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Across various previous articles we've looked at how many games are supported on Linux and how many Windows games work with Steam Play Proton, so let's take a look at the current top 100.

The top 100 Steam games is a list that fluctuates quite a lot, so this is taken using a snapshot of what was available thanks to SteamDB going by the 24 hour player peak count. Seems like a pretty good sample to use since it shouldn't be drastically different any time soon, except for big new releases after the article goes live of course. So this is just a snapshot of how things look in early October 2021 ahead of the Steam Deck release.

Over time the compatibility is expected to increase thanks to native ports, more Windows-only games working with Steam Play Proton and now Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye have expanded their support.

Name 24 Hr Peak Linux Status
New World 790,682 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 789,100 Linux Native
Dota 2 587,627 Linux Native
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS 341,912 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Apex Legends 220,593 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
NARAKA: BLADEPOINT 131,161 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Grand Theft Auto V 103,932 Works with Proton
Team Fortress 2 89,491 Linux Native
Destiny 2 81,595 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Rust 69,107 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Wallpaper Engine 64,082 Proton Broken
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege 64,048 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Warframe 59,171 Works with Proton
Dead by Daylight 56,988 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Rocket League 54,039 Works with Proton
Battlefield V 51,319 Works with Proton
Football Manager 2021 50,672 Works with Proton
ARK: Survival Evolved 46,999 Linux Native
FIFA 22 46,847 Works with Proton
Cookie Clicker 46,482 Works with Proton
Valheim 46,423 Linux Native
MIR4 46,023 Proton Broken
PAYDAY 2 38,942 Linux Native
Sid Meier's Civilization VI 37,433 Linux Native
Terraria 36,815 Linux Native
Euro Truck Simulator 2 35,640 Linux Native
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online 35,113 Works with Proton GE
DayZ 34,126 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
War Thunder 32,164 Linux Native
World of Tanks Blitz 31,939 Works with Proton
Hearts of Iron IV 31,686 Linux Native
Unturned 29,382 Linux Native
Garry's Mod 28,931 Linux Native
Farming Simulator 19 28,141 Works with Proton
Monster Hunter: World 28,126 Works with Proton
The Elder Scrolls Online 25,690 Works with Proton
Don't Starve Together 25,412 Linux Native
Total War: WARHAMMER II 25,372 Linux Native
Stardew Valley 24,900 Linux Native
Brawlhalla 23,196 Works with Proton
雀魂麻将(MahjongSoul) 23,028 Works with Proton
Left 4 Dead 2 22,208 Linux Native
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition 21,876 Works with Proton GE
Phasmophobia 21,558 Works with Proton
Europa Universalis IV 20,886 Linux Native
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20,084 Works with Proton
Sid Meier's Civilization V 19,629 Linux Native
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition 19,578 Works with Proton
7 Days to Die 19,320 Linux Native
RimWorld 19,272 Linux Native
Black Desert 18,719 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Red Dead Redemption 2 18,622 Works with Proton
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous 18,336 Works with Proton
Bloons TD 6 17,775 Works with Proton
VRChat 17,705 Unstable with Proton
Bless Unleashed 17,400 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth 17,363 Linux Native
Fallout 4 17,208 Works with Proton
SMITE 17,107 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Hunt: Showdown 16,873 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
SCUM 16,750 Proton Broken
Factorio 16,549 Linux Native
Stellaris 16,463 Linux Native
Cities: Skylines 16,238 Linux Native
Arma 3 16,060 Partially works with Proton
Conqueror's Blade 15,251 Proton Broken
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord 14,638 Works with Proton
Battlefield 1 14,473 Works with Proton
Counter-Strike 14,338 Linux Native
tModLoader 14,225 Linux Native
No Man's Sky 13,686 Works with Proton
Forza Horizon 4 13,465 Works with Proton
EA SPORTS FIFA 21 13,399 Unstable with Proton
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links 13,358 Works with Proton
eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE 13,297 Partially works with Proton
NBA 2K22 12,848 Works with Proton
Crusader Kings III 12,609 Linux Native
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 12,494 Proton Broken
Sea of Thieves 12,394 Partially works with Proton
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout 12,266 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Football Manager 2020 11,991 Works with Proton
The Sims 4 11,627 Works with Proton
Soundpad 11,571 Proton Broken
Path of Exile 11,232 Works with Proton
Geometry Dash 11,031 Works with Proton
Need for Speed Heat 11,018 Works with Proton
Satisfactory 10,788 Works with Proton
World of Warships 10,775 Works with Proton
DARK SOULS III 10,733 Works with Proton
Medieval Dynasty 10,611 Works with Proton GE
Dying Light 10,453 Linux Native
F1 2021 10,224 Proton Broken
Paladins 10,144 Proton Broken (Anti-Cheat)
Cyberpunk 2077 9,952 Works with Proton
Tales of Arise 9,686 Works with Proton
Eternal Return 9,235 Proton Broken
Divinity: Original Sin 2 9,131 Works with Proton
BeamNG.drive 9,123 Works with Proton
Timberborn 8,775 Works with Proton
Among Us 8,699 Works with Proton

