protonscr

[BUG] Steam Systray menu ignores "Launch Options" and "Ask when starting" preference

steamclosed
ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#12901 · opened 2026-02-08 by Angxor · updated 2026-02-08 · 1 comments · github
AAngxor 2026-02-08 github

Body: Please note: I am using an AI to help me summarize these findings because my English is limited, but the test results and technical context are my own.

Description: The Steam Systray Context Menu (Right-click -> [Game]) fails to respect the user's "Launch Options" configuration. Even if a specific launch mode is set as default, or if Steam is configured to "Ask when starting game", the Systray menu bypasses this logic entirely and always launches the default executable.

Technical Context: On Linux/Proton, being able to select the correct Launch Option is often critical for system stability.

  • Example: In 7 Days to Die, the user can choose "Launch without EAC".
  • When started via the Main Library, this choice is respected and the game runs stable.
  • When started via the Systray Menu, Steam ignores this choice and forces the EAC-enabled version.

In my specific environment (NVIDIA RTX 2080 / Wayland), this behavior leads to a chain reaction: The forced EAC launch causes severe synchronization stutters, which eventually triggers a hardware power-state safety measure (GPU locking to P3) due to the unstable load.

While the GPU power state issue is a separate driver/hardware reaction, Steam is responsible for bypassing the user's safety choice (the "No EAC" launch option), making it impossible to use the Systray menu safely.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Pick a game with multiple Launch Options (e.g., 7 Days to Die).
  2. Set the preference to a non-default option (e.g., "Launch without EAC") or set it to "Ask when starting game".
  3. Launch via the main Steam Library "PLAY" button: Works (Choice is respected).
  4. Launch via the Steam Systray Context Menu: Fails (Bypasses choice and launches default executable).

System Information:

  • OS: Arch Linux
  • GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2080 (Driver 590.48.01)
  • DE/WM: Hyprland (Wayland)
  • Related Issue: #6181
Kkisak-valve maintainer 2026-02-08 github

Hello @Angxor, please do not intentionally open duplicate issue reports.

Closing as a duplicate of #6181.

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