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Proton (software)

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For the email service provider, see Proton AG and Proton Mail.

Proton
Developer(s)Valve
CodeWeavers
Initial release21 August 2018; 6 years ago (21 August 2018)
Stable release
9.0-3 / 19 September 2024; 2 months ago (19 September 2024)
RepositoryProton on GitHub
Operating systemLinux
Available inEnglish
TypeCompatibility layer
License

Proton is a compatibility layer for Windows games to run on Linux-based operating systems.[1] Proton is developed by Valve in cooperation with developers from CodeWeavers.[2] 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".[3] It is officially distributed through the client, although third-party forks can be manually installed.

Overview

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Proton was initially released on 21 August 2018.[4] 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.[3][4][5]

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.[6]

Compatibility

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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,[7] albeit unofficially, with Proton. The user can optionally force use of Proton for a specific game, even if a Linux version already exists.[8] This may be done when a game's official Linux support is lacking or possibly not stable.

ProtonDB

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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).[9][10] The site is inspired by the WineHQ AppDB, which also collects and displays crowdsourced compatibility reports and uses a similar rating system.

Release history

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Valve has released nine[11] 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,[12] have been created to rebase Proton on recent Wine versions, which may improve or worsen compatibility with games compared to the official release.[13]

In December 2020, Valve released Proton Experimental, a perpetual beta branch of Proton that incorporates new features and bug fixes quicker than regular releases,[14] which are eventually included in a regular release.[15]

The Steam Deck uses Proton to increase software title compatibility.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "ValveSoftware/Proton". GitHub. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "CodeWeavers' Proton Software Sauce Powers Steam Deck". CodeWeavers (Press release). February 25, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Steam for Linux :: Introducing a new version of Steam Play". Steam Community. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Dawe, Liam (August 21, 2018). "Valve officially confirm a new version of 'Steam Play' which includes a modified version of Wine". GamingOnLinux.
  5. ^ Dingman, Hayden (August 21, 2018). "Steam adds Proton, making Windows games playable on Linux (at least in theory)". PCWorld. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "doitsujin/dxvk". GitHub. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Steam Client Beta". Steam Community. January 17, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  9. ^ "Steam Proton has opened the gaming floodgates for Linux users". SlashGear. April 22, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Release Proton 9.0-2 · ValveSoftware/Proton". GitHub. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Releases · GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom". GitHub. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  14. ^ Dawe, Liam (December 15, 2020). "Valve continues tweaking the new 'Proton Experimental' for Cyberpunk 2077". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Dawe, Liam (January 15, 2021). "Proton 5.13-5 is now up bringing in some of the experimental changes". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  16. ^ 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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  • ProtonDB – community database for game compatibility data
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