Valve puts up Proton 5.13-4 to get Cyberpunk 2077 working on Linux for AMD GPUs

I think our only chance of seeing a native linux port is valve taking an even more agressive stance and offer to port it themselves or pay for the port. Sadly, AAA develepers seem to have given up on Linux Support

Quoting: Palanca

Quoting: WorMzyI'll wait for a native port. If the devs don't support Linux, then I don't support the devs.

And that's how you don't get Linux on the desktop.

It's way more complicated than that. Proton is indeed a great asset for Linux adoption. It enables gamers to switch to Linux even when games they like have no native build. Doing so it makes Linux gamers playing Windows games visible to developers as Linux users, incentivizing them to target Linux. That's great!

But one hugely important point is: developers have to make profit from targeting Linux. If Linux sales do not cover the cost of porting the game, then they'll stop supporting Linux. So it is very important to support the developers who support Linux. What does that mean? When I have to choose which game I buy between two games I like, I buy the one that supports Linux. As good as Proton is, the best situation will always be when the developers of the game directly support Linux.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people should not buy Windows games to play on Linux. First of all, everyone is free to buy the game they want and play them on the system they want. I'm saying these two strategies complement each other. Making the developer know that their Windows only game is played on Linux is a nice way to tell the devs they have Linux users and might consider invest some time, efforts and money to target this audience. But what's the point in porting the game on Linux if every Linux gamer has already bought it? There has to exists some people waiting to make Linux sales after the port.

But some developers won't target Linux, even when they already have a Linux build and officially say that porting was easy. We know that Id Software had a Linux build of DOOM 2016 made in two weeks but never released it. Larian Studios also have a Linux build of Baldur's Gate 3 but not released it:

QuoteLarian Studio developers tell me Stadia’s not especially difficult to develop for. One even noted that the platform is essentially like developing for a Linux box, albeit one that actually helps inform developing for the Windows build of the game, too. Source

And now CDPR too. We know these 3 studios won't support Linux. So if you like one of their game, play it. But personally, instead of supporting these anti Linux companies, I largely prefer to give my money to developers treating us well. These days, we are so Lucky so many developers support Linux.

PS: we will get Linux on the desktop when most of the stores propose Linux preinstalled on most of the machines. Don't hold your breathe.


Last edited by TheBard on 10 December 2020 at 10:44 am UTC

I think the issue that these companies have with Linux ports is that their support staff are trained to support Windows. Linux is not much more difficult to support than Windows, but it will require them to either hire or train more staff for support, all for a port that's not making them much money at all.

Stadia, on the other hand, is easier to support than Windows or Linux. Bug fixes only have to be tested in one environment.

This is amazing, Valve have done it again :)

I will wait until Jan or so, to finish other games and see whether someone gives me the game for Christmas but otherwise, I'm pretty hyped with the game (it doesn't happen often)

Would be great if with my Ryzen 5 2600 and Radeon 5700 settings can be set to medium and 2K resolution. I know, probably not even close haha.

Out of curiosity, can someone tell me what games that currently run natively on Stadia (i.e. no dxvk wrappers and the like, if that's a thing) are also available natively on Linux?

P.S. The game runs absolutely fine on an Nvidia 1660, without any audio glitches or what else, at a comfortable ~40fps on medium settings plus a few of them set a bit higher. Can't comment on bugs and/or the game hanging after 1-2 hours because I haven't spent more than an hour at a time in game, and that time has been mostly spent in the character creation editor and in the introductory areas for each of the three lifepaths (still trying to decide what to play as :P).

Quoting: SolitaryValve doesn't get 30% cut for a game of this magnitude, they will get 20% only and I wouldn't be surprised if CDPR made extra deal for even smaller cut.

True, I forgot about that. That's not a bad thing though. Even though CDPR doesn't support Linux, at least they support DRM-FREE games and good practices within the business. So 20% for Valve isn't bad either. I just know that between CDPR and Valve I would like to support Valve more as they do alot more for Linux. CDPR haven't even shown signs of wanting to support Vulkan API, so that it becomes the industry standard, something I think isn't unreasonable to expect them to do.

