GTA Trilogy not launching on Steam Deck: What are the causes and possible fixes?

Rockstar Games has released a new update for the GTA Trilogy that fixed many issues in the game but appears to break the game on the Steam Deck. Reportedly, none of the titles in GTA Trilogy seemed to launch, after which users took to X and Reddit to express their frustration. That said, there is a possible fix for this.

In this guide, we explain the most likely causes behind the launch issue and how to possibly fix it.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and rely on the writer's opinion. This is an ongoing issue and is subject to change.

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Possible causes behind the GTA Trilogy launch issues on Steam Deck

The Steam Deck (Image via Valve)

The new update fixed numerous bugs in all three titles of the GTA Trilogy but introduced a bug of its own. The game refuses to launch on the Steam Deck, even though it runs fine on PCs and consoles. The game ran on DirectX 11 API, and a change to this API seems to have broken it on SteamOS, the operating system of Steam Deck.

Therefore, switching the API from DirectX 11 to 12 fixes the game. In the next section, we explain how to switch the API and possibly fix the GTA Trilogy not launching issue.

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How to possibly fix the GTA Trilogy launch issues on Steam Deck

The game launch settings page on Steam (Image via Valve)

Follow these steps to possibly fix the GTA Trilogy not launching issue:

• Launch the Steam app.
• Click on the Library tab and select a GTA Trilogy title from the left pane.
• Find the Settings/Gear icon on the right side of the game page.
• Click on the Gear icon and select Properties.
• In the Launch Options, add the text "-dx12" without the quotes. Don't add any space in the text.
• Close the window, and the game should launch.

This fix has to be applied manually to all three games of GTA Trilogy. Doing so in only one title won't fix it for others. Thus, these steps must be applied to all three games.