protonscr

Sid Meier's Civilization V

protonopen appid 8930Game compatibility - Unofficialoverlay
ValveSoftware/Proton#3190 · opened 2019-11-04 by ptkato · updated 2026-09-15 · 27 comments · github · game page · search this game
Pptkato 2019-11-04 github

Compatibility Report

  • Name of the game with compatibility issues: Sid Meier's Civilization V
  • Steam AppID of the game: 8930

System Information

I confirm:

  • [x] that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this game.
  • [x] that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

Proton log: steam-8930.log

Symptoms

The game doesn't launch at all, however it does work just fine if it's installed in Steam for Windows through vanilla Wine.

Reproduction

Click play, wait for the launcher and then click play in the launcher, the launcher will close and nothing will happen. Choosing between DirectX 9 or DirectX 10/11 has no effect whatsoever.

Kkisak-valve maintainer 2019-11-04 github
NNayr438 2019-11-13 github

On Arch the native version will launch with "LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libopenal.so.1 %command%"
Comparing the Windows Version and the steam version I haven't notice any differences.

Pptkato 2019-11-13 github

On Arch the native version will launch with "LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libopenal.so.1 %command%"
Comparing the Windows Version and the steam version I haven't notice any differences.

@Nayr438 I use the windows version for online play, since I need to use lekmod, which is a DLL mod, thus working only under the windows version.

BBobbyWibowo 2020-05-28 github

Anybody have an up-to-date experience using Proton for this game?
I notice kisak's comment about the game using CEG, which likely means it can't simply run with Proton and must instead use Windows version of Steam? (through own Wine prefix)

I just noticed Steam client now allows forcing Proton version on games that have native versions as well, so I'm interested to try it with Civ 5.
There are simply too many great mods out there that use DLL, which simply won't work with the native version.
Some mods also require various tweaks to run stably, which are frankly annoying in the long run (case-insensitive config directory, among other things).

EDIT: Not having a good time with Lutris. The game caused the rest of the desktop to lag unbearably when using Steam Windows + Wine.
Unable to run through Steam Linux, possibly due to that CEG stuff.

TTheGreatestJannet 2022-05-26 github

The game works but opening the steam overlay with shift+tab crashes the game. Anyone else getting this? I'm using Proton Experimental.

PPharmasolin 2022-06-30 github

DirectX 9 - works with proton experimental. DirectX 10/11 - works until I accept and proceed (first screen before main menu). (Radeon, kisak ppa for mesa)

BBetaVersionBY 2023-02-02 github

DirectX 9 - works with proton experimental. DirectX 10/11 - works until I accept and proceed (first screen before main menu). (Radeon, kisak ppa for mesa)

I have the same problem: loading screen, than crash after i click on "accept and proceed". Tried both Proton Experimental and GE-Proton7-48.
steam-8930.log

Kkisak-valve maintainer 2023-02-28 github

Sid Meier's Civilization V -- Crash on launch of Steam overlay

Issue transferred from https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/6579.
@TheGoblinPopper posted on 2023-02-28T02:48:28:

Compatibility Report

  • Name of the game with compatibility issues: Sid Meier's Civilization V
  • Steam AppID of the game: 8930

System Information

https://gist.github.com/TheGoblinPopper/ea29ad587d6e6cbd877d037ba31b797f

  • Proton version: Experimental and 7.0-6

I confirm:

  • [X] that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this game.
  • [X] that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

Symptoms

Game crashes whenever steam overlay is triggered.

Reproduction

  1. Launch Game
  2. Select Direct X 9 or 11
  3. Allow game to fully load through initial movie.
  4. launched steam overlay (shift + tab)
  5. Wait for machine to ask if you want to crash the game.
    (reproducible via any point of gameplay)

steam-8930.log.tar.gz

TTheGoblinPopper 2023-02-28 github

Thanks for linking me into this ticket.
I did notice a bit of instability, but for the most part the game ran rather smooth with the exception of instantly crashing if I launch the steam overlay.
I can alt+tab, click on different monitors... so on. But not use steam overlay.

