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5 years later Valve finally gives Windows compatibility tool Proton a logo

By - | Views: 47,382

Can you believe it? Proton, the compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run on Steam Deck / Linux PCs didn't actually have a proper logo for over 5 years.

Not everything actually needs a logo of course, but it did feel somewhat odd for a piece of software so essential to Valve's plans to just be completely blank on that. With all the entries of Proton in Steam just showing up blank with their name and version, it was about time Valve made it at least a tiny bit prettier don't you think?


Pictured - Proton logo - Valve

Proton has been around since August 2018! 5 and a half years! Hard to imagine trying to game on Linux without it now, it's so incredibly useful and just amazing tech. The Steam Deck obviously wouldn't have been such a success without it, and it's crazy to think the original Steam Machines launched as they did with so few popular games. Proton is a true blessing, enabling tens of thousands of games to work on Linux systems like the Steam Deck.

I guess I can finally retire the silly little placeholder logo I threw out a long time ago when I needed something for it. Rest easy my child, your time is over.

Also, in case you missed it, Valve also recently launched the first Beta of Proton 9.0 and a new Proton Experimental version. Be sure to also read the overview I did back when Proton turned 5 which nicely sums things up.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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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.
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35 comments
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neolith Feb 28
Sorry to be that guy, but that is really not a good icon for the name.
By the looks of it I would guess hydrogen anion, but never proton.
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Quoting: neolithSorry to be that guy, but that is really not a good icon for the name.
By the looks of it I would guess hydrogen anion, but never proton.
Exile the traitor!
Quoting: neolithSorry to be that guy, but that is really not a good icon for the name.
By the looks of it I would guess hydrogen anion, but never proton.
To be fair, protons don't really look like much of anything. Heck, I think it's hard to even abstractly conceptualize them as looking like much of anything . . . maybe you could represent them as some kind of swirl of three components (the quarks)?
geekening Feb 29
QuoteI guess I can finally retire the silly little placeholder logo I threw out a long time ago when I needed something for it. Rest easy my child, your time is over

mfw I realize that wasn't the official logo
Now that I think of the Nintendo v Emulator lawsuit -- how would this effect Proton ???

If successful could Microsoft launch a lawsuit and say WINE is illegal? as it "Circumvents the intended use-case" ???

Honestly Fuck Nintendo for trying to ruin the gaming industry. This is the Unity Fiasco all over again.

Edit: I hope Nintendo gets gutted like SEGA and realized the idiocracy of their ways -- namely that they sell "content", and if people are playing their games in "unwanted ways" they are fucking idiots for __ NOT FUCKING SELLING THEIR CONTENT ON STEAM __

Gabe Newell is Right Again! 'Piracy Is A Service Problem'

Nintendo is having a identity crisis and still thinks they are a "hardware company" -- welcome to the future where hand-held game devices are a dime a dozen, don't let the door hit your ass.


Last edited by ElectricPrism on 29 February 2024 at 12:29 am UTC
Quoting: ElectricPrismNow that I think of the Nintendo v Emulator lawsuit -- how would this effect Proton ???

If successful could Microsoft launch a lawsuit and say WINE is illegal? as it "Circumvents the intended use-case" ???

Honestly Fuck Nintendo for trying to ruin the gaming industry. This is the Unity Fiasco all over again.

Edit: I hope Nintendo gets gutted like SEGA and realized the idiocracy of their ways -- namely that they sell "content", and if people are playing their games in "unwanted ways" they are fucking idiots for __ NOT FUCKING SELLING THEIR CONTENT ON STEAM __

Gabe Newell is Right Again! 'Piracy Is A Service Problem'

Nintendo is having a identity crisis and still thinks they are a "hardware company" -- welcome to the future where hand-held game devices are a dime a dozen, don't let the door hit your ass.
The major way Wine differs from Yuzu is that Wine does not circumvent technological protection measures. Yuzu decrypts Switch games using user-provided prod.keys files. Wine doesn't run afoul of the DMCA as it is currently written.

However, Nintendo seem fully-prepared to argue about the legality of emulation should it get to that stage based on the public filing.
Quoting: pleasereadthemanualThe major way Wine differs from Yuzu is that Wine does not circumvent technological protection measures.

I 100% agree with you it __SHOULD__ but the world we live in "money talks, bullshit walks".

Assuming this is this American legal system we are talking about, I'm not particularly confident that a jury of "average peers" or citizens have the technical intellectual framework necessary to understand the difference between Wine & Emulation.

The name wine even is a bit of a acknowledgement of this conflation -- W.ine I.s N.ot a E.mulator.

I would love to be optimistic, but considering the levels* of idiocracy and incompetence in the modern age, I can't help but consider this to be a very real and serious possibility.

I can't see the slope any other way than slippery if they succeed.

(Final thoughts, most people don't know the difference between a JPEG and a GIF, we can't even get past annunciation.)


Last edited by ElectricPrism on 29 February 2024 at 1:17 am UTC
melkemind Feb 29
Quoting: ElectricPrism
Quoting: pleasereadthemanualThe major way Wine differs from Yuzu is that Wine does not circumvent technological protection measures.

I 100% agree with you it __SHOULD__ but the world we live in "money talks, bullshit walks".

