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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.

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96 comments
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kokoko3k Oct 7, 2021
Quoting: CFWhitmanI suspect that there are legal obstacles to them shipping protonGE, or they would already make it available through Steam.
That was the first thing i asked about:
Quoting: kokoko3kAre there licensing issues i'm not aware of?

Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoEverytime that somebody suggest to install a WMF patch with a link included, Kisak delete it because is a "legally problematic workaround"
Thanks :)
Arten Oct 7, 2021
Quoting: BielFPsOn the contrary, popular games can separate a company from being a big profitable one to bankruptcy. Take Nintendo for example, a multi millionaire multinational company which holds in 3 specific franchises: Mario, Zelda and Pokemon. It doesn't matter if they have less games that other platforms, or if the competition have more capable performance, because people are willing to buy their products in order to play those popular ones. And if for some reason they launch an console without those games, then it would fail for sure.

But they have control over exclusivity. You want to play Mario kart? Buy Switch. There's zero chance valve would convince other developers on Linux exclusivity to make this work. They could only make their games so exclusive, but what have they released lately? Alyx? It is already trying to take this approach with VR. Exclusivity for both Linux and VR would kill it.

Quoting: BielFPsThey still could do it by sponsoring already consolidated games (like the ones in this article for example). If Linux was the only platform that steam supported, then Valve would need to do this (like consoles do for example). Since Valve profits from both systems they don't have any reason to heavily push one of them.

Well, they can achieve the same result with a proton. Moreover, it is possible that the approach of sponsoring development was what convinced Anticheat to support proton.

Quoting: BielFPsA whole lot, and this article is the illustration of it. When you're a big company selling something quantities of sales matter (sometimes over quality unfortunately), 1 game played by thousands matter more than 100 games played by 10 people, you may don't agree with it but it's the reality.

Almost everyone has an old game that they think they'll play sometimes even if they're not playing it at the moment.
BielFPs Oct 7, 2021
Quoting: CFWhitmanThey can do this as long as they don't care about missing out on any sales that would go to Steam Deck owners. In that case
It all depends on the math with costs with supporting another platform (yes support, because they have to make sure bugs don't happen like the AC banning people for using proton for example) versus potentially new sales (those who already bough the game / DLC doesn't count)


Quoting: CFWhitmanChanging the operating system to Windows is not something the majority of people will be interested in doing (especially not permanently).
With motivation (like more games / that specific game who doesn't run on steam) and a YouTube tutorial they can.

Quoting: CFWhitmanYes, very much so. Valve making sure Windows will install is in no way the same thing as supporting it.
And what else do they need? Steam already supports Windows since it's conception, and AMD will probably release those drivers for windows too (not doing so would be bad PR for then).

Quoting: CFWhitmanYou seem assured that running Windows on the Steam Deck will be a very common thing.
It will if games that people want to play doesn't work with SteamOS, once people spend money with the device they will do whatever it takes to make sure it works as they intended, and Valve will have profit from that in both ways.
Eike Oct 7, 2021
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Quoting: BielFPsIt will if games that people want to play doesn't work with SteamOS, once people spend money with the device they will do whatever it takes to make sure it works as they intended, and Valve will have profit from that in both ways.

I can't say either how often this will happen. But most ordinary people to not tinker with their device following some YouTube tips. This might be an impression to get when moving in nerd circles and their websites, but it's not the average Joe and Jane.
BielFPs Oct 7, 2021
Quoting: ArtenBut they have control over exclusivity. You want to play Mario kart? Buy Switch.
Exactly, which confirms the point I'm trying to say

You said before

Quoting: ArtenSponsoring popular games would not be an effective use of resources, regardless of the reason.
and

Quoting: ArtenBesides, how many people play just popular games?
And then you give yourself an example. The fact people are willing to spend money on a console only to play a popular game / franchise (with exclusivity or not) shows the power of popular games.

You have no idea how many consoles Sony / Microsoft sold just because of people who want to play FIFA with a joystick.

Quoting: ArtenWell, they can achieve the same result with a proton. Moreover, it is possible that the approach of sponsoring development was what convinced Anticheat to support proton.
If they support it, AC works different from games so those who opt in will have to make sure the AC software is not banning people wrongly, and to do this has costs. So don't be surprised if the situation doesn't change so much after deck release.

Quoting: ArtenAlmost everyone has an old game that they think they'll play sometimes even if they're not playing it at the moment.
Old games doesn't generate so much revenue like new games, specially if people already bough it. And if those old games are already working right now them opt-in in the AC support won't be necessary for the companies.
BielFPs Oct 7, 2021
Quoting: EikeI can't say either how often this will happen. But most ordinary people to not tinker with their device following some YouTube tips. This might be an impression to get when moving in nerd circles and their websites, but it's not the average Joe and Jane.
Then average Joe and Jane might not even buy deck in this case, usually what brings people to buy a new console is "I want to play this specific game on it".

Let's take the hype of the moment for example: Amazon's New World

If Steam deck was released today and you said to the average users "you can play New world on it" then this might give impulse for people to buy it. (Gave this example as a "hyped" game, let's not enter into the technical specs)

-If you say "This game doesn't work on it" and average people won't buy it, then it'll result in less steam deck sales.

-Less steam deck sales results in less games being bought because of it.

