Proton update makes dozens of older games playable

While the Steam Deck has been a major success in many regards, one of its most beneficial tertiary effects is the fact that development on the Proton translation layer has allowed for hundreds of Windows-based games to run on Linux. Proton 11 beta 1 is now officially out and available, adding support for well over a dozen older titles, while also fixing a number of EA launcher issues.

Available to download now, the latest version of Valve’s Proton translation layer ‘Proton 11.0 Beta 1’ makes many older fan-favourite titles playable, while also introducing countless bug fixes.

The full list of changes/additions can be found HERE, but some of the most notable are as follows:

• 18 additional titles now playable, including
  • Resident Evil (1996)
  • Resident Evil 2 (1998)
  • Dino Crisis
  • Dino Crisis 2
  • METAL GEAR SURVIVE
  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2
  • Deadly Premonition
  • Gothic 1 Classic

It continues:

• Improved rendering of Rockstar Launcher popups 
• Fixed many EA games being unplayable after a recent EA Desktop update 
• Fixed Steam Overlay not working correctly with many EA games
• Fixed lag spikes caused by Steam overlay being opened for prolonged time
• Updated Xalia to 0.4.8

As mentioned, the full set of patch notes are lengthy, and covers minute and specific bug fixes alongside the above additions/improvements.

While the choice to go with Linux for the Steam Deck as opposed to Windows was a bit of a gamble, the continuous improvements seen with Proton proves that Valve’s long-term plan has been succeeding.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Proton so many years on from its initial launch? Are there any major games still unsupported? Let us know down below.

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