Looking on the spec sheet alone, the $399 Steam Deck gaming handheld ought to be a winner—and early Steam Deck reviews actually counsel Valve nailed it on the {hardware} entrance. The PC-centric Nintendo Switch rival contains a massive 7-inch touchscreen, loads of management inputs, an all-AMD chip based mostly on the identical {hardware} contained in the Xbox Series S|X and PlayStation 5, and the power to double as a full-fledged Linux PC. But neglect the {hardware}. While it’s spectacular certainly, the Steam Deck will sink or swim based mostly on its software program, and meaning Valve superior Proton expertise is about to be thrust into the highlight.
The Steam Deck will dash to a bigger software program library than most gaming handhelds since you’ll have the ability to faucet into a long time of current PC video games by means of your Steam account, somewhat than having to attend for brand spanking new releases made particularly for the contemporary {hardware}. But most of these video games had been created for Windows, and the Steam Deck runs on Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS working system as a substitute. Proton (through Steam Play) lets Windows video games run on Linux. It works very effectively a lot of the time, but it surely’s not excellent—and the Steam Deck’s success in all probability is determined by simply how a lot Valve can polish up Proton earlier than the hand held’s February 25 launch. The greatest {hardware} on the earth is just nearly as good because the software program that runs on it, in any case.
Here’s a high-level take a look at what it’s essential to find out about Proton, the Steam Deck’s secret software program sauce.
What is Steam Proton?
At a excessive degree, Proton is a compatibility layer that enables Windows video games to run on Linux-based working methods (such because the Steam Deck’s SteamOS). In the previous, enjoying PC video games on Linux required you to run Steam video games by means of software program known as Wine (an acronym for “Wine is not an emulator.”). Valve labored with CodeWeavers builders to construct Proton as a fork of Wine, then baked the expertise proper into Steam itself as a part of Steam Play, the corporate’s “buy once, play on any PC platform” endeavor.
Valve created Proton after its residing room-focused Steam Machine initiative failed, partly due to their reliance on the much-smaller Linux gaming library. “There was always kind of this classic chicken and egg problem with the Steam Machine,” designer Scott Dalton instructed IGN. “That led us down this path of Proton, where now there’s all these games that actually run.”
If you’re serious about trade inside baseball, Proton and SteamOS additionally double as a potential escape hatch from Windows if Valve ever needs it.
How do you arrange Steam Proton?
Currently, Steam for Linux does not flip on Proton by default. You have to manually allow it or persist with video games that supply a local Linux port. Considering how few video games supply native Linux variations, we’re strongly hoping Valve makes Proton/Steam Play enabled by default on the Steam Deck, or there will probably be loads of sad prospects.
If you’re already utilizing Linux, you may activate Proton by opening your Steam settings and clicking on the “Steam Play” possibility on the backside of the navigation pane. (The possibility received’t be seen on Windows PCs.) There, you’ll see a field you may verify to “Enable Steam Play for supported titles.” That activates Proton for video games confirmed to work effectively with the expertise, added to a whitelist by Valve. You’ll additionally see a sophisticated choice to “Enable Steam Play for all other titles,” which can flip on Proton for all the things after you restart the consumer.
Will all my video games work on Steam Deck with Proton?
Will all video games work? That’s the million greenback query.
Notice that not one of the video games on this Steam Deck promotional picture are massively common multiplayer titles.
Valve has been steadily enhancing Proton ever since it launched in 2018, and plenty of—most, even—Windows video games run fairly effectively through Steam Play with little to no tinkering. Your greatest useful resource for figuring out how a sport runs is the totally unbelievable ProtonDB, a community-made treasure trove of knowledge that at present tracks nearly 19,000 video games, of which over 15,000 work on Linux. The web site additionally maintains a very helpful troubleshooting FAQ for Proton video games. (Be positive to depart reviews of your personal should you use Proton and Steam Play!)
As these numbers point out, some video games are simply plain “borked” on Linux, to borrow ProtonDB’s time period. The most typical casualties? Sadly, the most well-liked video games round—battle royale video games and esports titles. Proton’s compatibility layer tweaks don’t play good with the anti-cheat software program deployed in extensively performed on-line video games. Valve made positive to get its personal Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2 working on Linux, however heavy hitters like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, New World, Apex Legends, and Destiny 2 nonetheless received’t run.
Screenshot of ProtonDB.com
That’s a large bummer, and as you may see from the ProtonDB stats about sport compatibility above, it implies that lots of the hottest video games on the earth couldn’t be performed on a Steam Deck at present. Epic not too long ago acknowledged it received’t work to assist Fortnite on the Steam Deck both. (Notice how the proportion of purple “borked” video games within the prime ten is way, a lot, a lot greater than within the prime 100 and prime 1000—that’s as a result of these multiplayer video games dominate the top-played charts.)
Valve understands what an enormous roadblock this may very well be. While BattlEye and the Epic-owned Easy Anti-Cheat lacked Proton assist in anyway when the Steam Deck was introduced, however Valve has labored with these builders to get the expertise up and working on SteamOS. At the tip of January 2022, in a Steam Deck Anti-Cheat Update, Valve declared that “Our team has been working with Epic on Easy Anti-Cheat + Proton support over the last few months, and we’re happy to announce that adding Steam Deck support to your existing EAC games is now a simple process, and doesn’t require updating game binaries, SDK versions, or integration of EOS. Alongside our BattlEye updates from last year, this means that the two largest anti-cheat services are now easily supported on Proton and Steam Deck.”
Developers nonetheless have to replace their video games to assist the applied sciences on SteamOS, however with BattlEye and Easy Anti-Cheat now enjoying good with Proton, the Steam Deck will launch with its largest hurdle already cleared. That doesn’t imply all the things is roses and sunshine although. As you see within the ProtonDB screenshot above, about 20 p.c of the highest 100 and 1000 video games on Steam lack a Gold+ compatibility score with Proton, and Linus Tech Tips seen that Forza Horizon 5 suffered from some weird physics and lighting results even when working at 60 frames per second. The overwhelming majority of video games run very effectively on Proton already, and that’s a monumental success for Valve and Linux gaming alike, however each hiccup and ache level might doubtlessly be a deal-breaker for informal customers enticed by the Steam Deck’s juicy $400 promoting value.
All the appealing hardware and just-as-appealing costs received’t matter if PC players can’t play their favourite video games on Valve’s handheld. As a common client machine, the Steam Deck will dwell or die on the again on Proton—and whether or not Steam Play can certainly coax multiplayer builders into supporting it. Fingers crossed.
Editor’s notice: This article initially printed on July 16, however was up to date to seek advice from subsequent Proton enhancements and preliminary Steam Deck {hardware} critiques.