protonscr

Steam automatically launches previous game when restarting or switching accounts

steamclosed
ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#13511 · opened 2026-08-12 by eslachance · updated 2026-08-12 · 1 comments · github
Eeslachance 2026-08-12 github

Your system information

  • Steam client version (build number or date): 1785799196
  • Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): CachyOS (Arch-based)
  • Opted into Steam client beta?: No
  • Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
  • Steam Logs: steam-logs.tar.gz
  • GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

Sometime when I open Steam, or switch accounts (my son plays on this PC), Steam launches the last game that was played. So, for example, I was playing All Will Fall, I closed it, and then I switched accounts to my son's and immediately it tried to launch All Will Fall, without being prompted to.

Interestingly, while writing this and just making sure I had the right info, after closing All Will Fall on my son's PC and launching his Baldur's Gate 3, then closing it and switching back to my account, it started All Will Fall? So it's not exactly "the last game whenever we switch" it's a little more chaotic. It's also not only when switching accounts, if I reboot and launch steam again it will sometimes launch the previous game automatically.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

  1. Be me
  2. Click top right profile, then Change Account
  3. Switch Accounts to another one
  4. Witness the magic

Notes

  • I use Family View to share games with my son.
  • This is not related to system startup, it's not always the same game, and happens on account switching or loading steam, so it has to be steam doing it
  • Steam support sent me here saying "we'd like to inform you that Steam for Linux is currently only supported on the latest version of 64-bit Ubuntu LTS with Unity, Gnome, or KDE desktops. If you are running another distribution of Linux, 32-bit Ubuntu, or an older version of Ubuntu we will not be able to provide support. We recommend you install the latest version of 64-bit Ubuntu for the best Steam experience on Linux." , so it may be time to change their autoresponse a bit, considering the entirety of SteamOS is based on Arch...
Kkisak-valve maintainer 2026-08-12 github

Hello @eslachance, this is from initially starting Steam from a game shortcut instead of the act of switching accounts and is already being tracked at #1414.

Closing as a duplicate.

Nothing extracted yet.