Ubisoft breaks Steam Deck-compatible games with its own launcher

With an update to Ubisoft Connect, Ubisoft has broken Steam Deck and Linux compatibility for a number of its biggest games including The Division 2 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

As reported by GamingOnLinux, the compatibility issues were caused by Ubisoft issuing an update for its Ubisoft Connect launcher. Even if Ubisoft’s titles are bought through Steam, they still launch with Ubisoft Connect and require a connection with the third-party launcher to run.

Due to the update, trying to launch a number of Ubisoft’s games through Linux or Steam Deck – including The Division 2, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion – now issues the error: “Ubisoft Connect has detected an unrecoverable error and must shut down.”

While this currently renders Ubisoft’s games unplayable on those platforms, the developers behind Proton – the compatibility layer that allows Windows games to be run on Linux – have issued a fix in the programme’s beta version.

To access the fix, navigate to Proton Experimental in Steam, right-click and select Properties, click the Betas tab and opt into the “bleeding-edge” beta.

Patch notes for the Proton Experimental update were published earlier today (February 2) and along with fixing “Ubisoft Connect launcher failure caused by launcher update,” it also fixes issues caused by 2K‘s own launcher.

Back in September, 2K broke Bioshock Infinite‘s own Steam Deck compatibility by adding a third-party launcher to the ten-year-old game.

Aside from fixing these launcher issues, the patch notes list a number of games that are now playable via Proton – including The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Gungrave G.O.R.E, and Forspoken.

Back in January, it was confirmed that controversial role-playing game Hogwarts Legacy will be Steam Deck Verified when it launches on February 10.

In other gaming news, Fntastic has confirmed a ten-minute video of “raw gameplay footage” from The Day Before will be released later today.