Table of Contents
The Problem
I bought Helldivers 2 recently, but it just won’t start. I hit the “Play” button in Steam. A “Processing Vulkan Shaders” pop-up appears. It takes forever, so I skip it. Letting it finish doesn’t help either. After the pop-up closes, the “Play” button briefly turns into “Stop” and then flips back to “Play.” No game window ever opens. I’ve tried everything I could think of, but nothing works.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to troubleshoot and fix this issue.
Solution 1: Verify Game Files
In Steam, right-click Helldivers 2 > Properties > Installed Files > Verify Integrity of Game Files. This checks for missing or corrupted files and replaces them.
Solution 2: Delete Compatdata Folder
- Navigate to ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/.
- Find the folder corresponding to Helldivers 2 (check its AppID on SteamDB).
- Delete it and relaunch the game.
Solution 3: Switch Proton Versions
Use Steam’s built-in Proton Experimental instead of custom versions like GE-Proton. Go to Helldivers 2 > Properties > Compatibility > Enable Proton Experimental.
Solution 4: Check Permissions
Ensure Steam has read/write access to external hard drive. Double-check that all paths in Steam point to the correct location.
Solution 5: Avoid Shader Processing
Skip Vulkan shader pre-caching if GPU has limited VRAM.
Solution 6: Install Proprietary NVIDIA Drivers
Open-source drivers are great for general use but can be buggy for gaming. Install proprietary drivers using package manager (sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia on Fedora).
Solution 7: Monitor RAM Usage
System has 7.6 GB of RAM, which might be borderline for gaming. Close background apps to free up memory before launching the game.
Solution 8: Reinstall on Internal Storage
If possible, move the game from external HDD to internal storage. External drives can sometimes cause pathing or performance issues.
By following these steps, you should be able to narrow down and resolve the issue preventing Helldivers 2 from launching on Linux system.