Steam Play Proton 5.13-1 Linux compatibility layer up and ready for testing

Valve has released Proton 5.13-1 for testing, this compatibility layer for Steam Play brings with it many advancements for getting more Windows games working on Linux.

This is the first proper public release of Proton since 5.0-9 back in June, while they also had 5.0-10 left in testing back in July so no doubt this will be very exciting for fans of Proton. However, it seems this is being classed as a Beta release. If you're not clear on what Proton and Steam Play are, be sure to check out our constantly updated dedicated page.

Before getting started, be aware this comes with a known issue with controllers / gamepads where hotplugging is currently broken in some titles. Apart from that, it sounds like a huge release including lots of new playable titles like: Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, DEATH STRANDING, Sea of Thieves, Age of Empires III, Call of Duty: WWII, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and others.

Even more came with it though, there's better Steam client integration to fix Call of Duty titles, Spelunky 2, Torchlight III, Path of Exile and RPG Maker MZ. Video Playback is a big one, a constant nuisance for Proton and that's been worked on also with improved support for older video libraries and work continues on newer video libraries. Additionally titles like Halo 3, Beyond: Two Souls and Tomb Raider 2 should see better audio playback.

They also upgraded the Direct3D 9/10/11 to Vulkan layer DXVK to 1.7.2, FAudio to 20.10, pulled in the latest Direct3D 12 to Vulkan code from vkd3d-proton and they're even now building it against the next generation of the Steam Linux Runtime too. If you have more than one monitor, rejoice, as they also mentioned "improved" support for that too.

The version of Wine that Proton is based upon, as the version suggests, has also been bumped up to Wine 5.13 and they said at least 256 of their changes from Proton 5.0 have either been up-streamed or they're just not needed.

Full changelog can be found here. You may need to manually install it in Steam, it will show up as Proton 5.13 in the Tools section in your Steam Library. You can then select to force it onto games individually to test with by right clicking on a game, going to Properties and then the Steam Play section at the bottom:

Note: if you're having issues, ensure you have "Steam Linux Runtime - Soldier" installed on Steam. Just search for it in your Steam Library in Tools. You can find a list of other currently known issues here.

If you need help and support, do remember to use our dedicated Forum.