Valve and Microsoft teamed up to better support the Steam Deck, with Xbox Cloud Gaming now supported through the Edge browser.
"We’re particularly excited about this ourselves as we feel it can open new opportunities in the Linux gaming community." — Missy Quarry, Community Manage for Microsoft Edge
It must be a particularly cold day in hell for Microsoft to move closer to supporting a Linux system, although it already worked on Linux through Chromium-based browsers so they haven't exactly pushed the boat out. Still, it's a pretty big shift from the old Microsoft wouldn't you say?
There's a Reddit Post (with custom artwork you can use) and a Support Article that goes over the steps needed. It's not quick and easy but it's not overly complicated either. In short:
- Load Discover Software Centre from Desktop Mode.
- Install Microsoft Edge (the icon will say "Beta").
- Find Edge in the Application Launcher (bottom left icon), right click it and hit Add to Steam.
- When the Steam list comes up, find Edge and add it.
- Now you'll need to set an override for the Flatpak package of Edge that's installed. You can either do it using Flatseal or this terminal command in the Konsole app:
flatpak --user override --filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.Edge. - Now you'll need to edit the shortcut in Steam. Locate Edge in your Steam Library, right click -> Properties.
- Where it says "Launch Options" at the bottom, enter this in after what's already there:
--window-size=1024,640 --force-device-scale-factor=1.25 --device-scale-factor=1.25 --kiosk "https://www.xbox.com/play" - Optional: change the shortcut name to "Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)".
- You will also need to change Steam Input to "Gamepad with touchpad as Mouse".
Over time, this process will get much easier, as Microsoft's Ben Mathwig confirmed on Twitter they are actively working on it all.
Here's a list of games Xbox Cloud supports.
So far, it seems a little finicky though. Sometimes the game/store pages won't load, it gives a little ping noise and nothing really happens. Same for loading some games, it makes the ping sound and then…nothing. Not entirely sure what the issue is here, and it could be specific to my Deck somewhere but it's certainly not working as expected right now for me overall apart from the first game I tried. It seems entirely random on what game pages load and what games actually work. Update: if you also face the same problem, clear the Edge browser Cache in desktop mode. Fixes it every time for me. I've been chatting to Microsoft about it, and have given them info on it. Update 2: after my feedback, Microsoft have tracked it down and are working on a fix. Update 3 - 23/03/22: I continued testing for MSFT and they fixed the issue, games all load properly now as the modal to tell you about controls, network and such appears correctly now.
Quick video demonstration:
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Direct Link
Direct Link
Why is it all needed? Well, Chrome doesn't yet support the Deck controls, which I noted in my original review. So Microsoft have come along to present Edge as your cloud gaming Steam Deck saviour here.
Guess what? It works for Stadia too. I tested it working just fine, you can just change the launch options URL to go to Stadia instead if you wish. Meanwhile, GeForce NOW just complains about an unsupported browser.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
slaapliedje Mar 19, 2022
Quoting: F.UltraThe problem is all your bandwidth is still taken by downloading games. Even if you're buying physical copies, the patches these days are larger than the games of yesteryear. I live alone, and still am irritated when Steam is downloading something and taking all of the bandwidth, so Netflix/Amazon Prime that I'm usually watching while the game/patch installs is either degraded, or constantly stopping to buffer (this doesn't happen in Linux, but only when I'm using Windows for some unknown reason... I'll blame it on the network stack).Quoting: slaapliedjeI have a theory; Xbox as a hardware platform is going to be dead.
There is no need for it, really. It's already basically a stripped down Windows, from my understanding.
I believe Xbox Game Pass first came to be available on Linux via the Atari VCS. If MS is branching out and allowing that to be a thing... But it isn't like you can easily find a new Xbox (or PS5 for that matter) these days. They took away the dev mode from the Xbox users, so you can't use them as retro boxes anymore, which is a shame.
But why not ditch the hardware altogether next time a refresh is needed, when they can just sell games through Windows Store / Xbox Game Pass / Edge Browser, etc.
