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A note on using Steam Play Proton and counting the sales for Linux (updated)

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Back in August 2018, Valve announced their new Steam Play feature with the Proton software in the Linux Steam client to play Windows-only Steam games on Linux. A little note about what platform is counted for sales.

When we spoke to Valve originally back then (shown in an update to our original article), we asked about how the sales would show up for developers and this was the response:

Hey Liam, the normal algorithm is in effect, so if at the end of the two weeks you have more playtime on Linux, it'll be a Linux sale. Proton counts as Linux.

It seems that there might be some issues where it's not correctly counted, so it shows up as a normal Windows sale as a user noted on Reddit. Since reaching out to Valve, developer Pierre-Loup Griffais has released this quick and simple statement on Twitter for all to read:

That doesn't seem like intended behavior, we'll look into it. At this early stage, the team's focus is still on compatibility and performance, so it might take a little bit.

As with anything new and in constant development there's going to be teething issues. Hopefully this hasn't been too widespread though if true.


Update 19/02/20: I've now had this verified by a developer whose game I purchased on Linux, then played entirely on Linux and I know a few others who did the same and the developer told me all show up as Windows sales.

Update #2: See a clear statement from Valve in this latest article.

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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Eike Feb 13, 2020
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Quoting: LinuxwarperIt isn't now you should be judging Proton harshly.

I understand that it's the rescue for some (many) Linux gamers. I fear that it's hindering Linux native ports (while others think it's the possibility for Linux gaming to lift off to get more native ports on the long run). It's an astonishing piece of software for sure. So, mixed bag for me.

What I mainly wanted to say is that I don't feel it will succeed in lifting off Linux gaming, unfortunately.


Last edited by Eike on 13 February 2020 at 1:05 pm UTC
Eike Feb 13, 2020
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Quoting: Comandante Ñoñardo200AR$ plus taxes (about 3.5U$D) per month is a damn good gaming deal...
Valve should have a subscription system like this.

I guess they have to do something like this some day.
Linuxwarper Feb 13, 2020
Quoting: EikeI understand that it's the rescue for some (many) Linux gamers. I fear that it's hindering Linux native ports (while others think it's the possibility for Linux gaming to lift of to getr more native ports). It's an astonishing piece of software for sure. So, mixed bag for me.

What I mainly wanted to say is that I don't feel it will succeed in lifting off Linux gaming, unfortunately.
Your concern is valid and rings true. But I believe Proton will do far more good than harm. Native ports (speaking of major games not indie) vs Proton is like the saying that goes something like this "Give a man a fish, and he will be fed for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will be fed for life". Native ports won't by itself adress issue of marketshare. It's such a fickle situation that Proton is really necessary. As has been said if 10 major companies port their big games to Linux, all the money from us Linux gamers will be spread across them. And as it is, the users are so few that there is little money for them, and now with ten major games competing against eachother that money is made even less.

Don't consider Proton the end result, consider it a long term solution to ensure native ports on Linux. Proton also encourages Vulkan and Vulkan is a key players for developers to be able to port games easier and with less costs. You should still keep a healthy buying habit. If there is a game that's excellent and available natively on Linux, that you like, spend alot money on it. For Proton titles...wait for discount and spend less. I've observed alot positive things with Proton's release. Things are brewing. It has made such positive effect on my gaming experience on Linux. And Valve hasn't shown any signs of stopping with their investment in it. Stay positive:)


Last edited by Linuxwarper on 13 February 2020 at 1:10 pm UTC
Sonata Feb 13, 2020
As a relatively new Linux person (about 6 months now, if I'm not mistaken). It's good to know that I should be playing games on proton at least for a bit, after buying them on a sale :P

I've been hating on Windows for years (privacy, safety concerns and its general instability) but gaming always tied me to it. And I... honestly have been too lazy to deal with Wine etc. on my own. After hearing about Proton and how easy it was making things (and checking my ratio of games that have a port or run well via Proton) I pulled a hard switch. No dual boot, no VM. Installed Ubuntu. (3 times that night :D)

Anyway. I agree that the lack of ports is also somewhat of a chicken/egg problem.
But I think if via proton the market share of people gaming on linux rises, developers may be more interested into using tools which allow for "effortless" porting.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's partially one of the reasons a lot of indie games actually have a linux port because tools like GameMaker do allow for "exporting a linux version" of the game they're making alongside the obvious Windows port.
Mohandevir Feb 13, 2020
Quoting: SonataAs a relatively new Linux person (about 6 months now, if I'm not mistaken). It's good to know that I should be playing games on proton at least for a bit, after buying them on a sale :P

I've been hating on Windows for years (privacy, safety concerns and its general instability) but gaming always tied me to it. And I... honestly have been too lazy to deal with Wine etc. on my own. After hearing about Proton and how easy it was making things (and checking my ratio of games that have a port or run well via Proton) I pulled a hard switch. No dual boot, no VM. Installed Ubuntu. (3 times that night :D)

Anyway. I agree that the lack of ports is also somewhat of a chicken/egg problem.
But I think if via proton the market share of people gaming on linux rises, developers may be more interested into using tools which allow for "effortless" porting.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's partially one of the reasons a lot of indie games actually have a linux port because tools like GameMaker do allow for "exporting a linux version" of the game they're making alongside the obvious Windows port.

