Final Fantasy 14's broken launcher finally works on Steam Deck

Final Fantasy 14
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Valve has finally resolved an issue that was preventing Final Fantasy 14 fans from launching the game on Steam Deck.

While the developer stopped short of detailing what, exactly, the issue had been to start with, a new update to the experimental branch of the Deck's operating system declares it has "fix[ed] the new Final Fantasy 14 Online launcher".

While right now it's only available for those with Steam Deck's running Proton Experimental, the stable release should be rolling out soon enough so everyone will be able to access their favorite MMO on Valve's fancy new handheld system.

The update similarly resolves a problem that was preventing Resident Evil Revelations 2 from booting up, as well as fixes a problem with Deathloop that resulted in crashes after a long-term system suspend, and video playback issues in games including Ghostwire: Tokyo, Street Fighter 5 (which should now also see "improved FPS" during online matches), Ember Knights, and more (thanks, PCGN).

The system update further makes these games playable, too:  Age of Chivalry, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamer Edition, Saviors of Sapphire Wings/Stranger of Sword City Revisited, Iragon: Prologue, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, Atelier Meruru, Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide, Star Wars Episode I Racer, Gary Grigsby's War in the East, Gary Grigsby's War in the West, Beneath a Steel Sky, We Were Here Forever, Cities XXL, Cladun X2, Succubus x Saint, Cursed Armor.

ICYMI, Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of Final Fantasy 14, confirmed last week that the MMO's housing lottery system has now been resolved. While he acknowledged that the issues were "extensive and persistent", the team has since been able to resolve them.

Last month, Yoshida apologized to players after it was discovered that the new feature - which came into the game as part of the recent 6.1 Patch - was malfunctioning when some players participating in lotteries received messages informing them that they were unsuccessful because there "were no participants in this lottery", and others were told the winning lottery number was "0"... even though that number was unassignable, and no player could select it.

Did you know Square Enix recently reported increased profits in its latest financial year, with game sales also seeing a slight but noticeable rise largely thanks to the explosive popularity of Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker? 

If you're intrigued by Final Fantasy 14 and have yet to give the MMO a go, don't forget that free trials are now back after they - along with digital sales of the main game and expansions, too - were temporarily suspended in order to keep up with the incredibly high demand towards the end of last year. And if you're in need of a Final Fantasy 14 story recap, here's everything from the start of A Realm Reborn to the finale of Shadowbringers

Looking for a reason to get into the Square Enix MMORPG? Find out why you should play Final Fantasy 14 in 2022. 

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.