Final lines from the error log are the following:

23570.742:0310:0314:trace:seh:__regs_MSVCRT__setjmp3 buf=06B1F9D4 ebx=00000000 esi=565c84b0 edi=00000000 ebp=06b1fa1c esp=06b1f9bc eip=0016a1f8 frame=06b1ff20
23570.742:0310:0314:trace:seh:__regs_MSVCRT__setjmp3 buf=06B1F724 ebx=00000001 esi=565ca670 edi=00000000 ebp=06b1f76c esp=06b1f70c eip=0016a1f8 frame=06b1ff20
23570.746:0310:0314:trace:seh:__regs_MSVCRT__setjmp3 buf=06B1FD24 ebx=80011600 esi=5ac85ad0 edi=00000000 ebp=06b1fd6c esp=06b1fd0c eip=0016a1f8 frame=06b1ff20
23570.746:0310:0314:trace:seh:__regs_MSVCRT__setjmp3 buf=06B1FD24 ebx=80011600 esi=5ac862f0 edi=00000000 ebp=06b1fd6c esp=06b1fd0c eip=0016a1f8 frame=06b1ff20
23570.746:0310:0314:trace:seh:__regs_MSVCRT__setjmp3 buf=06B1FD24 ebx=80011600 esi=5b265a30 edi=00000000 ebp=06b1fd6c esp=06b1fd0c eip=0016a1f8 frame=06b1ff20
23570.746:0310:0314:trace:seh:__regs_MSVCRT__setjmp3 buf=06B1FD24 ebx=80011600 esi=5b269590 edi=00000000 ebp=06b1fd6c esp=06b1fd0c eip=0016a1f8 frame=06b1ff20
23573.762:0310:0314:fixme:steamclient:Steam_BGetCallback HACK: Steam overlay activated, disabling all input events.
pid 140982 != 140981, skipping destruction (fork without exec?)
Sstixholder 2023-06-10 github

Civilization V native Linux version from Aspyre worked, but would crash after increasingly shorter intervals while playing and also couldn't persist resolution settings.

So I decided to switch to Proton. So far, I've tried 8.0-2, 7.0-6, Experimental, 6.3-8 (in that order).
Every time, the Civ starter would kick (with DirectX version setting), and then clicking on Play, the game would just crash without further visual errors (regardless of the chosen DX version). 7.6 would at least show the loading fullscreen image for a short time.

So, currently, this game is not working at all; I do remember it working perfectly some 3 years ago, though.

This is pretty ugly, since to me, Civ V is better than Civ VI (which doesn't work either, btw.).

I must say, I find it pretty upsetting, getting set back to point 0 every few months, finding some favorite game just doesn't work anymore, for no obvious reason.

AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
Radeon RX 580
AMD Ellesmere HDMI Audio
Kernel 5.4.0-148
X.Org 1.20.13 driver: amdgpu
OpenGl 4.6
Mesa 21.2.6 direct render: Yes
Linux Mint / Ubuntu 20.04 focal

EDIT:
Launching again with 6.3-8, DX 9 installation would kick in again and after that, trying to run the game (with DX 9), the loading image was presented, like with 7.0, but then crash again.

Kkisak-valve maintainer 2023-06-10 github

Hello @stixholder, it should be noted that Proton 8.0 and newer requires the video driver to provide Vulkan 1.3. Mesa 22.0 or newer is needed for that. If you want to test that Proton version, then update your video driver with a PPA like kisak-mesa.

Sstixholder 2023-06-10 github

Thanks for the hint, but, as pointed out, earlier versions suffer from the same issue, not starting at all, or at least not beyond the loading screen. I've reset to Aspyr's Linux native and are back to the old behavior of the game running, but crashing after a some more or less prolonged gaming. When leaving the initial low resolution (1366x768) I could play significantly longer, before things went south, actually some 2+ hours. So, the lower resolution may or may not have had an impact here.

