Valve and CodeWeavers have released the latest version of Proton, their compatibility software that allows Windows games to run on Linux-based operating systems – such as that of the Steam Deck.

Proton 8.0 is a big update that fixes compatibility issues for more than a dozen games (including the Dead Space remake and Forspoken) while adding Steam Deck-specific fixes to many more. These include an update that makes the repeatedly troublesome 2K Launcher behave itself again, while Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands gets improved sleep/resume functionality on the handheld PC. A crashing issue with L Life is Strange Remastered Collection has also been fixed, as well as a bug that for some reason forced open the Deck’s onscreen keyboard when launching A Plague Tale: Innocence and A Plague Tale: Requiem. Most of the other fixed problems don’t look as funny in my head, but you can read them all in the full patch notes anyway.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of Proton in making the Steam Deck work. As a concept, even. The vast majority of the Steam catalogue is lacking in native Linux ports, including most of the best Steam Deck games you can play on it, so a compatibility layer like Proton is essential to running these Windows-made games without much fuss. It obviously doesn’t turn out perfectly for every game, and even those that can run might do so with problems – I wasn’t particularly impressed by the Dead Space remake’s Steam Deck performance on launch. But as this update shows, that can be amended with future fixes. In other words, make sure to keep your Proton up to date if you have a Steam Deck. Or if you’re playing games on a Linux PC. Proton 8.0 also has tweaks that suit more powerful hardware as well, such as a fix for ray tracing in Crysis Remastered.

Source: Rock Paper Shotgun