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.
Schattenspiegel Jan 24, 2020
Quoting: TuxeeQuoting: Glog78In my humble oppinion game companies should be able to get sued in europe since their idea of giving you only a revocable licence doesn't hold up. And if this one doesn't hold up the 24 month waranty rule should apply. Btw. in my oppinion this should hold up for any game which did sell a fully functional linux port and removed their support without removing sales 24 month before they end support.
No you don't want that. Really. That would just lead to even less Linux ports. Particularly indie companies would avoid our platform.
That would only be a problem for games-as-a-service, though and they should factor continued support of all supportrd platforms into their calculation anyway.
Mountain Man Jan 24, 2020
Basically, a false wall of "tech support" disguised as doing nothing is just about as good as stonewalling displeased customers with zero support at all: just set up a few email addresses and automatically send incoming mail to /dev/null. (Yes, that's unfair and hopefully unlikely, but I want some time to be unreasonably pissed at Psyonix for now.)
So no, it seems refund requests will not be honoured, no matter what is being published on social media by psyonix, see https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/eswu1s/rocket_league_ending_support_for_mac_and_linux/ffd835b/?context=1000
Then I made a new request including a link to the statement from Psyonix that Steam will approve the requests. And was rejected again!
Really annoying ... not only that you are angry about the end of Linux support. Now you can also be annoyed about a lousy support when you try to get a refund.
Quoting: PikoloMust be plenty of people doing it because I encounter nearly as many people from PSN in my online matches as from PC.Quoting: razing32This feels like a canary in the coal mine in some way.
All of the warnings about centralized servers , no LAN or private servers , etc.
Seems this can hit any game any time
And for the people mentioning Tencent , they are still spreading their web of "transactions" and "aquisitions"
I miss the old days.
Game was released (maybe had a patch later), focus was single player , you had LAN and could play with private servers.
Now games are online , focus is multiplayer and publishers decide how the game is played and it is on their whim what will happen next.
I think the last patch added Steam Remote Play together support, so you will still be able to play with friends against bots. Not as fun as online multiplayer, but something. In March RL on Linux will end up in the same situation as on PS4 - you only have local single and multiplayer. On PS4 you'd have to pay for a PS subscription to play multiplayer, but I don't see people doing that.
And I wouldn't really count on Remote Play Together for something as fast and precise as Rocket League. Just trying it with Ultimate Chicken Horse, the guest players were at a very obvious disadvantage.
Schattenspiegel Jan 24, 2020
Quoting: Mountain ManWe're still niche, and that's a problem. Developing for Linux is more attractive than ever before, but we're still a tiny percentage which makes long-term support a problem for many studios.
Yes that is certainly true what i would take from this is if its multiplayer only dont buy it a single player game is fine they stop selling it you can keep playing it they cant un linux the version you have but as we saw with rust it is possible to kill off linux support without too much notice. To be fair they are aleast offering refunds but am sure that wont include any skins you bought to support the game.
We are in a strange era here right Proton has made it too easy for studios of all sizes to go fuck it dont bother let valve support the game if works great if not meh buyer beware. What concerns me about this is when the studio needed linux they were boom update boom update when they got mainstream and got Epics attention it was linux whats linux.
Quoting: SchattenspiegelWhat I find even more concerning is that they are still selling the game with Linux and Mac support with no mention that the support will end on Steam (unless you you are lucky enough to see the small news section entry that will be buried before long)Indeed, the SteamOS icon should have been removed with the announcement, it shows how little they care about us really.
Quoting: gojulTried to get a refund, I've been owning this game since it appeared on Linux. Of course Steam rejects my request, which is understandable.
Like Rust, Psyonix said they will refund regardless of play time and date of purchase. I had to try a couple of times to get my refund from Rust, had to link official blog posts and all, so as soon as Psyonix officially posts that they will refund all Linux/MacOS gamers, use that information to ask Steam for a refund. It should work (worked for me on Rust).
Selling a product to a customer and then take away features of the product is kind of theft IMHO.
I think they prepare to move RL to the EPIC Store. I can imagine, that in the future there will be an "offer" like "Here you get an EPIC Games key. It will give you cool features if you move over to EPIC. BTW. Multiplayer will be disabled on Steam in the next release"
What a bad company.
Last edited by einherjar on 24 January 2020 at 3:57 pm UTC
Quoting: Liam DaweQuoting: SchattenspiegelWhat I find even more concerning is that they are still selling the game with Linux and Mac support with no mention that the support will end on Steam (unless you you are lucky enough to see the small news section entry that will be buried before long)Indeed, the SteamOS icon should have been removed with the announcement, it shows how little they care about us really.
It shows how little they care, to be serious/reputable company that deserves the trust of their customers IMHO.
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