EDIT:
My outdated Mesa version might point to the general problems I seem to encounter with Proton 8.x, of course, I'd need to verify that.

Sstixholder 2023-06-12 github

After upgrading my system (Kernel 5.15.x, Mesa 22.2.5), the native Linux mode (by Aspyr) sadly still suffers from the same crash problems, but gladly, Civ V now seems to work fine with Proton 8 and DirectX 9 and 11 (didn't try 7 and Experimental). Also setting and persisting video options works now. So: problem solved!

Sstixholder 2023-06-24 github

UPDATE: at first everything seemed fine after the system upgrade, but shortly after things went haywire, at a point where the "2k launcher" updated itself and never finished this job. After forcibly shutting down the installer from the Steam lib, the "2k launcher" and thus the Civ V installation was corrupted beyond repair and the launcher would crash every time.

Maybe due to trying to switch from Proton 8 to Experimental also Civ V was damaged and I had no choice but to delete the "2k launcher" entry and prefix from Steam, re-install the launcher and download and install Civ V into a completely new prefix, copying the backed-up savegames from the previous installation there, afterwards.

Now, Civ V sometimes will run for hours, oftentimes it will crash on the first one or two starting attempts while loading the last savegame, shortly after the music starts to play and breaking up with a crackling. After prolonged playing, the risk of crashing seems to rise and occurs almost inevitably after longer time, albeit not as frequently and often, as with the Linux native version.

Btw., I haven't activated Steam overlay, so this should be no issue here.

KKnogle 2023-08-27 github

Also experiencing major issues, went back to 6.3-8, at least the game is almost stable now. Steam overlay still broken.

RRedPhoenix1208 2024-01-12 github

Using Proton 8.0-4 on a 64 GB Steam Deck running latest stable branch will cause Civ V to crash after around or under 15 minutes of playing. The crash restarts the Deck each time. I’m about to test proton Hotfix. I will edit this post if it works. First Edit: Proton 8.0-5 and Experimental did not fix this issue. Edit: Issue occurs in Hotfix too.

Kkisak-valve maintainer 2024-12-19 github

Civilization V launches in DX9 even when DX11 option is selected

Issue transferred from https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/8327.
@Piotr-Wieczorek posted on 2024-12-19T13:08:18:

Compatibility Report

  • Name of the game with compatibility issues: Sid Meier's Civilization V
  • Steam AppID of the game:
    8930

System Information

I confirm:

  • [x] that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this game.
  • [x] that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

steam-8930.log

Symptoms

  1. Civilization V launches in DX9 even when DX11 option is selected. The native version is unstable and mods need the DX11 Windows version of the game.
  2. Also the game doesn't see the mods that launch on startup located in: "/home/piotr/.steam/root/steamapps/compatdata/8930/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Sid Meier's Civilization V/Assets/DLC"

Reproduction

  1. Never happens on the first attempt. Launch the game with forced experimental.
  2. Install any mod in this directory: "/home/piotr/.steam/root/steamapps/compatdata/8930/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Sid Meier's Civilization V/Assets/DLC"
KKnogle 2024-12-19 github

Can confirm, but this issue started occuring recently, after they have removed the 2k launcher.

TThePwnd 2025-01-08 github

For me, the game doesn't launch at all with Proton. I've tried every version available from 6.3-8 to Experimental, to Hotfix. Steam prompts me for a DX version. No matter what I pick, Steam says "Updating executable" for some variable amount of time, then the button reverts from "Cancel" to "Play."

KKnogle 2025-01-08 github

For me, the game doesn't launch at all with Proton. I've tried every version available from 6.3-8 to Experimental, to Hotfix. Steam prompts me for a DX version. No matter what I pick, Steam says "Updating executable" for some variable amount of time, then the button reverts from "Cancel" to "Play."

