Opted in to* Steam client beta?: Yes [*see #11857]
Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
Additional context : I have on my system the absolute minimum dependencies and libraries required for xwayland to function. (Does the Steam Deck use xwayland to display the Steam Client when in desktop mode, or does the Steam client run natively on the Steam Deck? If so, could it be possible to port this functionality to desktop (wayland as opposed to ) linux via a "gwayland" or something?)
"Send Message" functionality absent.
Edit: Further testing has revealed this to be a very similar issue to one I have previously made a report for. Unfortunately, in that instance, similar to this one, my time was very limited and I was/am unable to provide much more diagnostic information.
The issue can be rectified by logging out of steam friends, closing the steam friends list window, and then re-opening it.
DOUBLE SUPER EXTRA EDIT: GUARANTEED REPRODUCTION METHOD FOUND: After getting the steam friends list and chat to work, change your system scaling value (in this case, in gnome monitor settings) to a value other than %100. Again try to access chat, friends list will open normally, but opening a chat window is impossible.
Another thing I noticed is that one of the chat windows that I tested had the window open on a non-primary monitor. (this test was at %100 scaling)
This kind oflike bug has been my general experience with Steam ever since the release of the native client about a decade ago or something, I hope that maybe something I have reported here can help to rectify this problem. (Or, maybe more likely, Valve probably knows that the client sucks on Wayland rn, and has a roadblock preventing progress on a native wayland linux client.)
Good luck convincing someone to actually maintain xwayland, lmao. Steam is pretty much the only thing that uses it anymore, it probably should be one of your people anyway.
In summary: This is probably upstream to xwayland. If you want Steam on Desktop Linux to work on high-end desktop Linux, Create wayland native client or take over development of xwayland. xorg is no longer an option for high end functionality of high end hardware, and xwayland is losing developer support.
As an aside, and this is for anyone, out of interest, what percentage of issue reports you see are actually upstream issues, and have you noticed a precipitous increase in that percentage over the past 1-2 years?
And to be clear, I do see this to be a legitimate issue report that concerns a bug in the steam for linux client. No Wayland support in 2025 is a bug and you can not convince me otherwise. Steam is a gaming platform, gaming sucks on xorg. You can not convince me otherwise, we are not the same.
Edit: Seems that it's just CEF holding everything back. I have another suggestion for the Issue Report Template, add something like "yeah, steam client on desktop linux is getting worse by the day, the problem is CEF, we know the issue, they know the issue, wayland in CEF is like a year away at maximum (unless they are Valve time also lol, idk.)"
I said "something like", not "exactly this", lol.
And, on second thoughts, report template is good, but even better would be something that gets put at the bottom of every steam client patch notes.
"Send Message" functionality absent.
Edit: Further testing has revealed this to be a very similar issue to one I have previously made a report for. Unfortunately, in that instance, similar to this one, my time was very limited and I was/am unable to provide much more diagnostic information.
The issue can be rectified by logging out of steam friends, closing the steam friends list window, and then re-opening it.
DOUBLE SUPER EXTRA EDIT: GUARANTEED REPRODUCTION METHOD FOUND: After getting the steam friends list and chat to work, change your system scaling value (in this case, in gnome monitor settings) to a value other than %100. Again try to access chat, friends list will open normally, but opening a chat window is impossible.
Another thing I noticed is that one of the chat windows that I tested had the window open on a non-primary monitor. (this test was at %100 scaling)
This kind oflike bug has been my general experience with Steam ever since the release of the native client about a decade ago or something, I hope that maybe something I have reported here can help to rectify this problem. (Or, maybe more likely, Valve probably knows that the client sucks on Wayland rn, and has a roadblock preventing progress on a native wayland linux client.)
Good luck convincing someone to actually maintain xwayland, lmao. Steam is pretty much the only thing that uses it anymore, it probably should be one of your people anyway.
In summary: This is probably upstream to xwayland. If you want Steam on Desktop Linux to work on high-end desktop Linux, Create wayland native client or take over development of xwayland. xorg is no longer an option for high end functionality of high end hardware, and xwayland is losing developer support.
As an aside, and this is for anyone, out of interest, what percentage of issue reports you see are actually upstream issues, and have you noticed a precipitous increase in that percentage over the past 1-2 years?
And to be clear, I do see this to be a legitimate issue report that concerns a bug in the steam for linux client. No Wayland support in 2025 is a bug and you can not convince me otherwise. Steam is a gaming platform, gaming sucks on xorg. You can not convince me otherwise, we are not the same.
Edit: Seems that it's just CEF holding everything back. I have another suggestion for the Issue Report Template, add something like "yeah, steam client on desktop linux is getting worse by the day, the problem is CEF, we know the issue, they know the issue, wayland in CEF is like a year away at maximum (unless they are Valve time also lol, idk.)"
I said "something like", not "exactly this", lol.
And, on second thoughts, report template is good, but even better would be something that gets put at the bottom of every steam client patch notes.