The Steam Deck is definitely the finest handheld gaming PC you should purchase, however a brand new sport, which launched with native Linux assist for the Steam Deck, is corrupting some units. The Jackbox Megapicker, a free launcher for Jackbox celebration video games, is corrupting the set up on SteamOS on the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED, as confirmed by each the builders and Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais.
GamingOnLinux first reported the story, following consumer reviews of corrupted installations on Reddit and Discord just a few days in the past. After putting in the sport, the Steam Deck would refuse to load. It doesn’t fully damage the machine, however if you happen to set up The Jackbox Megapicker, you’ll be pressured to reinstall SteamOS from scratch. That features creating your personal restoration media with Valve’s SteamOS picture and fully wiping all knowledge from the machine.
A hotfix has been issued to pick out Proton by default for the Jackbox Megapicker till the problems with corrupting the Steam set up are addressed. To keep away from points, do not override the compatibility choice to the Linux Runtime.
— Pierre-Loup Griffais (@Plagman2) July 31, 2024
The builders say to keep away from putting in the sport on the Steam Deck in the interim. “Sadly presently, we’ve seen a handful of reviews are available in relating to points with the Megapicker on Steam Decks… it’s our present advice that Steam Deck customers chorus from downloading The Jackbox Megapicker till additional discover,” the builders wrote in a Steam discussion board publish on Tuesday.
Valve’s hotfix for the problem forces the sport to run by means of the Proton compatibility layer, bypassing the native Linux model that appears to be the supply of the problem. Even with the hotfix, it’s finest to keep away from putting in The Jackbox Megapicker on the Steam Deck till the builders have issued an replace.
The Jackbox Megapicker simply launched on Monday, and there’s at present a sale on all Jackbox titles on Steam to have a good time its launch. That is only a launcher, and the video games themselves aren’t inflicting points with the Steam Deck. It’s not arduous to see why you’d need to use a launcher you probably have a number of Jackbox titles, although — there are 10 completely different collections obtainable, in addition to a number of standalone celebration video games.
It’s truthful to ask how a launcher like this might corrupt the SteamOS set up within the first place, and that’s precisely what customers are asking. It’s regarding {that a} single sport might fully corrupt the Steam Deck. We haven’t seen something like this earlier than.
On condition that Valve is conscious of the problem, hopefully it’s trying into what’s inflicting the problems on the Steam Deck and addressing something inside SteamOS that’s opening the door for software program to impression the working system in such a giant approach. For those who occurred to put in The Jackbox Megapicker and your Steam Deck is appearing up, the builders advocate reaching out to the Jackbox assist workforce.