Proton 7.0-3 fixes headaches on Linux with major games like Elden Ring, but Valve may need to do more to get gamers to pick up a Steam Deck.

Valve Software, the creator of the popular Steam PC gaming platform and hit titles like Half-Life and Portal, has announced the release of Proton 7.0-3, improving Linux compatibility with Windows games. The release will enhance the Steam Deck's compatibility with existing games.

The Proton 7.0-3 release brings a number of improvements, particularly in increasing the number of games that Proton can play. These include the classic adventure game, Beneath a Steel Sky (despite long having a native Linux port), as well as Age of Chivalry, Cities XXL, Star Wars Episode I Racer, and Warhammer: End Times, among others. A full listing of newly supported titles is available on Valve's GitHub changelog for Proton.

The new release also makes a number of improvements under the hood. Proton now supports Microsoft's Windows.Gaming.Input interface for greater compatibility with Windows games.

There are also a number of bug fixes for various games, including Elden Ring, that fix crashes and other issues. Proton 7.0-3 also ups the frame rate for Street Fighter V. It also fixes video issues in other titles including The Hunt, Ember Knights, Outward: Definitive Edition, Solasta: Crown of the Magister, and others.

The version of Wine Mono has been updated to 7.3.0. Proton is based on Wine but with changes that make it more suitable to run Windows games. The mainline Wine was originally envisioned to run business applications like Microsoft Office where a native Linux version is unavailable. Proton builds on earlier enhancements to Wine that increase support for games.

The growing number of Windows games that are Proton-compatible, and particularly the ones that are "Deck Verified" on the ProtonDB website, shows Valve's commitment to the project.

The new release of Proton could spur greater acceptance of Linux gaming, both on PCs and Valve's own portable Steam Deck. The vast majority of PC games are still written for Windows, as that's the largest market. With greater compatibility, Linux gamers will have less need for dual-booting, emulation, or solutions like WSL.

Greater compatibility for existing Windows games is great, but it may not convince Windows gamers to make the switch on their own. They may well decide to stick with Windows since they'll be able to run their games already. Jeremy Reimer pointed to OS/2's compatibility with Windows as a reason the IBM-created operating system lost out to the former in the '90s in an Ars Technica article.

What Steam could do to spur sales of the Steam Deck is release an exclusive game for the platform, or at least a game published on Linux first. A "killer app" could give the Steam Deck real traction in the marketplace.

The new release of Proton could give Linux gaming a boost, particularly on Valve's own handheld Steam Deck. While general-purpose distributions can certainly run Proton by themselves, Linux gamers may want to turn to distros that are specially tuned to Linux gaming needs.

David is a freelance writer based in the Pacific Northwest, but originally hailing from the Bay Area. He has been a technology enthusiast since childhood. David's interests include reading, watching quality TV shows and movies, retro gaming, and record collecting.

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