Welcome aboard! :)
Salvatos Feb 13, 2020
Quoting: SonataI've been hating on Windows for years (privacy, safety concerns and its general instability) but gaming always tied me to it.
This is always nice to hear. I’ve seen people say that Windows users don’t see what’s wrong with Windows and Linux will never grow because those people are "blind." But I know almost no one that actually likes Windows. A lot of people hate it and love to complain about it, but just believe that they’re stuck with it, the only alternative being overpriced Macs that aren’t compatible with anything.
Sonata Feb 13, 2020
Quoting: SalvatosBut I know almost no one that actually likes Windows. A lot of people hate it and love to complain about it, but just believe that they’re stuck with it, the only alternative being overpriced Macs that aren’t compatible with anything.

My mom actually wants me to install Linux on her computer, since she's fed up with windows' update system now that she knows there is a workable alternative. But yeah, I think you're right about people feeling to be "stuck" with it, especially since most machines you buy come pre-loaded with it.
Also I think the "beginner distros" (if you wanna call them that) have come far enough you could easily give them to your grandmother or someone who only needs a laptop/computer for light office work and browsing the web.


Last edited by Sonata on 13 February 2020 at 5:41 pm UTC
Purple Library Guy Feb 13, 2020
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: LinuxwarperIt isn't now you should be judging Proton harshly.

I understand that it's the rescue for some (many) Linux gamers. I fear that it's hindering Linux native ports (while others think it's the possibility for Linux gaming to lift off to get more native ports on the long run). It's an astonishing piece of software for sure. So, mixed bag for me.

What I mainly wanted to say is that I don't feel it will succeed in lifting off Linux gaming, unfortunately.
That's certainly the big-number-of-dollars question. I'd have to agree that I don't think, no matter how good it becomes, that Proton can without anything else happening cause Linux marketshare to grow hugely. That takes preinstalls of some sort, and we don't have 'em, and that's that.
But. I think without anything else happening, Proton does have the potential to grow Linux (desktop) marketshare some, and gaming marketshare slightly more as it allows dual-booters to dump that Windows partition. Heck, a plausible argument might be made that Proton has something to do with the decline in Linux Steam user share having for the moment stopped. Perhaps more importantly, Proton (if it gets anti-cheat running and generally reaches a point where it Just Works for a big proportion of AAA games) could be a big piece in the puzzle for enabling potential Linux-based plays to work and be profitable. However, those plays may or may not materialize, and even if they do, they might not succeed.

So yeah, maybe it'll get things somewhere, maybe it won't. It may indeed end up doing more harm than good. But I don't see anything else on the horizon capable of beating certain chicken-egg problems, so thus far I'd rather see it than nothing.
Salvatos Feb 13, 2020
Quoting: SonataAlso I think the "beginner distros" (if you wanna call them that) have come far enough you could easily give them to your grandmother or someone who only needs a laptop/computer for light office work and browsing the web.
Can confirm that my mother has been using Mint for a few years now and there’s no functional difference for her except not having to deal with Microsoft’s egregious bullshit :) I just run software updates for her once in a while (not that she wouldn’t be able to do it herself if she bothered) and whenever she needs tech support it’s usually for software-specific bugs, nothing too specific to using Linux rather than Windows.

Heck, even when her system had issues returning from screensaver mode (not sure if it was lmdm, lightdm or something else) and I gave her a command line fix to restart her session, she said she didn’t mind having to type a few words in a console every so often compared to using Windows. That was a shock.
clatterfordslim Feb 14, 2020
So if we really want Windows games straight from the developers, to play from release day one we who are playing their games through Proton should be getting in contact with the developers, to say hey we are able to play your game here in Linux, with better performance than in Windows. Any chance you could add some Vulkan to the code so we can have it natively? Then leave them names of Linux Porters Feral Interactive for instance. We as players of these games should be doing something too and not just leaving it to the likes of Steam, as they are working so hard already making Proton work with every game under the sun. The question is though. Would developers actually listen and take note to what Joe Bloggs has to say and ask?? But this was the whole idea of Proton anyway, however it was going to show to developers, being played on Linux?
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