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Valve’s Steam Deck announcement caused an uproar in the gaming world. The upcoming handheld gaming PC has some caveats, especially since it runs Valve’s own Linux distribution called Steam OS. Since it is Linux, this means that not all games can be run on the Steam platform.
Fortunately, Valve has been cooperating with Proton to develop Linux games for many years. We have explained what Proton is, but it is a compatibility layer that can convert API calls from games into something Linux can understand.
Proton is a great system. It reinvigorated Linux gaming a few years ago, and it has only become better since. However, there are still several games that cannot run under it, including large-scale AAA games like Destiny 2 and Apex Legends.
Some games come with anti-cheat software and cannot be authenticated under Linux due to various reasons. Valve said it is working with some vendors to resolve this issue.
At the same time, you can take a sneak peek and see which games in your library will run on the Steam platform. That’s it.
1. Go to the ProtonDB website. This contains a list of all games on Steam. However, the goal of ProtonDB is to provide a rating system on how a particular game performs under Proton.
4. Check the ratings and user reviews of ProtonDB to see if the game will open and run on Proton on the Steam platform.
ProtonDB uses the following levels to rate games: Borked, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Native. The higher the level, the better the game will run. Borked means that the game has completely crashed and will not run, or will face major problems if it starts.
There is an additional community aspect. The rating of each game comes from user reviews, where people list their system specifications and releases, and write down which ones work and which ones don’t work, and any solutions they find. In some cases, this means using forked Proton alternatives when the game starts or setting command parameters in Steam itself.
From now until the launch of the Steam platform, Valve (or the community) can continue to improve Proton’s survivability. If your favorite game is rated as Borked or even Bronze, be sure to check ProtonDB from time to time to see if it has been fixed.
Pay special attention to recent comments in case there is a breakthrough or fix available. If Valve claims that it is working to resolve anti-cheat compatibility issues, some of your favorite games may quickly upgrade to new rankings.
Jordan is the telephone editor of Tom’s Guide, covering all telephone-related content. He has written articles about mobile phones for more than five years and plans to continue for a long time to come. He likes to relax at home by reading books, playing games or watching his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes to explore new things, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and interesting keycap sets. Jordan tends to be lurking on social media, but you’d better contact him on Twitter.
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Post time: Nov-15-2021
