Unity announce expanded support for Steam, Native Linux, Steam Deck and Steam Machine

Wow, did not expect this.

Is this the start of the Linux picks up mainstream developer mindshare thing?
Or is Unity just trying to have it covered in case that happens?

But I think we can do better with a native solution.

Oh really? 🤔

But I think we can do better with a native solution.

I hard disagree with this statement. Pretty much all existing Linux games suffer from various problems ranging from complete inplayability over control and gameplay/visual issues as well as crashes. Running games over Proton is vastly preferable to Native most of the time because the Windows API is much more stable than the Linux API. I myself have had so many issues with native ports that the Proton versions never have, that I've given up on them completely

Quoting: grigiWow, did not expect this.

Is this the start of the Linux picks up mainstream developer mindshare thing?
Or is Unity just trying to have it covered in case that happens?

More the latter than the former, I expect. The last time we had Steam Machines announced we got 40% of games released on Steam having a native Linux build, and game engines stepped up their Linux support, based on the potential of a new market. Since those Steam Machines didn't really happen in the end, that support withered.

This time around I think there'll be less withering. The Deck is a proven market, and media are much more positive about Linux than they were then. Linux support is less acceptable to allow to drop than it was then. But the driving force to improve Linux support is the potential of a bigger future market, just as it was then.

Of course, back then, OpenGL support was about the same on Windows, Mac and Linux, so you could avoid duplication of work. Vulkan support on Windows isn't that great, and it's non-existent on Mac, so there'll be more platform-specific duplication of work this time around.

Quoting: Stella

But I think we can do better with a native solution.

I hard disagree with this statement. Pretty much all existing Linux games suffer from various problems ranging from complete inplayability over control and gameplay/visual issues as well as crashes. Running games over Proton is vastly preferable to Native most of the time because the Windows API is much more stable than the Linux API. I myself have had so many issues with native ports that the Proton versions never have, that I've given up on them completely

So you think that native Linux apps/games are inherently bad. Why bother with Linux and not just use Windows in that case?

Very nice. Didn't expect that given the massive success of Proton.

If they can pull it off, nice.

It's what plenty of folks have been saying a long time. With Proton they can establish Linux as a proper gaming platform. Native solutions would eventually follow.

Director of the one of the 2 most common game engines promises improved native Linux support, and of course it is the "Linux gamers" shitting on it in favour of Windows games via Proton.

Once again, the biggest undoing of Linux games is the Linux gamers. Sigh...

Last edited by rea987 on 11 Mar 2026 at 7:30 pm UTC

I've been playing Linux native games (Unity, no less) that I had bought ten years ago without any issue. What is there left to improve?

I think it's great they're adding official Linux/SteamOS/Deck/Machine targets. Maybe sometimes they won't work and then we will resort to Proton, but it's still a huge step benefiting the developers who otherwise might be reluctant to develop for Linux. It's all about the friction.

Quoting: AsciiWolfSo you think that native Linux apps/games are inherently bad. Why bother with Linux and not just use Windows in that case?

Proprietary games using GNU/Linux APIs are bad. For example, Egosoft's X3 uses a GTK2 application to launch and GTK2 is no longer being updated (it's even been removed from the official Arch repositories). Because it's proprietary software the community can't just take it over and update it to use GTK3 or 4.

I suppose a better way to put it is that native GNU/Linux games aren't bad, they just need more machinery to keep working than games targetting the Windows APIs (although of course one could just set up a system with ancient versions of everything, I mean that's Debian's entire shtick).

Yes, please! More native builds! Proton is great, but there is never anything better than running software without layers and wrappers.

This is very nice. I wonder who else will reveal some revelations!

Quoting: tmtvlProprietary games using GNU/Linux APIs are bad. For example, Egosoft's X3 uses a GTK2 application to launch and GTK2 is no longer being updated (it's even been removed from the official Arch repositories). Because it's proprietary software the community can't just take it over and update it to use GTK3 or 4.

I think issues like that can be helped by targeting the Steam Linux Runtime instead of a specific Linux distribution. Steam Linux Runtime may not provide everything, but it is stable, so I think that makes it less likely to cause breakage as the stack of libraries advances.

Quoting: StellaPretty much all existing Linux games suffer from various problems ranging from complete inplayability over control and gameplay/visual issues as well as crashes.

Even the open source Linux games and apps like SuperTuxKart, SuperTux, Veloren, or UZDoom? I would think that, since those games are open source, they would have better support for Linux, since they are open to bug reports and code contributions from anyone who cares.

Last edited by Talon1024 on 11 Mar 2026 at 11:52 pm UTC

Quoting: tmtvl

Quoting: AsciiWolfSo you think that native Linux apps/games are inherently bad. Why bother with Linux and not just use Windows in that case?

