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