About
FUEL is an open-world arcade racing game set in a post-apocalyptic United States ravaged by extreme weather, where players freely roam an enormous seamless map driving cars, trucks, buggies, ATVs and motorcycles across deserts, forests and mountains. Its roughly 5,560-square-mile world (about the size of Connecticut) earned it a Guinness World Record for the largest playable area in a console game. Developed by Asobo Studio and published by Codemasters in 2009, it received mixed-to-favorable reviews praising its scale but criticizing repetitive events. It was later delisted from digital storefronts.
Identity
Launch
- Binary
- GameSetup.exe
- Needs files
- none beyond the binary
Proton
- Version
- Proton 9.0-4
- Winetricks
- —
- ProtonDB
- ProtonDB Bronze runs, but with problems
⚙ Setup notes
Game: 2009 Asobo Studio / Codemasters open-world racer (a record-holdingly huge map).
Install: Delisted — bring your own copy.
Proton: Force Proton 9.0x in Properties > Compatibility (proton_experimental also works).
Launcher / binary: Steam launches GameSetup.exe (the FUEL config/startup loader) by default — that is the correct launch target, not Fuel.exe directly. The core engine exe is Fuel.exe, but launching it bare skips required setup.
SecuROM (DRM blocker #1): The Steam build ships with SecuROM. SecuLauncher.exe does an online activation against your Steam CD key (Manage > CD keys) before it hands off to the game. Activation often fails on the old SecuROM servers; the community workaround swaps the SecuLauncher in for the setup launcher (rename GameSetup.exe to GameSetup.original.exe, then copy SecuLauncher.exe to GameSetup.exe) so the game starts without the broken activation gate.
GFWL (DRM blocker #2): After SecuROM, FUEL still hangs at a black 'Loading...' because the bundled Games for Windows LIVE service is dead. The clean fix is the Xliveless GFWL bypass — drop the replacement xlive.dll and xlive.ini into the game folder so the game launches AND can still save/load without GFWL (no GFWL client install needed under Proton this way). Edit the Player1 name in xlive.ini to keep matching an existing save.
Cosmetic: Optional polish — Vetron's Unofficial Patch #5 and the 'FUEL: REFUELED' overhaul, installed via JSGME (Generic Mod Enabler); DXVK is already provided by Proton.
Controller: Native gamepad support is good (game was console-released), so the Steam Deck controller works out of the box; if menus mis-map, apply a community Steam Input layout.
The one thing to know
Supply your own copy: Delisted — configuration only, no links.
Two DRM blockers, both must be handled: This is why the recipe is fiddly. (1) SecuROM — its online activation via SecuLauncher.exe frequently fails; community fix swaps SecuLauncher in as GameSetup.exe. (2) GFWL — the Xliveless bypass (xlive.dll + xlive.ini) is mandatory or the game hangs at Loading; saves work once it's in place.
Binary: Launch GameSetup.exe (Steam's default), not Fuel.exe directly.
Proton: Force Proton 9.0x.
Controller: Native controller support works on Deck.
Cosmetic: Optional Unofficial Patch #5 + FUEL: REFUELED via JSGME.
Community guides
Write-ups and threads from people who got this (or a similar) game running. deckport links to them — it doesn't reproduce them.
Get the artwork
deckport never hosts game images. Open this game on SteamGridDB, pick
the cover / hero / logo / icon you like, and drop them into the
game folder under .deckport-art/ before you push it to the
Deck. The importer files them under the right names automatically.
Run it on your Deck
Two files: the one-time importer (deckport.py) in your
Deck's home folder, and this game's install helper. Copy the game
into ~/Games and run the helper with Steam closed — it
writes the recipe (binary, launch options, Proton version)
and registers the shortcut with artwork.