Streaming games isn't going to be anything I'll sign up for anytime soon. As it is, even using some games (especially mostly or all Online games) on Steam is bad enough. Too many constant updates that are huge. If my ISP decides to take a vacation, like it randomly does, that means I can't play anything. Not to mention the 'oh, I'll just play this for 30 minutes while I'm waiting for something...' is no longer available, as I'll boot up the computer, start Steam, and there is an update that takes 20min...
Ha, sorry, turned into a rant about modern gaming... I should just play on my MiSTer more...
Because you can buy a Xbox X for a lot less that you have to pay for a gaming PC, so you buy a relative cheap console for your kids and you keep a non-game compatible PC as your home Internet-browser / work-from-home computer. Have zero figures to draw from here but I wouldn't be surprised if the average Xbox owner is not like the people who roam around this site with a powerful gaming capable pc.
Yes with the Xbox Cloud you no longer need a powerful pc to play those games so you have a point there, but then you have to give up your pc for the kids AND pay for decent Internet that also competes on bandwidth for your Netflix and YouTube viewing. Not to mention how much easier it is to just throw a console at the kids and not have to worry about viruses, kids viewing whatever on the net and so on.
Not saying that the above is you or me but there are a lot of normies out there. But I do think that you are correct in that MS is going to try to move in that direction, I just don't think that they will do that until they are sure that Sony and Nintendo won't take over the market once they have left it.
Modern gaming is both awesome, and a curse at times! Which is why I just received a boxed copy of Rogue64 for the C64/C128. :P
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Quoting: Liam DaweAdded an extra link for a new video, doing the same method to get Stadia working perfectly: https://youtu.be/pRGP_MXy2Wc
Nice! Thanks for the video showing Stadia working well too, Liam.
I love playing The Elder Scrolls Online on my TV via Stadia so this will be a no brainer for me once I get a hand on one of those decks (less loading times, no constant updatings, full gamepad controls, not wasting ~70gb for it).
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Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: F.UltraThe problem is all your bandwidth is still taken by downloading games. Even if you're buying physical copies, the patches these days are larger than the games of yesteryear. I live alone, and still am irritated when Steam is downloading something and taking all of the bandwidth, so Netflix/Amazon Prime that I'm usually watching while the game/patch installs is either degraded, or constantly stopping to buffer (this doesn't happen in Linux, but only when I'm using Windows for some unknown reason... I'll blame it on the network stack).Quoting: slaapliedjeI have a theory; Xbox as a hardware platform is going to be dead.
There is no need for it, really. It's already basically a stripped down Windows, from my understanding.
I believe Xbox Game Pass first came to be available on Linux via the Atari VCS. If MS is branching out and allowing that to be a thing... But it isn't like you can easily find a new Xbox (or PS5 for that matter) these days. They took away the dev mode from the Xbox users, so you can't use them as retro boxes anymore, which is a shame.
But why not ditch the hardware altogether next time a refresh is needed, when they can just sell games through Windows Store / Xbox Game Pass / Edge Browser, etc.
Streaming games isn't going to be anything I'll sign up for anytime soon. As it is, even using some games (especially mostly or all Online games) on Steam is bad enough. Too many constant updates that are huge. If my ISP decides to take a vacation, like it randomly does, that means I can't play anything. Not to mention the 'oh, I'll just play this for 30 minutes while I'm waiting for something...' is no longer available, as I'll boot up the computer, start Steam, and there is an update that takes 20min...
Ha, sorry, turned into a rant about modern gaming... I should just play on my MiSTer more...
Because you can buy a Xbox X for a lot less that you have to pay for a gaming PC, so you buy a relative cheap console for your kids and you keep a non-game compatible PC as your home Internet-browser / work-from-home computer. Have zero figures to draw from here but I wouldn't be surprised if the average Xbox owner is not like the people who roam around this site with a powerful gaming capable pc.
