Linux users are simply some of the most stubborn users in the world, willing to forgo almost any convenience in exchange for keeping themselves both secure, and in absolute control of their operating system.
Whereas Microsoft has attempted to further dummy-proof Windows 10 (bringing about a disastrous ‘software as a service’ routine with consistent updates and changes to everything with little to no warning), Linux is on the far other end of the spectrum where files and configurations rely a bit more on the user understand what they’re doing, rather than intelligent installers doing the necessary heavy lifting.
If it’s a toss-up between the two, Linux is strongly recommended for the more tech-savvy users. If you’re keener, however, to ensure that you can play all of the latest games and popular tools, then Windows is likely the answer even with its arguably draconian policies and bloat-ware shoveling.
This is where Valve’s Proton comes into play; much how WINE (which stands for WINE Is Not an Emulator, for fans of recursion) allows users to emulate the Windows software so they can play titles, Proton does much of the same although with admittedly far more heft behind the open-source software with developers from Valve, NVIDIA, and even Google coming to bear their developmental chops at ensuring that Linux maintains viability in the modern era.
With Gabe Newell himself stating that Valve uses Linux exclusively and that they are determined to ensure it can survive (along with the arguably ill-fated Steam Machine that ran on a custom Linux distro), Linux has a few valuable players on the bench.
Proton 5.13-1 is now available for testing! pic.twitter.com/XGOQnYyP1U
— Pierre-Loup Griffais (@Plagman2) October 15, 2020
The most recent update has just released for Proton, version 5.13, and with it comes newly playable titles on Linux (using Proton) that should result in much fanfare.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is now playable on Linux, as is Final Fantasy XV, Age of Empires II & III, and the newest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.
Along with the update comes a first look at real-time video playback, further multi-monitor support makes it’s way to the most recent version of Proton.
It’s easy to forget that Proton exists, especially for Windows users that have never even been interested in what Linux can bring to the table.
Yet the Proton project on its own has already changed the face of PC gaming on Linux, and shows that Valve is committed to far more than simply pushing out iterative updates for Counter-Strike or figuring out an anti-cheat that doesn’t make honest players rip their hair out by the fistful.