-Less games being bought results in companies not bothering to opt-in / support AC on SteamOS / Linux.

-Companies not supporting AC software on SteamOS / Linux means the situation will remain the same for us as it is today (or worse if Valve suddenly decides to reduce investments on Linux gaming).

The two main point I said before all these people quoting me was
-Valve profit from both Windows and Linux sales, despite deck success or not
-Valve is not support Linux for ideological reasons, but because Linux is a way to make then independent to Microsoft.
CFWhitman Oct 7, 2021
Quoting: BielFPsThe two main point I said before all these people quoting me was
-Valve profit from both Windows and Linux sales, despite deck success or not
-Valve is not support Linux for ideological reasons, but because Linux is a way to make then independent to Microsoft.

I want to make it clear that I never intended to contradict these two points. They are both true.

I do think, however, that if the Steam Deck were to be turned into something that most people converted to Windows, Valve would consider it a failed attempt to further establish their independence from Microsoft. Having people running Windows on the Steam Deck is not their goal, despite that still being profitable for them.

I also have serious doubts that any less than 75%, and probably more like 90%+, of Steam Deck owners will keep Steam OS as the installed system (at least for the first three years) just because that's what came on it.

(Edit: I would like to add that I don't think Valve would go to all the trouble they have supporting Linux strictly for ideological reasons, but I do think that Gabe Newell likes that supporting Linux also is in line with his ideology on the subject of operating systems.)


Last edited by CFWhitman on 7 October 2021 at 3:34 pm UTC
KohlyKohl Oct 13, 2021
Quoting: CFWhitman
Quoting: BielFPsThe two main point I said before all these people quoting me was
-Valve profit from both Windows and Linux sales, despite deck success or not
-Valve is not support Linux for ideological reasons, but because Linux is a way to make then independent to Microsoft.

I want to make it clear that I never intended to contradict these two points. They are both true.

I do think, however, that if the Steam Deck were to be turned into something that most people converted to Windows, Valve would consider it a failed attempt to further establish their independence from Microsoft. Having people running Windows on the Steam Deck is not their goal, despite that still being profitable for them.

I also have serious doubts that any less than 75%, and probably more like 90%+, of Steam Deck owners will keep Steam OS as the installed system (at least for the first three years) just because that's what came on it.

(Edit: I would like to add that I don't think Valve would go to all the trouble they have supporting Linux strictly for ideological reasons, but I do think that Gabe Newell likes that supporting Linux also is in line with his ideology on the subject of operating systems.)

The mere fact that one is even allowed to install Windows on the Steam Deck negates this argument.

I hope most people keep Linux on the Steam Deck. However, I've known enough Windows gamer's over the years to know that many of them will be more than willing to install Windows on the Steam Deck even if it is something they normally wouldn't do.
Purple Library Guy Oct 13, 2021
Quoting: KohlyKohlThe mere fact that one is even allowed to install Windows on the Steam Deck negates this argument.
I don't think it does. Aside from it being fundamentally hard to claim you're advocating for open systems while peddling a closed machine, there's a gamble there.
The question is, can Valve get more sales to people who wouldn't buy if the safety, ahem, valve of Windows as an option weren't there, than the number of people who end up actually exercising that option? If they can get the SteamOS Steam Deck and Proton working smooth enough, arguably few people will feel the need to go to the trouble of installing for themselves a not-actively-supported OS on the device.

So like, say they sell three million units to people who would buy the thing no matter what OS was running or available on it. That by itself would be three million Linux installs they would get with a locked down machine.
And say they sell another one million to people who are skeptical of SteamOS/Linux but figure if it's a problem they can always load Windows on it. But only 200,000 of those actually do so. Then they have 3.8 million Linux installs instead of 3 million--a net gain. Even if a couple hundred thousand of the original three million end up ripping out Linux, they're still ahead on the open platform vs the closed.

And they'll probably get some sales, though not in huge numbers, to people who have no intention of putting Windows on it but are interested in the idea of having a Switch-like thing that isn't crippleware, that they can tinker with in different ways. Those people are also often influencers, so they could boost broader sales by talking the thing up. So leaving it open has that benefit.

It's still a gamble. If SteamOS and Proton don't deliver and users get frustrated, and so lots of people who started out platform agnostic end up ripping SteamOS out and putting on Windows, they could end up with less net Linux installs than if they'd sold a locked down device. But if it's that bad it'll be a failure anyway so whether it's locked down becomes kind of moot.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 13 October 2021 at 7:36 pm UTC
CFWhitman Oct 13, 2021
Quoting: KohlyKohlThe mere fact that one is even allowed to install Windows on the Steam Deck negates this argument.

How so? Do you know what "negates this argument" means? It implies a significant logical flaw that makes the argument invalid. Even if what I said turns out not to be the case, it would not be logically flawed; it would merely be incorrect.

Quoting: KohlyKohlI hope most people keep Linux on the Steam Deck. However, I've known enough Windows gamer's over the years to know that many of them will be more than willing to install Windows on the Steam Deck even if it is something they normally wouldn't do.

We'll see I suppose. I don't see a high percentage of people moving it to Windows unless Valve "drops the ball" somehow. The most likely way I could see would be if this is too soon for the whole Proton/Steam OS approach to be truly ready (or, conceivably, that the Proton/Steam OS approach could never be ready enough).
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