Proprietary games using GNU/Linux APIs are bad. For example, Egosoft's X3 uses a GTK2 application to launch and GTK2 is no longer being updated (it's even been removed from the official Arch repositories). Because it's proprietary software the community can't just take it over and update it to use GTK3 or 4.

I suppose a better way to put it is that native GNU/Linux games aren't bad, they just need more machinery to keep working than games targetting the Windows APIs (although of course one could just set up a system with ancient versions of everything, I mean that's Debian's entire shtick).

But I like having 3 different versions of GTK and Python installed on my machine. It makes it look more haxxorz when I run updates through terminal and there's a million updates. :P

Quoting: Stella

But I think we can do better with a native solution.

I hard disagree with this statement. Pretty much all existing Linux games suffer from various problems ranging from complete inplayability over control and gameplay/visual issues as well as crashes. Running games over Proton is vastly preferable to Native most of the time because the Windows API is much more stable than the Linux API. I myself have had so many issues with native ports that the Proton versions never have, that I've given up on them completely

I think you are confused. More support for native Linux builds with Unity makes them better, not worse. You still have a choice whether you want to use the Windows version through Proton or the native Linux version.

Quoting: GustyGhostI've been playing Linux native games (Unity, no less) that I had bought ten years ago without any issue. What is there left to improve?

This is for developers, not gamers.

Quoting: Talon1024I think issues like that can be helped by targeting the Steam Linux Runtime instead of a specific Linux distribution. [...]

Sorry to only quote part of your comment, but I wanted to voice my vehement agreement here. This is why the Steam Linux Runtime exists, and in fact, any problematic ports I've had that have broken with updates or that needed extra packages (which eventually became unavailable), using the Steam Linux Runtime fixed those problematic ports.

• To the Moon
- Its Native Linux port was borked for a while, crashing on startup, but the Steam Linux Runtime 1.0 fixed those crashes. Note that this game got a 16:9 Unity remake by SerenityForge that only supports Windows and macOS, iirc the Native build still exists but is still using RPGMaker. This improved support from Unity could encourage a Native Linux port!

• Half-Life
- A long while back, Half-Life relied on I believe some old version of libpng which was no longer available. At the time, the Steam Linux Runtime didn't exist to my knowledge, but eventually when it did exist and I was still hitting that issue, the Steam Linux Runtime 1.0 yet again fixed it.

• Borderlands 2
- Yes, this port has parity issues that the Steam Linux Runtime can't fix, but it did fix an issue with some cryptography library if memory serves me correctly that otherwise needed to be installed manually, in a similar vein to Half-Life.

• APICO
- This game had issues for a while on Non-Ubuntu distributions, and the Steam Linux Runtime fixed it. There were a couple of threads around launch talking about this on the Steam Discussions.

This is not to say needing to target and run in a containerized environment is not without issues, and I'm not sure how this may impact parity (e.g. if developers wanted to integrate certain SDKs), not to mention the Steam Linux Runtime was historically notorious for causing issues with programs needing to detect a running game (though unsure if there are known workarounds or if this is a non-issue anymore, iirc it gave people headaches with some American Truck Simulator multiplayer software?). But purely in terms of fixing older, buggy ports and in terms of giving developers a stable platform to target, the Steam Linux Runtime is the way to go.

The only thing I have found the Steam Linux Runtime to not really fix is parity issues with those older ports or with abandoned ports, but I think more support from engine developers will reduce friction with supporting Linux and thus make it less likely that we get those abandoned or second-class ports.

As a little aside, too, while this article is about Steam specifically and so we're talking about the Steam Linux Runtime, it is available to use outside of Steam, so Unity game ports to GOG could be ran with the Steam Linux Runtime without needing to be added to Steam. Granted, I'm not sure if any launcher can integrate with it out of the box (iirc Heroic may be able to if it finds it installed from Steam, Lutris may do the same?), but it isn't necessarily a walled solution only for Steam; Linux ports targetting the Steam Linux Runtime will not necessarily only benefit ports coming to Steam but also those released standalone and/or through GOG.

That's my take on the whole thing.

Last edited by sonic2kk on 12 Mar 2026 at 3:49 am UTC

Quoting: GustyGhostI've been playing Linux native games (Unity, no less) that I had bought ten years ago without any issue. What is there left to improve?

Apparently, the quality of unity's opengl and vulkan support.

Source: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/08/heart-of-the-machine-from-arcen-games-dropping-native-linux-for-proton/

Quoting: CatKiller=
Of course, back then, OpenGL support was about the same on Windows, Mac and Linux, so you could avoid duplication of work. Vulkan support on Windows isn't that great, and it's non-existent on Mac, so there'll be more platform-specific duplication of work this time around.

true, except that the apis are similiar because you cant change much once you get so close to the hardware