - you may just be out of luck.

Not always though. Valve's verification system isn't perfect, there are "Unsupported" games that actually run just fine.

Custom launch options / Check for existing issues

Some games might need special custom launch options to work. Perhaps to avoid a launcher that doesn't work. Or, did you already add a bunch? Remove them and see what happens. Or, the games might have a bunch of known issues with existing workaround.

You can check out the likes of ProtonDB and often see people suggesting what to use. And Valve's official Proton GitHub bug tracker - there's usually an entry for each game to report directly to Valve.

Go and get help

Still stuck and scratching your head?

You can come and ask in our Forum, Discord and Reddit.

When we eventually get access to a Steam Frame, we'll be sure to update this guide with anything Frame-specific. This guide like our others will continue to evolve over time to be as helpful as possible.