Steam Deck will run native Linux games where it makes sense
Valve has clarified that when it comes to which version of a game to run on the Steam Deck, the native Linux incarnation will be used – rather than the Windows game via Proton – if it makes sense to do so. In other words, if the native Linux port runs fine.
There was some confusion around this because some eagle-eyed folks had spotted that Portal 2, one of Valve’s own games that has been ported to Linux, was down in SteamDB as being recommended to run on the Steam Deck via Proton (meaning the Windows version, facilitated by the compatibility layer, Proton, to run on SteamOS which is, of course, a Linux-based operating system).
As Gaming on Linux pointed out, though, in fact this was only the case because of the way Valve implemented the testing of these different versions in the early days of working on software compatibility for the Steam Deck.
Valve explained: “Early on, there were a limited number of titles that were tested via Proton before Linux before we made some policy changes. Since then all of those titles are already back in the queue for re-testing using their Linux builds.”
And if those Linux builds do indeed perform robustly on Valve’s handheld PC, the native Linux version will be the recommended one.
In a developer document detailing the compatibility review process for the Steam Deck, Valve further explains: “By default, we will test a Linux build if one is available. If the Linux build fails compatibility tests or otherwise experiences significant issues, we’ll then test the Windows build of your game running under Proton. Our goal is for customers to have the smoothest experience possible on Deck, so we’ll submit whichever set of test results is more favorable.”
This seems like a fair enough way to decide
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