Quoting: PhlebiacLet's not give undue credit; unless I am missing something, all that the developers did in this instance was make the game available to Valve in advance - which they also do for press reviewers and such. That doesn't sound like effort to me.

Are you sure they didn't make it available to Valve even sooner reviewers? In any case, things have to have a beginning. Next step, to expect from CDPR, is them making Vulkan renderer available for WINE.

Quoting: CatKillerThey did all the work to make a native version of the scale of Cyberpunk 2077 already: they developed it for Debian using Vulkan. They just won't sell it to us.

CDPR's involvement in "making it work on Linux through Proton" was bunging Valve a beta key, which cost them literally nothing. Valve wrote an extension for Vulkan to make it work, Valve contributed to Mesa to make it work, Valve hired developers to work on Proton to make it work; CDPR did absolutely nothing.

Developers should be rewarded for their support of Linux gaming, but CDPR haven't given any. Quite the opposite, in fact.

We don't know if Cyberpunk uses Vulkan or DXVK/VK3D for Stadia. There also the issue of maintaining the game after release, which isn't a easy task. I won't judge CDPR being unfriendly to Linux on basis of game not being released for Linux. I will judge them based on if they make Vulkan renderer available or not. There are likely reasons they haven't because on launch Cyberpunk won't have raytracing on nextgen consoles. That will come next year.

I'm rewarding Valve not CDPR because I intend to buy the game on Steam. I won't buy it on GOG unless they make Vulkan renderer available by time I decide to buy it.

QuoteHowever, by buying a game that doesn't support Linux, you are sending the message to the dev that they don't need to support Linux to get your money. Why should that dev support Linux if you're going to give them money either way?

One percent. One damn percent is Linux's market share. How are you going to sustain all developers a good share of money for their games if all of them decided to support Linux? The money that the combined one percent has to spend would be spread so damn thin that all games, even great ones, would sell poorly by Windows standards.

When we reach three to five percent market share, that is when we should demand more. We are not in a position to bargain for anything. The most we should expect is CDPR making Vulkan renderer available for the game so we have better compatibility. Depending on if they do or not should decide whether you buy from GOG or Steam.


Last edited by Linuxwarper on 10 December 2020 at 1:27 pm UTC

Quoting: LinuxwarperWe don't know if Cyberpunk uses Vulkan or DXVK/VK3D.

We do. It's a DirectX 12 game because of the raytracing support. The Stadia port is Vulkan, so I guess they do have a basis upon which they could include Vulkan support on Windows with some effort, but for now it is DirectX 12.

Quoting: rustybroomhandleWe do. It's a DirectX 12 game because of the raytracing support. The Stadia port is Vulkan, so I guess they do have a basis upon which they could include Vulkan support on Windows with some effort, but for now it is DirectX 12.

Where has it been stated that Stadia port uses Vulkan? All I've read are peoples expectations.


Last edited by Linuxwarper on 10 December 2020 at 1:27 pm UTC

Quoting: Linuxwarper

Quoting: rustybroomhandleWe do. It's a DirectX 12 game because of the raytracing support. The Stadia port is Vulkan, so I guess they do have a basis upon which they could include Vulkan support on Windows with some effort, but for now it is DirectX 12.

Where has it been stated that Stadia port uses Vulkan? All I've read are peoples expectations.

Sounds like a valid expectation though since e.g the patch needed for Proton wasn't needed for it to be playable on Stadia.

Quoting: Linuxwarper

Quoting: rustybroomhandleWe do. It's a DirectX 12 game because of the raytracing support. The Stadia port is Vulkan, so I guess they do have a basis upon which they could include Vulkan support on Windows with some effort, but for now it is DirectX 12.

Where has it been stated that Stadia port uses Vulkan? All I've read are peoples expectations.

ALL Stadia ports use Vulkan. It's a requirement of the platform.

From the Stadia develolper web site:



EDIT: Unless you were arguing that they might have used vkd3d in the way that Metro Exodus used dxvk.so - in which case I'm also going to go with no, because if vkd3d only recently got patched to be be able to run the game, that's a bit seat-of-your-pants for a AAA game which has been in development for years.


Last edited by rustybroomhandle on 10 December 2020 at 1:49 pm UTC