Then it's dead somehow. I've also had this issue several times. In this case, try uninstalling and re-installing Civ V again.

TThePwnd 2025-01-09 github

Thanks. I guess second time's the charm because I had tried that once already, but doing it again fixed the issue. Maybe it was the moving it to a different drive then back? Or the verifying game cache in between? Not sure, but it seems to work now.

KKnogle 2025-01-09 github

Sound's great! Please take care with moving this game into a different storage. It completely broke for me, and i had to reinstall Steam.

Thanks. I guess second time's the charm because I had tried that once already, but doing it again fixed the issue. Maybe it was the moving it to a different drive then back? Or the verifying game cache in between? Not sure, but it seems to work now.

Sstixholder 2025-02-01 github

Moving a game to a different drive or changing Proton version (which basically generates a whole new 'pfx' Wine/Proton prefix folder for the game, can lead to trouble.

When the game is located on a game library folder, that's not mounted at boot time, trying to start it will fail, so either you open the corresponding drive once each time before starting Steam, or you create an entry in /etc/fstab (which is certainly the better option in the long run).

Meanwhile Steam seems to have mitigated the issue of bloating the 'steamapps/compdata' folder with dangling prefixes, created for each Proton version tryout for each game, by deleting the previous version's prefix upon choosing a different one - at the price of having to re-create it each time.

Thanks to Steam's obfuscated game and pfx folder numbering system, things will get messy sooner or later, unfortunately.

Keeping track of which proton installations and game prefixes are still alive and well and belong to which game folder and steam configurations, is almost impossible, unless you've got nothing better to do.

With Lutris, installations are much more transparent and simpler. Just download your game installer, e. g. from GOG or directly via Lutris and it gets installed in its own, aptly named prefix, with the Wine or Proton version of your choice.
It's also easy to apply .exe patch files to the Lutris game prefixes.

You just get back the control you need to solve problems on your own, without all the distractive bloat. No DRM, no horrible startup times, just pure bliss.

WWalkingGlitch 2025-02-01 github

Can confirm, but this issue started occuring recently, after they have removed the 2k launcher.

This is exactly my experience as well. WTF did they do when they removed the launcher?

KKnogle 2025-02-01 github

Can confirm, but this issue started occuring recently, after they have removed the 2k launcher.

This is exactly my experience as well. WTF did they do when they removed the launcher?

It's heavily annoying at the moment tbh.

Ttlbunn-panzer 2026-09-15 github
I am seeing a current regression/failure with the Windows build of Civilization V (AppID 8930) under native Steam for Linux, and I have been able to isolate it specifically to Steam's CEG/custom-binary handling rather than the game, Proton prefix, mods, saves, or the machine itself.

System

  • Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon, 64-bit
  • Kernel 6.17.0-35
  • AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
  • Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB
  • Mesa RADV 25.2.8
  • 64 GB RAM
  • Steam path: ~/.local/share/Steam
  • Windows Civ V forced through Proton
  • Proton Experimental tested; Proton 9.0-4 also tested

Native Steam failure

Every failed launch stops in Steam before the Civ V process is created:

GameAction [AppID 8930] : LaunchApp changed task to ShowLaunchOption
GameAction [AppID 8930] : LaunchApp continues with user response "1"
GameAction [AppID 8930] : LaunchApp changed task to CheckShaderDepotManifest
GameAction [AppID 8930] : LaunchApp changed task to UpdatingDRM
GameAction [AppID 8930] : LaunchApp failed with UpdatingDRM with "2"
GameAction [AppID 8930] : LaunchApp changed task to Failed

Fresh post-reset example from 2026-09-14:

[2026-09-14 17:52:03] GameAction [AppID 8930, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to ShowLaunchOption with ""
[2026-09-14 17:52:03] GameAction [AppID 8930, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp waiting for user response to ShowLaunchOption ""
[2026-09-14 17:52:04] GameAction [AppID 8930, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp continues with user response "1"
[2026-09-14 17:52:04] GameAction [AppID 8930, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to CheckShaderDepotManifest with ""
[2026-09-14 17:52:05] GameAction [AppID 8930, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to UpdatingDRM with ""
[2026-09-14 17:52:15] GameAction [AppID 8930, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp failed with UpdatingDRM with "2"
[2026-09-14 17:52:15] GameAction [AppID 8930, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to Failed with ""

There is no subsequent CreatingProcess for Civ V.

