Are previously downloaded Steam games transferable from Windows to Linux? (reddthat.com)

submitted 1 year ago by lightnsfw@reddthat.com to c/linux_gaming@lemmy.ml

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I've backed up many of the Steam games I had installed in Windows. Am I able to use these on Linux or do I need to re-download them?

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[-] beesterman@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yes they can be. However, if you want to use a compatibility layer with them like proton the game files have to be stored in exFat (Linux file system format) format. If you have them on a drive formatted for NTFS (windows file system format) the game won’t start and wont tell you why. Games with native versions will run fine from a NTFS partition.

[-] lupec@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

I'm guessing symlinking the compatdata folder to a Linux friendly filesystem, like Valve recommends here, would probably fix issues like that. I'm sure there must be edge cases but, in my admittedly not extensive experience, I haven't encountered any myself.

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this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023

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