It’s all thanks to Take-Two’s greed: it’s not enough to launch the game via Steam: an intermediate launcher has been implemented… which caused further problems.

The first two parts of BioShock and the remastered BioShock Infinite have recently received a patch, and the patch notes only say that there are QoL (qualify of life) updates have been made. However, it is not true: on the one hand, it is now mandatory to link your 2K (=Take-Two) account, and games must now be run through the 2K launcher after booting from Steam, and Take-Two’s new solution also includes a digital store where you can buy content. So it’s like buying something from Electronic Arts on Steam and still needing Origin.

That is pushing the “what the hell was that for?” category, but unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. The launcher is causing problems for those who want to play via Proton, or Steam Deck, as it has essentially rendered the Linux version of BioShock Infinite unplayable. On the video game Linux subreddit, several people are complaining that the game, which was working perfectly fine until now, has been ruined by an update that has inserted a middleware between Steam and the game. It is no wonder that negative reviews have appeared on the Steam reviews of the games. Some people prefer to download an older version (if they have the original on Steam, it can be considered as a backup, which is legal, since there’s a legitimate reason for running a pirated copy: the real version doesn’t work…) to play with it rather than the inconvenience.

According to GamingOnLinux, the native Linux version of BioShock Infinite isn’t working. Still, the other two games on Steam Deck worked with Proton 7.0.4, but if you try it on a Linux PC, the chances of it working are variable. It may cause Take-Two more headaches. The company can go to hell for calling the update a “quality of life” improvement while making accessibility worse with the unnecessary middleware.

Source: PCGamer