Some notes:

  • Proton GE refers to the community-built version of Proton. So while it requires adding it manually (which takes all of 5 minutes), it still works. This is sometimes needed for games where videos don't work with the official Proton. Valve is working on getting them all working out of the box with official Proton.
  • We expect Rust to work at the launch of the Steam Deck or shortly after, given that Garry Newman of Facepunch already stated previously it was in progress to have their Easy Anti-Cheat supported in Proton.
  • Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition works but online multiplayer can desync unless you do a small fix.
  • Phasmophobia doesn't have in-game voice due to it needing Windows Cortana.
  • The native port of ARK: Survival Evolved is pretty poor, and online with the Windows version in Proton is broken due to the BattlEye anti-cheat used.
  • Rocket League was removed from Steam, however it does work with Wine (which Proton is built from) if you use something like the Heroic Games Launcher.
  • Total War: WARHAMMER II has a native Linux port but the multiplayer is separated from Windows, it does also work with Proton.
  • The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has a native port but the latest DLC does not, so it needs Proton for that.
  • Fallout 4 works but needs a small launch option fix for the audio.
  • Arma 3 single-player can work with Proton but multiplayer does not, same for eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE.
  • Sea of Thieves works but is missing in-game voice chat.

The takeaway here is that when blending together native Linux builds, those that run well with the official Valve Proton and Proton GE you can currently expect approximately 75% (minus 3 if you don't want to count Proton GE) of the top 100 to work on Linux / SteamOS and so hopefully the SteamOS Linux powered Steam Deck too.

It's never going to be an exact figure because PC gaming (both Windows and Linux) has so many possible configurations, there's a lot of wiggle room for games to work for one person and not another so as always take it with a grain of salt. How well they work within the constraints of the Steam Deck is another matter, many will need special tweaks.

When you think about those broken by anti-cheat, 15 might not sound like a lot but these are they absolute most popular games on Steam. Their absence will be felt if they aren't updated to work.

Considering there are over 52,000 games on Steam (with hundreds releasing each week), Valve has plenty of work to do with Proton to hit their marketing where they've said their aim is for all games to work. Hopefully a bunch more developers will also look to support Linux directly with either native builds or properly test against Proton to further increase compatibility.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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dxmn Oct 5, 2021
Hopefully Valve adds an easy way to implement GE's Proton into the steam deck. There are already tools like protonup that automate the aforementioned 5 minute process


Last edited by dxmn on 5 October 2021 at 4:49 pm UTC
Liam Dawe Oct 5, 2021
Quoting: dxmnHopefully Valve adds an easy way to implement GE's Proton into the steam deck. There are already tools like protonup that automate the aforementioned 5 minute process
Since you can access a full desktop mode, it should be easily possible unless Valve are doing something to block out the main Steam folders from any tampering which I doubt they can given you can do probably anything from CLI.
Kimyrielle Oct 5, 2021
Not sure how they want ALL (as in 100%) of games working in Linux, when some use custom anti-cheat systems other than the two they're working with their devs to get fixed. Also, the assumption that 100% of games using EAC or BattlEye will consent to Proton is -very- generous.

