Don't want to see articles from a certain category? When logged in, go to your User Settings and adjust your feed in the Content Preferences section where you can block tags!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

As we speculated previously, Valve have now officially announced their new version of 'Steam Play' for Linux gaming using a modified distribution of Wine called Proton, which is available on GitHub.

What does it do? In short: it allows you to play Windows games on Linux, directly through the Steam client as if they were a Linux game.

What many people suspected turned out to be true, DXVK development was actually funded by Valve. They actually employed the DXVK developer since February 2018. On top of that, they also helped to fund: vkd3d (Direct3D 12 implementation based on Vulkan), OpenVR and Steamworks native API bridges, wined3d performance and functionality fixes for Direct3D 9 and Direct3D 11 and more.

The amount of work that has gone into this—it's ridiculous.

Here's what they say it improves:

  • Windows games with no Linux version currently available can now be installed and run directly from the Linux Steam client, complete with native Steamworks and OpenVR support.
  • DirectX 11 and 12 implementations are now based on Vulkan, resulting in improved game compatibility and reduced performance impact.
  • Fullscreen support has been improved: fullscreen games will be seamlessly stretched to the desired display without interfering with the native monitor resolution or requiring the use of a virtual desktop.
  • Improved game controller support: games will automatically recognize all controllers supported by Steam. Expect more out-of-the-box controller compatibility than even the original version of the game.
  • Performance for multi-threaded games has been greatly improved compared to vanilla Wine.

It currently has a limited set of games that are supported, but even so it's quite an impressive list that they're putting out there. Which includes DOOM, FINAL FANTASY VI, Into The Breach, NieR: Automata, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and more. They will enable many more titles as progress on it all continues.

To be clear, this is available right now. To get it, you need to be in the Steam Client Beta.

There will be drawbacks, like possible performance issues and games that rely on some DRM might likely never be supported, but even so the amount of possibilities this opens up has literally split my head open with Thor's mighty hammer.

Read more here.

Holy shit. Please excuse the language, but honestly, I'm physically shaking right now I don't quite know how to process this.

Update #1: I spoke to Valve earlier, about how buying Windows games to play with this system counts, they said this:

Hey Liam, the normal algorithm is in effect, so if at the end of the two weeks you have more playtime on Linux, it'll be a Linux sale. Proton counts as Linux.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
151 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
528 comments
Page: «10/53»
  Go to:

Shmerl Aug 22, 2018
No visible effect from Esync on the Witcher 3 using wined3d.
Koopacabras Aug 22, 2018
What about Denuvo games? anyone had luck with those?
Leopard Aug 22, 2018
Quoting: jakobvonguntenInstalled and it's working. This will be the end of Lutris?

No but probably Lutris will be a GOG , Origin , Battle.net centric place now.
BrazilianGamer Aug 22, 2018
I KNEW IT. Why would people release high quality software in a weekly basis for free? I know there are a lot of great OS Projects but DXVK? They just didn't know the word Stop. They should be financed by someone. And this someone is Valve. It worked just as a test, A Proof of Concept, once they saw it worked, pretty well btw, they would implement it on Steam. OOOOHHHH Great times are coming my friends


Last edited by BrazilianGamer on 22 August 2018 at 1:21 am UTC
Comandante Ñoñardo Aug 22, 2018
Anyone tried with The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (which is Free) and LIS: Before the Storm?
jarhead_h Aug 22, 2018
I'm tempted to install DOOM even though I know my Phenom II won't run it very very well, even with the 1060. It's on my list to play after I get my Ryzen2 rig built along with the most recent Deus Ex.

So far I've tried Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY and Far Cry 3 and neither of them worked. I had Far Cry 3 running on regular WINE a few weeks ago.
ProfessorKaos64 Aug 22, 2018
Workaround to access all steam play options with SteamOS:

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/14

I would like to see a logo or something indicating you are using Proton as well. Great stuff!
ulysses768 Aug 22, 2018
You can't have a winning business plan for a game streaming service if that service relies on Windows instances/VMs. Right now on AWS Linux GPU instances are 20-25% of the cost of Windows instances for the same instance type. Video games, AR, VR are the future of entertainment and margins will be nonexistent if you have to pay MS a license for every node you spin up. Linux gaming is the future, it's just that whatever OS the consumer is using is irrelevant, just like any other web app. No one runs Windows on cloud services unless they absolutely have to.
Scoopta Aug 22, 2018
When I saw the speculation you guys reported earlier I was against it. Now that I know it counts as a Linux sale I'm still not really for it but it does make me feel a little better. Although, I still probably won't use it because I'm worried that this will just be the norm for gaming on Linux. Who needs natives if wine is good enough right? That idea still rubs me the wrong way but it's cool technology never the less.
Luke_Nukem Aug 22, 2018
Quoting: GuestRemember when Gabe Newell convinced id Software and Bill Gates to port DOOM to Windows 95 and then all the game developers would only make games for DOS after that?

Yeah, me neither! :P

PS - It's that time of year apparently. ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_95

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Corporation

I thought it was Alex St. John who pulled that off (he is also a complete fuckwit of a person)
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.