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HELLDIVERS 2 is currently doing really well on Steam with a ton of players, and initially it was quite a nuisance to get working on Steam Deck / Desktop Linux, but now it should run much better.

Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais mentioned on X (formerly Twitter), that Proton Hotfix was updated to work around the launch issues. So all you'll need to do now is go into the Properties -> Compatibility, tick the box and select Proton Hotfix for HELLDIVERS 2 to get it working properly!

A Proton Hotfix has just been deployed for a Helldivers 2 launch failure.

Nice to see once again Valve spring into action to improve Proton to get popular games working! Especially interesting that it uses nProtect GameGuard, which is supposed to be Windows kernel-level, so it's surprising it works so easily on Linux systems now.

At time of writing HELLDIVERS 2 has 100,768 players online just on Steam, so it's clearly another big early hit for 2024. And it seems the most popular Sony PlayStation release on Steam so far.

Check out the trailer:

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9 comments

Termy Feb 10
Ok, now i'm really confused. Is the missing Rootkit just ignored by the game (which would probably be "fixed" at some point) or did they manage to fake it through proton? O_o
LoudTechie Feb 10
Quoting: TermyOk, now i'm really confused. Is the missing Rootkit just ignored by the game (which would probably be "fixed" at some point) or did they manage to fake it through proton? O_o

The way they "fake" everything.
They implemented the functions it uses in wine to behave like it expected the windows functions it calls.
Not all Windows kernel function need under all circumstances root permissions to work.
Wine itself doesn't use kernel level stuff, but in some cases it doesn't need it to achieve a comparable result.
scaine Feb 10
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I think I'm right in saying that since everything Steam installed for Proton/Wine goes into a pfx folder, and since Steam starts and stops the associated Proton/Wine processes as the game requires... then there's no way that these "kernel-level" rootkit-style always-on anti-cheat systems really expose you on Linux.

Like, on Windows, GameGuard would install at SYSTEM level and potentially just keep running. But on Linux, it's only running when Steam says it is.

If I'm right, then that's a huge win for gaming on Linux.


Last edited by scaine on 11 February 2024 at 7:53 pm UTC
Orkultus Feb 11
I keep getting the "cannot connect to servers" right after the movie intro.
Liam Dawe Feb 11
Quoting: OrkultusI keep getting the "cannot connect to servers" right after the movie intro.
The servers have been down. It’s not a Linux issue.
Eri Feb 11
Aside the server problems, that are present on Windows too, I'd say the fix works. Valve comes to save the day.

Quoting: OrkultusI keep getting the "cannot connect to servers" right after the movie intro.
If you insist, you can connect sometimes. I've been playing today but with problems, not being able to get new items, menus not loading or not connecting to any lobby. Restarting the game sometimes worked, others made it worst.
beko Feb 12
Heh, this seems to have all the humour of Starship Troopers [but with capes] :D
LoudTechie Feb 12
Quoting: scaineI think I'm right in saying that since everything Steam installed for Proton/Wine goes into a pfx folder, and since Steam starts and stops the associated Proton/Wine processes as the game requires... then there's no way that these "kernel-level" rootkit-style always-on anti-cheat systems really expose you on Linux.

Like, on Windows, GameGuard would install at SYSTEM level and potentially just keep running. But on Linux, it's only running when Steam says it is.

If I'm right, then that's a huge win for gaming on Linux.

You're right.
This is the only security guarantee wine offers.
scaine Feb 13
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Quoting: bekoHeh, this seems to have all the humour of Starship Troopers [but with capes] :D

How do you like this cup of LIBER-TEA!?

Yeah the humour is superb. The whole vibe is just spot-on.
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