Steam grants GTA V refunds after anti-cheat strands Steam Deck gamers in compatibility purgatory

Rockstar Games recently added BattleEye anti-cheat to Grand Theft Auto V, seemingly deliberately breaking Linux support in the process, leaving Steam Deck owners out in the cold, and placing the blame for Steam Deck incompatibility squarely on the shoulders of Valve. Now, Valve seems to be stepping up to the plate to ease the sting somewhat by issuing refunds for GTA V purchases — although it is unclear what the limitations for these refunds will be. 

According to a screenshot of a Steam support ticket shared by @Pirat_Nation on X, Valve is issuing refunds for GTA V purchases — including related DLC — in the form of Steam Store credit. It should be noted that Valve has spent a long time using GTA V and GTA Online compatibility as a selling point for the Steam Deck, with the Steam Deck microsite previously stating “Grand Theft Auto V is one of the top played games on Steam Deck!”

Despite abundant frustrations about the situation in general, Valve has received praise online for issuing refunds for GTA V, and the company is doing so in spite of the fact that GTA V's story mode is still compatible with Linux and the Steam Deck. It's only GTA Online that is affected by the addition of BattleEye. GTA V has also lost its Steam Deck Verified status due to the incompatibility with Online mode. 

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