Hey everyone, I’m running Linux Mint 22.1 Cinnamon on an Intel i5-10210U with Intel UHD Graphics. I’ve tried installing Arch, Ubuntu, and currently on Mint. I want to play Counter-Strike 2 but when I launch it through Steam, it just shows the loading screen and then kicks me out to the Steam library with no error message. I’ve attached some detailed Steam logs that show errors like “wrong ELF class” for gameoverlayrenderer.so and segmentation faults. I haven’t tried running CS2 with Proton yet because I heard some game modes might not work with Proton, but I’m open to trying it if it helps. Does anyone have experience fixing this or suggestions on how to get CS2 running smoothly on Linux Mint without Proton, or if Proton is necessary, which version should I use? Appreciate any help!
3 Answers
It’s pretty easy to test Proton out! In Steam, go to Settings, then Compatibility, and tick the option to force the use of a compatibility tool. After Steam restarts, right-click on CS2 in your library, go to Properties, then again compatibility and enable ‘Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool.’ You can then choose ‘Proton Experimental’ for the latest fixes. That should improve stability.
Thanks! I’ll try Proton Experimental since it sounds like it has the newest fixes. Will update you if it works.
Regarding the limitations you heard about with Proton, I’m not aware of any major game mode restrictions for CS2 on Proton. Most players have reported full functionality. If you want to avoid Proton, you’ll need to make sure all your 32-bit libraries and Steam runtime dependencies are installed and updated, but honestly, Proton is the simplest way to get it working without fuss.
From what I’ve seen, running CS2 on Linux usually works better with Proton enabled. The native Linux support for this game is a bit spotty right now, which might explain why it crashes after the loading screen. The “wrong ELF class” errors are typical when 32-bit and 64-bit library mismatches happen, which Proton tends to handle better by providing the necessary environment.
Also if Proton Experimental doesn’t work well, you can try Proton 9.0-4—some people find that version more stable for older games, but since CS2 is new, Experimental might be better.