Helldivers 2 players say latest update is causing crashes on Linux, Steam Deck, and some Windows PCs

A new Helldivers 2 update pushed today appears to have broken the game for a significant chunk of players. And reports suggest Linux users are hit the hardest, though some Windows users are getting caught in the crossfire too.

One thread on the r/Helldivers subreddit highlights that this is a blanket Linux problem, and notes that the game simply refuses to boot.

The post was later updated to acknowledge Windows users were also being affected, though not at the same rate. “Oh so they just bricked the game,” the original poster wrote after a commenter confirmed Windows was hit too.

On Linux, the crash appears to happen right after the GameGuard anti-cheat splash screen, with no error message and no recovery path. Players across CachyOS, Fedora, Debian, Bazzite, and Ubuntu have all reported the same behavior in a Steam discussion thread. Switching Proton versions did not help. Reinstalling did not help either.

Windows is a bit of a mixed picture. Some players say the game loads without issues, while others are hitting a fatal error with code 0x44415441, as seen in another r/Helldivers post.

For some Windows users, turning off mods before launching seems to clear it up, according to comments on that thread. A separate Steam discussion is also filling up with Windows players reporting crashes, including one running an RTX 4090 and i9-14900K setup, which rules out underpowered hardware as a cause.

Some players think they know what triggered this. The patch notes include a bonus note stating that Arrowhead introduced new validation checks on launch to help address issues caused by out-of-date drivers.

A Reddit commenter was quick to point out that line, noting they saw an instant crash on CachyOS with KDE Wayland and no message about any driver being out of date. They also went through every available Proton version, including GE, Experimental, and versions 9 through 11, with no luck. So it’s unlikely that it could be the actual reason. But we’ll have to wait and see. 

For now, the only confirmed partial workaround for Windows users is disabling mods before launching. Arrowhead has not issued a public statement on the issue yet.

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