Since we were asked a lot about this, we reached out to porting studio Feral Interactive to see if they had any plans to update their Linux ports for the Steam Deck.
Feral have ported a number of titles to Linux in the past including Alien Isolation, XCOM & XCOM 2, Total War: WARHAMMER I & II, Total War: THREE KINGDOMS, HITMAN, the Tomb Raider series, Life is Strange & Before the Storm & Life is Strange 2, Dirt Rally and the list goes on. They also have a port of Total War: WARHAMMER III upcoming in "Early Spring".
After waiting quite a while, they replied today with an official statement about Steam Deck support:
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.Our most recent Linux titles are officially supported on Ubuntu only, and we do not currently have any plans to update games for further compatibility with Steam Deck or its operating system, SteamOS 3.0. If players encounter issues with Feral's native Linux versions of games on Steam Deck, we recommend playing them via Proton.
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If they don't support the biggest gaming focussed Linux install base they don't need to bother with ports at all imho.
I think they will focus more on mobile and console ports going forward.
I think they will focus more on mobile and console ports going forward.
16 Likes, Who?
Sadly this was inevitable. Proton basically does their job for them and takes money and business away from them, it should be no surprise that now proton is so stable and advanced that porting studios like these guys don't try to port to Linux or update their ports as much anymore, after all, proton has already done it for them.
Big game studios won't want to contract them because "Why? Linux gamers can just use proton since it works, why do we need feral to do it?"
It's sad but it's true, whatever way it went proton was always going to hurt the small porting houses if it was successful.
But still, you must show them respect and gratitude for the work they did for the Linux community in the early days.
I do however believe they will find another way to make money or find a way where their services are still required.
Big game studios won't want to contract them because "Why? Linux gamers can just use proton since it works, why do we need feral to do it?"
It's sad but it's true, whatever way it went proton was always going to hurt the small porting houses if it was successful.
But still, you must show them respect and gratitude for the work they did for the Linux community in the early days.
I do however believe they will find another way to make money or find a way where their services are still required.
35 Likes, Who?
DamonLinuxPL Feb 21, 2022
That was easy to predict. Proton took Feral's business. Why should they update the ports for Steam Deck, since the feral ports have not been even selected as compatible with SteamDeck, but only the Proton versions.
As far as I know, all Feral games that lack Windows multiplayer have not been included in compatibility.
As far as I know, all Feral games that lack Windows multiplayer have not been included in compatibility.
5 Likes, Who?
Isn't this not really up to them but rather the publishers/studios they had contracts with?
14 Likes, Who?
rustybroomhandle Feb 21, 2022
Kind of not sure what people are expecting Feral to update? The whole point of the Steam Deck is that it doesn't need games to be built specifically for it. Nobody is expecting all their Windows titles to be updated to target this one particular hardware device, so not sure why Feral is being singled out here.
Many Windows-only games are being updated for Steam Deck. Controller support, correct controller glyphs, readable text, support for the quick suspend mode, on-screen keyboard support.
That said, I don't think Feral is really making any money off Linux any more. I'm not even sure it's worth running ported games any more if they're just going to drop support anyway.
Last edited by rustybroomhandle on 21 February 2022 at 5:12 pm UTC
12 Likes, Who?
I'm not even sure it's worth running ported games any more if they're just going to drop support anyway.
Are Windows games supported forever?
2 Likes, Who?
I cant say I did not see it coming. We let a tiger in to get rid of the cat.
Feral probably ONLY had contract for PC version, for Valve supported OS.
It fulfilled contract.
Companies who want to have market share of handhold console are welcome to buy service for Feral to port there. Or use Proton.
Its sad, I see we won't have any native Linux games any time soon. AA or AAA ones...
Feral probably ONLY had contract for PC version, for Valve supported OS.
It fulfilled contract.
Companies who want to have market share of handhold console are welcome to buy service for Feral to port there. Or use Proton.
Its sad, I see we won't have any native Linux games any time soon. AA or AAA ones...
5 Likes, Who?
How ironic.
Feral made all of its business model around Steam as a platform (up to refusing to release its ports elsewhere)… only to be "betrayed" (if such a term is even applicable to a business venture) and forsaken by the very Steam itself.
The fact that Feral's ports are timed sub-contracts with British game studious (yes, is Feral, as is Creative Assembly, a British company and apparently likes to stick to "home shores") does not help in any way, as now it would be exceedingly difficult to persuade right-holders to renew said sub-contracts. Because, why? Why would you, as a game developer, ever allow some porter to make a Linux version and get some % of every sell for Linux if you can… not allow that to happen and get 100% of Linux sales (through Proton) for yourself?
Last edited by Alm888 on 21 February 2022 at 5:23 pm UTC
Feral made all of its business model around Steam as a platform (up to refusing to release its ports elsewhere)… only to be "betrayed" (if such a term is even applicable to a business venture) and forsaken by the very Steam itself.
