Linux Gaming @lemmy.world Beaver @lemmy.ca 3 mo. ago

Celebrating 6 years since Valve announced Steam Play Proton for Linux

www.gamingonlinux.com Celebrating 6 years since Valve announced Steam Play Proton for Linux

Today marks 6 years since Valve decided to change everything, especially for Linux fans, with the announcement of Steam Play Proton. Thanks to it, the Steam Deck and Desktop Linux gaming have continued to thrive.

31 comments

I just built my first gaming PC, which is the first gaming rig I’ve owned in 20 years. I did so because I could install all the games I wanted to play on Linux. I haven’t installed Windows and do not plan to.
- I still have Windows installed (1.5tb for Linux and 0.5tb for Windows) but I use it like once every few months. The only games I have installed there are Fortnite and FiveM (RP mod for GTA 5). Even VR works great on Linux, aside from the issues that SteamVR itself has on all operating systems.
  
  Oh what's your Linux setup for VR? I thought it was very janky still? Once I get my storage server set up I was planing on moving fully to windows except for a small drive for VR titlea.
  
  I recently tried installing Linux next to Windows in order to begin the transition, but my system has Intel Rapid Storage and Linux doesn't like that. Someday I hope to find a solution or get another drive to move off the data so I can disable RST.
Literally the only reason I dual booted was for gaming. Thanks to Proton, I never touch Windows ever. It's great.
- I started a corporate job, back in hell with fucking windows.
  
  I try to justify that windows is okay for corporate, but that's requiring some hardcore copium.
  
  WSL2 and windows terminal are ok. I switched to Linux in my previous job back when WSL1 or VMs were the the available choices for doing Linux stuff, but later when people asked if I'd recommend using Linux for their work computer there I'd just say no. IME Linux and Windows were pretty 50/50 on how often things broke down, e.g. updates breaking the shitty fucking VPN app, but with windows you had IT solving that shit for you, with Linux you had to rely on yourself and other Linux desktop users in the company.
  
  At least in corporate they can disable the annoying features easily with AD. And the rest doesn't really matter because you don't own those PCs anyway.
Proton is what made it possible for me to escape the hell that windows is.
wait that means it was only a year of Steam Play when I first tried it. I don't think I realize how big Proton is gonna be at that time, since I'm just testing games that are already playable with WINE years before. But Proton definitely made it so much easier. Although I made the full switch one year later in December 2020.
I switched to Linux a little before Steam came to Linux, and I made my Steam account pretty much as soon as it came. I've been here a while and it has been a wild ride. I went from mostly buying games through Humble Bundle (best way to find good native Linux games in the early 2010s IMO), to Linux native games through Steam, and finally to Windows games through Proton (I did play a handful through WINE, but it was always a pain).

It's been amazing to see gaming on Linux go from something enthusiasts do to something that's a mass market product.

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