Your system information

• Steam client version (build number or date): Latest stable (as of report date)
• Distribution: Ubuntu 24.04
• Opted into Steam client beta?: No
• Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
• Steam Logs: Attached (generated via tar -zcvf ~/Desktop/steam-logs.tar.gz ~/.steam/steam/logs)
• GPU: Nvidia 2070 Super

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

The game fails to launch on Linux using Proton. In Steam, the game shows “Starting” briefly and then immediately stops without opening any window.

Expected behaviour: The game should launch normally via Proton.

Actual behaviour: The launch attempt fails instantly and no game process appears.

Proton log shows a failed process execution with a corrupted Windows path:

err:steam:run_process Failed to execute L""S:\common\Thomas & Friendsb\0004"", ret 2.

The issue appears to be caused by Steam generating an invalid launch path when the installation directory contains special characters.

The affected install directory is:

Thomas & Friends™ Wonders of Sodor

Observations:

• Game files are intact.
• The executable exists in WindowsNoEditor/.
• Running the executable manually via Proton works correctly.
• The issue only occurs when launching through Steam.
• Renaming the folder and using a symlink resolves the issue.

This suggests Steam Linux client path handling is breaking when special characters such as ™, &, and spaces are present in the game installation path.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Install a game with special characters in its folder name (e.g. ™, &, spaces).
2. Attempt to launch the game using Steam on Linux with Proton enabled.
3. Observe that the game shows “Starting” briefly and then immediately stops without launching.