The fact that Feral's ports are timed sub-contracts with British game studious (yes, is Feral, as is Creative Assembly, a British company and apparently likes to stick to "home shores") does not help in any way, as now it would be exceedingly difficult to persuade right-holders to renew said sub-contracts. Because, why? Why would you, as a game developer, ever allow some porter to make a Linux version and get some % of every sell for Linux if you can… not allow that to happen and get 100% of Linux sales (through Proton) for yourself?
Last edited by Alm888 on 21 February 2022 at 5:23 pm UTC
5 Likes, Who?
This exactly. There's more too like sane default graphics settings, ensuring saves work cross-platform and with steam cloud and so on.Kind of not sure what people are expecting Feral to update? The whole point of the Steam Deck is that it doesn't need games to be built specifically for it. Nobody is expecting all their Windows titles to be updated to target this one particular hardware device, so not sure why Feral is being singled out here.
Many Windows-only games are being updated for Steam Deck. Controller support, correct controller glyphs, readable text, support for the quick suspend mode, on-screen keyboard support.
We're seeing a constant stream of games being updated for the Deck, it's a genuine question a lot of people asked about Feral ports - so we reached out and this is simply what they said.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 21 February 2022 at 5:24 pm UTC
12 Likes, Who?
Kind of not sure what people are expecting Feral to update? The whole point of the Steam Deck is that it doesn't need games to be built specifically for it. Nobody is expecting all their Windows titles to be updated to target this one particular hardware device, so not sure why Feral is being singled out here.
Well, one simple thing is the fact that Feral games are configured to show you a warning that you're running them on an unsupported distro when you are not running Ubuntu. It's fine if you're a tinkerer like us running a non-Ubuntu distro, you're used to that - but it's not fine on a consumer device sold as a user-friendly console.
So updating for Steam Deck could be as little as *testing* on Steam Deck and adding Steam OS 3.0 as official supported, so this egregious warning doesn't show up.
If they choose not to do this, it basically means that they don't recommend using their Linux ports on Steam Deck, and indeed would prefer that Valve sets the default configuration to use Proton.
Last edited by Akien on 21 February 2022 at 5:40 pm UTC
5 Likes, Who?
I am not surprised. Considering the fact that Feral's games are already very good ports, it would probably mean an enormous amount of work to rework all these games, some of them fundamentally. With most games, it's hard to say which version is better. To be honest, I wouldn't want to be in the tester's shoes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr_dVP_bV14
Furthermore, I think it simply doesn't make them any money. They don't get their bread for free either.
It was the Feral port of Alien: Isolation that brought me back to normal gaming. I am grateful to them for that to this day.
What a bizzare luxury. We used to be happy about every port, now we discuss the versions.
Last edited by 1xok on 21 February 2022 at 5:55 pm UTC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr_dVP_bV14
Furthermore, I think it simply doesn't make them any money. They don't get their bread for free either.
It was the Feral port of Alien: Isolation that brought me back to normal gaming. I am grateful to them for that to this day.
What a bizzare luxury. We used to be happy about every port, now we discuss the versions.
Last edited by 1xok on 21 February 2022 at 5:55 pm UTC
4 Likes, Who?
TheRiddick Feb 21, 2022
Given that feral games get removed off steam once license expires... I wouldn't be buying from them anyway.
1 Likes, Who?
Given that feral games get removed off steam once license expires... I wouldn't be buying from them anyway.Only from the store, obviously. Doesn't affect existing owners.
5 Likes, Who?
Given that feral games get removed off steam once license expires... I wouldn't be buying from them anyway.
They're not removed. You can still download them, you just can't buy them anymore. So it makes full sense to buy them before. I got some games that got "removed", and... why should I care?!?
2 Likes, Who?
I guess it's another win for Valve and Open source successes. I guess I feel slightly conflicted about it. While I appreciate Feral's work, I'm also glad that open source tools like Wine/Proton have finally taken over in a meaningful way.
I guess it's both a loss and a gain.
I guess it's both a loss and a gain.
7 Likes, Who?
You can still buy them. Everything's still there, except for the little box that says Linux is supported. And Feral's payment for a "Linux sale" - it's still a Linux sale on the stats, it's just that Feral no longer get paid for it.Given that feral games get removed off steam once license expires... I wouldn't be buying from them anyway.
They're not removed. You can still download them, you just can't buy them anymore. So it makes full sense to buy them before. I got some games that got "removed", and... why should I care?!?
4 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir Feb 21, 2022
Anyway, many of their Linux ports have been delisted and official support removed. On top of that, in most cases, it runs better with Proton and without the Feral launcher which is unfit for console-like use.
Unfortunately, this decision comes as no surprise to me.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 21 February 2022 at 6:15 pm UTC
Unfortunately, this decision comes as no surprise to me.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 21 February 2022 at 6:15 pm UTC
0 Likes
I guess it's another win for Valve and Open source successes. I guess I feel slightly conflicted about it. While I appreciate Feral's work, I'm also glad that open source tools like Wine/Proton have finally taken over in a meaningful way.
A loss for open/free standards though, like Vulkan and cross platform tools. I highly doubt devs are going to throw away their established pipelines since 'Valve will handle it' for them now.
6 Likes, Who?
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