PAYDAY 2 for Linux/SteamOS Changes & Save File Migration

As of August 13 2026, the Linux/SteamOS native build of PAYDAY 2, which was out of active development since 2023, has been removed from Steam so that Windows and Linux players can benefit from the updates to Diesel v3 and play together online.

For Linux/SteamOS players who are already playing the Windows version of PAYDAY 2 via Proton, no further action is required, but for players who played the native Linux version may want to rename their save files in order to not lose progress. This is due to Linux and Windows saves becoming seperate files in Update 228.

Manually moving PAYDAY 2 Linux Save files to Windows/Proton

This process will transfer your progress from the old native Linux build of PAYDAY 2 to the Windows build of PAYDAY 2, which is playable via Proton.

You should only do this process if your progress in the Linux Build is much greater than the Windows Build, or if you have never played the Windows Build at all, either on Windows or via Proton.

1. If you are using a Linux Distribution such as SteamOS or Bazzite that may, by default, boot into a full-screen experience, you will need to access its Desktop Mode before continuing. This can usually be found in the Power menus of your distribution, or in Steam Big Picture’s Shut Down menu.
2. Using a file manager or the terminal, browse to the PAYDAY 2 saves folder which may be found in one of the following locations:
   • ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<YourSteam3ID>/218620/remote
   • ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata/<YourSteam3ID>/218620/remote
3. Replace <YourSteam3ID> with your account’s Steam3 ID. If you don’t know this, you can visit https://steamcommunity.com/my/friends/add and find your Friend Code, which is the same as your Steam3 ID.
4. Create backups of the following files and move them to another folder (You can also download copies of these files online from Steam):
   • save098.sav
   • save000.sav
   • linux_save098.sav
   • linux_save000.sav
5. Remove or rename the save098.sav and save000.sav if they exist. (e.g. rename them to old_save098.sav and old_save000.sav respectively.)
6. Rename the linux_save098.sav file to save098.sav, and the linux_save000.sav file to save000.sav.

Now launch PAYDAY 2 and ensure that your game progress is correct.

If your progress remains incorrect, it’s likely that Steam has resynced your save files from Steam Cloud, overwriting the changes you just made. In this case, temporarily disable Steam Cloud for PAYDAY 2, repeat steps 4-6 and launch the game again. If your progress is correct this time, close the game and re-enable Steam Cloud for PAYDAY 2.

Steam still tries to launch Native Linux Version

If Steam continues to try and launch the Native Linux Version (likely with an error), please try the following in order:

• Restart Steam and/or your PC, to resync with the Steam Servers.
• Uninstall and Reinstall PAYDAY 2.
• Manually change the compatibility settings of PAYDAY 2 by:
  • Right Click PAYDAY 2 in Steam and select Properties
  • Select the Compatibility Tab
  • Tick ‘Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool’ and select ‘proton-stable’, which is the default runtime at the time of writing. Other Proton versions may also work.