Yes with the Xbox Cloud you no longer need a powerful pc to play those games so you have a point there, but then you have to give up your pc for the kids AND pay for decent Internet that also competes on bandwidth for your Netflix and YouTube viewing. Not to mention how much easier it is to just throw a console at the kids and not have to worry about viruses, kids viewing whatever on the net and so on.
Not saying that the above is you or me but there are a lot of normies out there. But I do think that you are correct in that MS is going to try to move in that direction, I just don't think that they will do that until they are sure that Sony and Nintendo won't take over the market once they have left it.
Modern gaming is both awesome, and a curse at times! Which is why I just received a boxed copy of Rogue64 for the C64/C128. :P
As you say you live alone, I have to children (18yo+20yo) and one wife. All of them are basically on Netflix and YouTube (some of them simultaneously) 24x7, one of the phones had a download of over 200GiB today according to the traffic monitor on my wireless router.
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Quoting: rustybroomhandleQuoting: F.UltraQuoting: henriquecariocaStadia is linux + Vulkan , Stadia helps Steam deck and vice versa ( and steam for linux )
that simple ,
Give a single example where Stadia have helped the Steam Deck. Stadia is not Linux + Vulkan, it's some in-house proprietary Google API + DXVK that just happens to run atop Debian.
Stadia does not currently use DXVK. I think you have it confused with the new "windows emulator" project they are working on.
Others have already replied here, but just one quick note for the curios: very few game devs (if any) will spend the time and resources to completely rewrite their shader code from DX9-11 to Vulkan so they use the stand alone version of DXVK to do the translation for Stadia, it's part of the Stadia Porting Toolkit.
Last edited by F.Ultra on 19 March 2022 at 11:48 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
I wish this worked for my desktop, but after adding the flathub beta repository, installing the edge flatpak and following all the instructions, steam overlay still can't hook in to stadia/edge. It's the exact same problem as chromium. I never get the overlay and my custom controller scheme doesn't hook in.
I'm really hoping Valve pushes all of the updates they've made for steamOS over to desktop linux. A lot of them have already come, but there's definitely a few of these edge cases that don't work.
I'm really hoping Valve pushes all of the updates they've made for steamOS over to desktop linux. A lot of them have already come, but there's definitely a few of these edge cases that don't work.
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How about do some stuff that tangibly helps the Linux community like adding the Game Pass to steam and making Arbiter anti-cheat work with Wine.
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: rustybroomhandleNot having native ports of Stadia games on other Linux distributions does not mean it's not helping though. It's up to the publisher after all.Quoting: henriquecariocaStadia helps Steam deck and vice versa ( and steam for linux )How does it help Linux? None of the native ports on Stadia have ever been released for desktop Linux as far as I know.
In the case of all those Ubisoft titles. Most are not even on Steam.
But the fact that Google has a gaming service using a Linux kernel and Vulkan means they have an incentive to have their engineers contributing to these projects or open source tools (e.g. debugger/profiler like RenderDoc, Orbit) that could help game developers on Linux.
By the way, the bugfix to make the Steam Deck gamepad compatible in Chromium-based browsers was done by a Google engineer.
https://chromiumdash.appspot.com/commit/c9bc4476626e413fac9fac8b08e4b2110ee344f2
So basically MS just merged the upstream fix into Edge, released a beta and are taking credits for it.
2 Likes, Who?
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Quoting: slaapliedjeI have a theory; Xbox as a hardware platform is going to be dead.This has been my presumption for quite some time. Unless you have a closed garden monopoly like Apple on which to price gouge for the hardware (and this is what all consoles have been doing as well), you're making money off the service (as Valve is now doing with Steam Deck). As the perpetual console upstart with some good captive IP, it makes all the sense in the world now for MS to have their streaming service run everywhere and on everything. Now it just needs to be better.
There is no need for it, really.
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Comandante Ñoñardo Mar 20, 2022
meh!...
The XBOX PC GAMEPASS client running on Linux will be interesting.
The XBOX PC GAMEPASS client running on Linux will be interesting.
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