Proton (software)

Last updated

Proton
Developer(s) Valve
CodeWeavers
Initial release21 August 2018;5 years ago (21 August 2018)
Stable release
9.0-2 / 12 June 2024;2 months ago (12 June 2024)
Repository Proton on GitHub
Operating system Linux
Available inEnglish
Type Compatibility layer
License

Proton is a compatibility layer for Windows games to run on Linux-based operating systems. [1] [2] Proton is developed by Valve in cooperation with developers from CodeWeavers. [3] It is a collection of software and libraries combined with a patched version of Wine to improve performance and compatibility with Windows games. Proton is designed for integration into the Steam client as "Steam Play". [4] It is officially distributed through the client, although third-party forks can be manually installed.

Contents

Overview

Proton was initially released on 21 August 2018. [5] Upon release, Valve announced a list of 27 games that were tested and certified to perform like their native Windows counterparts without requiring end-user tweaking. These include Doom (2016), Quake , and Final Fantasy VI . [4] [5] [6]

Proton incorporates several libraries that improve 3D performance. These include Direct3D-to-Vulkan translation layers, namely DXVK for Direct3D 9, 10 and 11, and VKD3D-Proton for Direct3D 12. A separate library known as D9VK handled Direct3D 9 support until it was merged into DXVK in December 2019. [7]

Compatibility

Being a fork of Wine, Proton maintains very similar compatibility with Windows applications as its upstream counterpart. In addition to the official list of compatible games, many other Windows games are compatible, [8] albeit unofficially, with Proton. The user can optionally force use of Proton for a specific game, even if a Linux version already exists. [9] This may be done when a game's official Linux support is lacking or possibly not stable.

ProtonDB

ProtonDB is an unofficial community website that collects and displays crowdsourced data describing the compatibility of a given title with Proton, on a rating scale from "Borked" (doesn't work) to "Platinum" (works perfectly). [10] [11] The site is inspired by the WineHQ AppDB, which also collects and displays crowdsourced compatibility reports and uses a similar rating system.

Release history

Valve has released nine [12] major versions of Proton. The versioning scheme refers to the upstream Wine version it's based on, with an appended patch number. [1]

Proton generally lags behind its upstream Wine base by several releases. Unofficial forks, such as Proton GE, [13] have been created to rebase Proton on recent Wine versions, which may improve compatibility with games over the official release, and sometimes hurt it. [14]

In December 2020, Valve released Proton Experimental, a perpetual beta branch of Proton that incorporates new features and bug fixes quicker than regular releases, [15] which are eventually included in a regular release. [16]

The Steam Deck uses Proton to increase software title compatibility. [17]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "ValveSoftware/Proton". GitHub . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. ↑ Plugboxlinux
  3. ↑ "CodeWeavers' Proton Software Sauce Powers Steam Deck". CodeWeavers (Press release). February 25, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Steam for Linux :: Introducing a new version of Steam Play". Steam Community. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Dawe, Liam (August 21, 2018). "Valve officially confirm a new version of 'Steam Play' which includes a modified version of Wine". GamingOnLinux.
  6. ↑ Dingman, Hayden (August 21, 2018). "Steam adds Proton, making Windows games playable on Linux (at least in theory)". PCWorld. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  7. ↑ "doitsujin/dxvk". GitHub . Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  8. ↑ Dawe, Liam (July 1, 2019). "A look over the ProtonDB reports for June 2019, over 5.5K games reported to work with Steam Play". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Steam Client Beta". Steam Community. January 17, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Steam Proton has opened the gaming floodgates for Linux users". SlashGear. April 22, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  11. ↑ Dawe, Liam (August 5, 2019). "A look at how Steam Play is doing, based on the ProtonDB reports from July". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Release Proton 9.0-2 · ValveSoftware/Proton". GitHub. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  13. ↑ Dawe, Liam (September 2, 2019). "Want a more up to date Proton for Steam Play? Proton GE has a big new release out". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Releases · GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom". GitHub. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  15. ↑ Dawe, Liam (December 15, 2020). "Valve continues tweaking the new 'Proton Experimental' for Cyberpunk 2077". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  16. ↑ Dawe, Liam (January 15, 2021). "Proton 5.13-5 is now up bringing in some of the experimental changes". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  17. ↑ Duckett, Chris (July 16, 2021). "Steam Deck is an AMD-powered handheld PC from Valve that runs KDE on Arch Linux". ZDNet . Retrieved July 16, 2021.
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