Assuming this is this American legal system we are talking about, I'm not particularly confident that a jury of "average peers" or citizens have the technical intellectual framework necessary to understand the difference between Wine & Emulation.

The name wine even is a bit of a acknowledgement of this conflation -- W.ine I.s N.ot a E.mulator.

I would love to be optimistic, but considering the levels* of idiocracy and incompetence in the modern age, I can't help but consider this to be a very real and serious possibility.

I can't see the slope any other way than slippery if they succeed.

(Final thoughts, most people don't know the difference between a JPEG and a GIF, we can't even get past annunciation.)

At least for the moment, Microsoft's Xbox division is interested in selling games and game services (GamePass). They have no interest in restricting games to the Windows ecosystem. That's why their games are on Steam. If they wanted to be petty, they could just only sell their games in the Windows Store. They aren't even restricting their first-party console games to Xbox.

If Proton means more people will play their games, I think they're all for it. In fact, I don't think Microsoft even wants to be in the OS business anymore. It's not their big money maker. Restricting games just doesn't benefit them financially.

So, yes, it's a possibility as much as anything is a possibility. But is it "very real and serious?" I doubt it. Not for now, at least.
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Quoting: melkemind
Quoting: ElectricPrism
Quoting: pleasereadthemanualThe major way Wine differs from Yuzu is that Wine does not circumvent technological protection measures.

I 100% agree with you it __SHOULD__ but the world we live in "money talks, bullshit walks".

Assuming this is this American legal system we are talking about, I'm not particularly confident that a jury of "average peers" or citizens have the technical intellectual framework necessary to understand the difference between Wine & Emulation.

The name wine even is a bit of a acknowledgement of this conflation -- W.ine I.s N.ot a E.mulator.

I would love to be optimistic, but considering the levels* of idiocracy and incompetence in the modern age, I can't help but consider this to be a very real and serious possibility.

I can't see the slope any other way than slippery if they succeed.

(Final thoughts, most people don't know the difference between a JPEG and a GIF, we can't even get past annunciation.)

At least for the moment, Microsoft's Xbox division is interested in selling games and game services (GamePass). They have no interest in restricting games to the Windows ecosystem. That's why their games are on Steam. If they wanted to be petty, they could just only sell their games in the Windows Store. They aren't even restricting their first-party console games to Xbox.

If Proton means more people will play their games, I think they're all for it. In fact, I don't think Microsoft even wants to be in the OS business anymore. It's not their big money maker. Restricting games just doesn't benefit them financially.

So, yes, it's a possibility as much as anything is a possibility. But is it "very real and serious?" I doubt it. Not for now, at least.

I wholly agree, I don't expect Microsoft to stamp out this market any time soon. They most likely looking at it the same way as valve: They're making money from it.
Quoting: melkemind
Quoting: ElectricPrism
Quoting: pleasereadthemanualThe major way Wine differs from Yuzu is that Wine does not circumvent technological protection measures.

I 100% agree with you it __SHOULD__ but the world we live in "money talks, bullshit walks".

Assuming this is this American legal system we are talking about, I'm not particularly confident that a jury of "average peers" or citizens have the technical intellectual framework necessary to understand the difference between Wine & Emulation.

The name wine even is a bit of a acknowledgement of this conflation -- W.ine I.s N.ot a E.mulator.

I would love to be optimistic, but considering the levels* of idiocracy and incompetence in the modern age, I can't help but consider this to be a very real and serious possibility.

I can't see the slope any other way than slippery if they succeed.

(Final thoughts, most people don't know the difference between a JPEG and a GIF, we can't even get past annunciation.)

At least for the moment, Microsoft's Xbox division is interested in selling games and game services (GamePass). They have no interest in restricting games to the Windows ecosystem. That's why their games are on Steam. If they wanted to be petty, they could just only sell their games in the Windows Store. They aren't even restricting their first-party console games to Xbox.

If Proton means more people will play their games, I think they're all for it. In fact, I don't think Microsoft even wants to be in the OS business anymore. It's not their big money maker. Restricting games just doesn't benefit them financially.

So, yes, it's a possibility as much as anything is a possibility. But is it "very real and serious?" I doubt it. Not for now, at least.

I think you did a good job making a counter argument and while I could find myself agreeing with much of what you wrote I only disagree with:

QuoteThey have no interest in restricting games to the Windows ecosystem.

Before Halo 1 was owned by Microsoft Studios it was available on MacOS/OSX -- and after Microsoft bought it they pulled the plug on that.

We could probably discuss whether or not that is presently true of Microsoft. Come to think of it when they bought Minecraft I don't remember seeing a non-windows version.

Other relevant context may be the Microsoft 10 year plan leak where it was discovered Microsoft intends to get rid of all Xbox Discs by the next generation.

Historically with Windows 8 S IIRC they intended to lock all software to the Windows Store and in the future had a version of Windows that did just that again IIRC.

The saying comes to mind

"When people show you who they really are, believe them the first time."

I hope the backlash for Nintendo attacking customers is as effective as Unity trying to monetize each install and pretend that install-fraud couldn't happen.

If I've learned anything it's that public outcry and backlash seem to be the only thing that pushes the Iron Fist back.
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