Proton 8 released
“The biggest release to date”.
Proton is a compatibility layer developed by Valve that enables Windows games to be played on Linux. It is a collection of software that extends popular API translation layer called Wine. The layer is based on the Vulkan API that provides high-performance and low overhead, making it a good choice for gaming.
Proton implements the Windows API using Vulkan and other open-source libraries, allowing Windows games to run on Linux without the need for a virtual machine or dual-boot setup. Proton is included in Valve’s Steam Play feature, which allows Linux users to play a large library of Windows games on their Linux machines. By far the biggest use of Proton can be seen in Steam Deck, which uses a custom SteamOS system based on Linux.
The latest version 8.0 is said to be the biggest update to date, claims Pierre-Loup Griffais from Valve. It now supports some titles such as Forspoken or Dead Space Remake:
Proton 8.0 is now available with many changes. Our biggest rebase to date! Note: it requires a GPU with Vulkan 1.3 support. Experimental-8.0 will follow sometime this week. pic.twitter.com/wzGClZyIGE
— Pierre-Loup Griffais (@Plagman2) April 17, 2023
The full list of now playable games with Proton 8:
- Forspoken
- Samurai Maiden
- Dead Space (2023)
- Creativerse
- Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition
- One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
- Atelier Meruru
- Atelier Lydie & Suelle ~The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings~
- Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX
- Blue Reflection
- Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX
- Disney Dreamlight Valley
- ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV
- ToGather:Island
- WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition
- Exceed – Gun Bullet Children
- Gungrave G.O.R.E.
- Chex Quest HD
For Steam Deck users there are now at least 3 thousand games supported through Proton with over 8710 games labelled as playable. The full list of supported games can be found on a website called ProtonDB.
The Vulkan 1.3 API is supported by a wide range of GPUs, such as NVIDIA Maxwell or Radeon 200 series and later. You can find the full list here.
Source: Proton (Github)