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Valve has released Proton 5.13-1 for testing, this compatibility layer for Steam Play brings with it many advancements for getting more Windows games working on Linux.

This is the first proper public release of Proton since 5.0-9 back in June, while they also had 5.0-10 left in testing back in July so no doubt this will be very exciting for fans of Proton. However, it seems this is being classed as a Beta release. If you're not clear on what Proton and Steam Play are, be sure to check out our constantly updated dedicated page.

Before getting started, be aware this comes with a known issue with controllers / gamepads where hotplugging is currently broken in some titles. Apart from that, it sounds like a huge release including lots of new playable titles like: Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, DEATH STRANDING, Sea of Thieves, Age of Empires III, Call of Duty: WWII, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and others.

Even more came with it though, there's better Steam client integration to fix Call of Duty titles, Spelunky 2, Torchlight III, Path of Exile and RPG Maker MZ. Video Playback is a big one, a constant nuisance for Proton and that's been worked on also with improved support for older video libraries and work continues on newer video libraries. Additionally titles like Halo 3, Beyond: Two Souls and Tomb Raider 2 should see better audio playback.

They also upgraded the Direct3D 9/10/11 to Vulkan layer DXVK to 1.7.2, FAudio to 20.10, pulled in the latest Direct3D 12 to Vulkan code from vkd3d-proton and they're even now building it against the next generation of the Steam Linux Runtime too. If you have more than one monitor, rejoice, as they also mentioned "improved" support for that too.

The version of Wine that Proton is based upon, as the version suggests, has also been bumped up to Wine 5.13 and they said at least 256 of their changes from Proton 5.0 have either been up-streamed or they're just not needed.

Full changelog can be found here. You may need to manually install it in Steam, it will show up as Proton 5.13 in the Tools section in your Steam Library. You can then select to force it onto games individually to test with by right clicking on a game, going to Properties and then the Steam Play section at the bottom:

Note: if you're having issues, ensure you have "Steam Linux Runtime - Soldier" installed on Steam. Just search for it in your Steam Library in Tools. You can find a list of other currently known issues here.

If you need help and support, do remember to use our dedicated Forum.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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jens Oct 17, 2020
  • Supporter
Quoting: slapinWell, nothing works on Proton 5.13 due to https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/4278

Well, it really depends on the setup. Here on Fedora everything is fine, but according to this post especially Arch users with some weird things installed (steam-native cough) seems to have issues. Steam within Flatpak seems to be another thing that doesn't work now. Not sure though if one of those are relevant for your setup.
minfaer Oct 17, 2020
Quoting: jensWell, it really depends on the setup. Here on Fedora everything is fine, but according to this post especially Arch users with some weird things installed (steam-native cough) seems to have issues. Steam within Flatpak seems to be another thing that doesn't work now. Not sure though if one of those are relevant for your setup.

I guess it does depend on the setup, but I'm on Fedora without Flatpak or native runtime and nothing works with 5.13 here, either. 5.0 still works perfectly. So no, not because of weird things instaled.

Edit: should mention that I am on F 33 beta, though. Maybe a package update breaks it on Arch and F 33, but not sure.


Last edited by minfaer on 17 October 2020 at 2:36 pm UTC
slapin Oct 17, 2020
  • Supporter Plus
Well, I was not able to pass through all that correctly, will wait until problems are fixed, I don't want to end up with games currently working become not working. Also they require sysctl -w kernel.unprivileged_userns_clone=1 which is equivalent of runnung proton as root kind of security hole, which is unacceptable for me. I wonder if someone can build proton 5.13 against original runtime which has no all these problems as I think it will take a lot of time to resolve (if anybody cares).
TheRiddick Oct 18, 2020
5.13 received a 79MB update just before.
jens Oct 18, 2020
  • Supporter
This might be of interest when things broke with 5.13:
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/4289
legluondunet Oct 18, 2020
Quoting: TheRiddick5.13 received a 79MB update just before.

yes, they updated Proton 5.13 without experimental MS active movie code.
Liam Dawe Oct 18, 2020
Added a note about installing newer runtime, and a link to known issues. Also clarified that this is a Beta release.


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 18 October 2020 at 10:27 am UTC
DMG Oct 18, 2020
Quoting: Liam DaweAdded a note about installing newer runtime, and a link to known issues. Also clarified that this is a Beta release.

Maybe I'm asking dumb question, but how "Steam Linux Runtime - Soldier" is related to proton, how to check it's version and how to install new, if needed? From reddit post I understand, that Steam Linux Runtime is for linux games and proton for windows. Now both are broken?
Liam Dawe Oct 18, 2020
Quoting: DMG
Quoting: Liam DaweAdded a note about installing newer runtime, and a link to known issues. Also clarified that this is a Beta release.

Maybe I'm asking dumb question, but how "Steam Linux Runtime - Soldier" is related to proton, how to check it's version and how to install new, if needed? From reddit post I understand, that Steam Linux Runtime is for linux games and proton for windows. Now both are broken?
This latest Proton release seems to use the new runtime. Just installed it as stated in the article, and you're good to go. It always gives you the latest, until they come up with an entirely new runtime.
gojul Oct 19, 2020
Death Stranding starts but freezes really often. I hope they fix it soon.
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