If you haven’t been able to launch an EA game on your Steam Deck for a few days, you’re not alone. Indeed, the latter encounter some problems at startup, displaying only the Steam logo indefinitely. Valve said they are working on a fix, while other users have found a temporary (but not risk-free) solution.
The Steam Deck is without a doubt one of the best portable consoles around, as much for the still amazing performance it offers as for the amount of games it is capable of running. This versatility is partly due to its Linux kernel, which allows you to launch many applications from different vendors. But this openness can also cause some problems, as EA is currently paying the price.
You may have noticed that many EA games have not launched on the Steam Deck for a few days. Instead, players find themselves in front of the Steam logo which remains on the screen as long as one does not leave the application or turn off the console. To date, many titles have been referenced by the community as being victims of the problem.
EA games are broken on Steam Deck, but there’s a fix
Here is the full list so far:
- A Way Out
- Battlefield V
- Battlefield 4
- Battlefield 1
- Dead Space 3
- FIFA 22
- FIFA 21
- It Takes Two
- Madden NFL 23
- Madden NFL 22
- Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Mass Effect Andromeda
- Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
- Need for Speed Heat
- Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered
- Need for Speed Most Wanted
- Plants vs. Zombies : Garden Warfare 2
- Star Wars Battlefront 2
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- The Sims 4
- titan fall 2
In reality, this list may as well contain all the games published by EA and available on the Steam Deck. Indeed, as Valve explains, the problem comes from the publisher’s own application, which recently replaced its unloved Origin client. This no longer communicates in the right way with the Steam Deck so that it launches the elements of Proton, the software used by Valve to run Windows games, necessary to start them.
How to launch EA games on your Steam Deck while waiting for the patch
Fortunately, Valve is already working alongside EA on a patch to resolve this annoying issue. The two companies have teamed up with the developers in charge of Proton to develop a patch, while specifying that the thing is not easy and that the latter could take some time to be deployed.
“While our games are not officially compatible with the Steam Deck, we understand player frustration and are always looking to improve their experience wherever our games appear. We are working closely with our partners at Valve to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and we hope our players will be able to enjoy their favorite EA games again soon.”an EA spokesperson said in a statement.
On the same subject : You can win a free Steam Deck just by watching The Game Awards
Until an official patch is available, there is a temporary solution that allows you to launch EA games on your Steam Deck. However, this is not without risk: it is possible that you lose your backups during the process. First of all, we strongly advise you to make sure that your progress has been stored in the Steam Cloud before you start handling it. Thus, you will reduce the chances of seeing several hours of play fly away.
Once done, here is the procedure to follow to launch your EA games on Steam Deck:
- On your Steam Deck, select the game you want to launch
- Go to settings by clicking on the gear icon
- In the section Developerselect Delete Proton Files
In this way, all the elements necessary to launch the games, in particular the EA application, will be reinstalled on your console. You should then be able to launch the affected games.
Source : The Verge