I consider the 100% figure very unattainable, unless they find a way to make anti-cheat stuff work with Linux without their devs having to patch it, or game devs having to opt in.

But hey, 75% isn't bad, right? We can run MOST games on Linux these days, and looking back to the pre Steam on Linux days, who would have thought THAT ever to happen?
Mohandevir Oct 5, 2021
+15 that are broken due to Anti-Cheat that may be within reach when Proton support is enabled... Not bad at all!
Beamboom Oct 5, 2021
I have to say it's an impressive amount being Linux native!
omer666 Oct 5, 2021
To me this feels like lottery.
Either developers just tick the option, or they just get frightened and don't tick the option, and Linux gaming is -- yet again -- a second-class citizen.
Whether they are going to do it or not, seriously, I don't know.
druncopsyken Oct 5, 2021
There is always Lutris for the odd titles that aren't available through steam or added outside of it. It allows for quite some tweaking if people are really willing to go through that effort for their games.

The biggest issue with the anti-cheat right now is that the developers/publishers should enable the Proton support. It's not in the hands of Valve to improve much now, unless they choose to ban games that refuse to support. Kind of like Nintendo's Seal of approval way back after the game crash of the 70s.

It's mostly up to those developers now and weather they care about their player base enough to support the console or not. While it is handy to take along as a pocket PC, I don't think competitive games that really need anti-cheat would be an ideal choice of game for such a system. Unless you stay at a certain location and set it up for such competitive play (e.g. utilizing the dock often).
Purple Library Guy Oct 5, 2021
I was actually surprised, given how much whining I've been hearing the last couple of years about no big games ever being done Linux native any more, just how many of that top 100 are in fact Linux native games.

I'd say the prospects for launch are looking pretty good. Consider--they can probably get the ones currently only on ProtonGE working in normal Proton by launch. I would be surprised if the anti-cheat on anything in the top 100 was some weird unknown little scheme--probably we're talking the big two, which have already been made to work with Proton. And it's worth Valve's while to go talk to every single one of those and bug them about enabling it.
That leaves 10 I count just saying "Proton broken" (or unstable) right now. What are the chances they could fix half of those by launch? If they did, that would leave just five, for 95%, and some of those might not be the kind of thing you'd use a Steam Deck for--for instance, what's Soundpad?

95% isn't bad. It might get a little lower as you leave the top 100, but Valve's a big company, surely they can bug the developers of games a few hundred down about anti-cheat. There were only 15 in the top 100 broken by anti-cheat; if you put just one staffer on full time "Tracking down devs and getting them to enable their anti-cheat for Proton", how many could they get through in a month? And I think anti-cheat gets less common as you get down into mid-tier games.

100%? No. But sure as heck a lot bigger % than back when they released Steam Machines.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 5 October 2021 at 5:51 pm UTC
CatKiller Oct 5, 2021
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Quoting: druncopsykenIt's not in the hands of Valve to improve much now, unless they choose to ban games that refuse to support.
"There are 28 games released every day on Steam, and a finite number of Featured slots on the Steam front page. Why should your game, which doesn't work on Steam hardware, get one of those slots instead of another game that does work on Steam hardware? Hmm?"
BielFPs Oct 5, 2021
Sadly 9 of the top 15 games are borked, and some of them (like csgo) often have problems with the linux version. This is what it needs to be "fixed" to make Linux a respected choice for a gaming setup, because unfortunately in general it's more worthy to have the most popular ones running than thousands of small indie games who almost nobody play.

Hope this opt-in AC can somehow remedy this situation.


Also Liam you should include in your post that Phasmophobia requires Cortana to use the voice functions of the game, so you kinda can play it with proton but you won't be able to speak with the ghosts.
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