Reproduction survives a very broad clean-state test

The same UpdatingDRM with "2" failure remained after all of the following:

  • Steam file verification
  • pristine Civ V user-data/config state
  • fresh Proton prefix
  • deletion/recreation of compatdata/8930
  • deletion of shadercache/8930
  • complete uninstall/reinstall of Civ V
  • reinstall to a different Steam library / different drive
  • removal of AppID 8930 Steam userdata/cache/config remnants
  • removal of native Aspyr Civ V state
  • rebuilding Steam legacycompat
  • testing Proton Experimental
  • testing Proton 9.0-4
  • testing Steam Stable
  • testing Steam Beta
  • a complete steam --reset
  • removing Beta selection and returning to Stable after reset
  • launching a clean, vanilla Civ V before restoring any mods/saves/maps

After the full steam --reset, the first clean Stable test still failed at UpdatingDRM with error 2.

legacycompat / CEG helper checks

The native client does invoke Steam's Windows helper machinery. The relevant helper files exist, including SteamService.exe and iscriptevaluator.exe.

SteamService.exe is a valid 32-bit PE executable. iscriptevaluator.exe is a valid x86-64 PE executable.

A case-sensitivity workaround:

steamservice.exe -> SteamService.exe

was also tested and made no difference.

The entire legacycompat directory was removed and allowed to regenerate. The failure remained identical.

Steam internal custom-binary failure under strace

Running native Steam under strace during one reproduction exposed this internal assertion:

../clientdll/clientjobrequestcustombinary.cpp (605) : eResult != k_EResultRemoteCallFailed
../clientdll/clientjobrequestcustombinary.cpp (605) : eResult != k_EResultRemoteCallFailed

The traced attempt later terminated Steam with:

Trace/breakpoint trap (core dumped)

The trace itself did not show a meaningful permissions failure against the Civ V executable or Steam helper.

The notable result is the Steam-side custom-binary request path returning:

clientjobrequestcustombinary.cpp
k_EResultRemoteCallFailed

Control test: Windows Steam under Wine works on the same machine

To separate this from a bad game install, account/license problem, network problem, graphics problem, or bad Civ V files, I installed the official Windows Steam client into a completely separate Wine prefix on the same Linux machine:

~/.wine-steam-civ5

Environment for the control test:

  • same physical computer
  • same Linux host underneath
  • same GPU/driver
  • same Steam account
  • same Civ V license
  • same network/router/ISP
  • same day
  • AppID 8930

Windows Steam under Wine installed Civ V successfully.

Launching Civ V there and choosing DirectX 10/11 worked: the game reached the main menu and I started a new game successfully to Turn 0.

So the differential result is:

Native Steam for Linux + AppID 8930
    -> UpdatingDRM
    -> LaunchApp failed with UpdatingDRM with "2"
    -> no CreatingProcess

Windows Steam under Wine + same AppID/account/machine/network
    -> CEG/DRM succeeds
    -> Civ V launches
    -> new game reaches Turn 0

This strongly points to the native Steam-for-Linux CEG/custom-binary request path for AppID 8930 rather than Civ V itself or Proton runtime execution after launch.

I also note the original report in this thread described the same high-level differential — failure via Linux Steam while Windows Steam under Wine succeeds — and Valve previously identified Civilization V here as a CEG title.

If useful, I can provide the relevant native Steam console_log.txt excerpts and the strace capture showing the clientjobrequestcustombinary.cpp / k_EResultRemoteCallFailed assertion.

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