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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To me this is great news, I have a lot of fun playing games on GeForce now.
The problem though is that Xbox Cloud Gaming is subpar when it comes to playing on the cloud. The picture quality is quite compressed, and the latency is still too high when compared to Geforce Now (which is so good that sometimes I forget I'm not running the game natively).
Test Stadia , best cloud Gaming quality
And run Linux
0 Likes
guys, test Stadia too, it runs linux on servers
This does not oblige developers to have the game on Steam for Linux but it certainly helps the Steam Deck to have native games going forward.
Microsoft still wants to keep developers locked into their platforms
And one of the FUD attacks that Stadia suffers is using Linux as a pretext and the lower quality of games that Stadia has for using Linux.
This does not oblige developers to have the game on Steam for Linux but it certainly helps the Steam Deck to have native games going forward.
Microsoft still wants to keep developers locked into their platforms
And one of the FUD attacks that Stadia suffers is using Linux as a pretext and the lower quality of games that Stadia has for using Linux.
0 Likes
guys, test Stadia too, it runs linux on serversDude, stadia is absolute garbage and honestly does a disservice to the name Linux.
This does not oblige developers to have the game on Steam for Linux but it certainly helps the Steam Deck to have native games going forward.
Microsoft still wants to keep developers locked into their platforms
And one of the FUD attacks that Stadia suffers is using Linux as a pretext and the lower quality of games that Stadia has for using Linux.
A) It's a game streaming service so it should be opposed from the beginning.
B) It has barely any games anyone actually gives a shit about on it.
C) FUD related Stadia being linux based has nothing to do with Stadia not being successful. It has everything to do with Google moving onto their next new toy and well: Stadia was never good and only could have been good if Google had actually cared enough.
3 Likes, Who?
I 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.
1 Likes, Who?
guys, test Stadia too, it runs linux on servers
This does not oblige developers to have the game on Steam for Linux but it certainly helps the Steam Deck to have native games going forward.
Microsoft still wants to keep developers locked into their platforms
And one of the FUD attacks that Stadia suffers is using Linux as a pretext and the lower quality of games that Stadia has for using Linux.
Stadia looked like a giant promise when Google first launched it, but in the end it turned out that publishers saw it as a separate thing so they never did a Linux port of their games, they did a Stadia port of their games. So when/if they ever think of releasing a native version for the Deck they will most likely not even reuse the Stadia port but start all over from scratch (at least that is the impression that I've got from how game studios work).
And with their recent "this is how you build a windows emulator" announcement, it all but look like they won't even pursue native games on Stadia any more.
2 Likes, Who?
guys, test Stadia too, it runs linux on servers
This does not oblige developers to have the game on Steam for Linux but it certainly helps the Steam Deck to have native games going forward.
Microsoft still wants to keep developers locked into their platforms
And one of the FUD attacks that Stadia suffers is using Linux as a pretext and the lower quality of games that Stadia has for using Linux.
Stadia looked like a giant promise when Google first launched it, but in the end it turned out that publishers saw it as a separate thing so they never did a Linux port of their games, they did a Stadia port of their games. So when/if they ever think of releasing a native version for the Deck they will most likely not even reuse the Stadia port but start all over from scratch (at least that is the impression that I've got from how game studios work).
And with their recent "this is how you build a windows emulator" announcement, it all but look like they won't even pursue native games on Stadia any more.
Stadia is linux + Vulkan , Stadia helps Steam deck and vice versa ( and steam for linux )
that simple ,
And the windows emulation is for older games, not for new games, they were very specific
And folks, games don't need to be ported 1 by 1, just the engine, Unity and Unreal already support Linux and Vulkan
I don't understand your interpretation of things, you were supposed to be happy, two big projects run linux
0 Likes
guys, test Stadia too, it runs linux on serversDude, stadia is absolute garbage and honestly does a disservice to the name Linux.
This does not oblige developers to have the game on Steam for Linux but it certainly helps the Steam Deck to have native games going forward.
Microsoft still wants to keep developers locked into their platforms
And one of the FUD attacks that Stadia suffers is using Linux as a pretext and the lower quality of games that Stadia has for using Linux.
A) It's a game streaming service so it should be opposed from the beginning.
B) It has barely any games anyone actually gives a shit about on it.
C) FUD related Stadia being linux based has nothing to do with Stadia not being successful. It has everything to do with Google moving onto their next new toy and well: Stadia was never good and only could have been good if Google had actually cared enough.
you unfortunately believe the sensationalist sites that attack Stadia by clickbait, sites that say that Google will shut down Stadia even before the platform launches.
Stadia works great, test it dude,
but I'm talking about using a linux based platform instead of using a windows based one ( xbox cloud gaming )
0 Likes
RichardYao Mar 19, 2022
"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
I'm just trying to picture the reaction of Linux users fifteen years ago if you told them this was a quote from fifteen years in the future. For that matter, you could probably make that five years ago / five years in the future.
As someone from nearly 15 years ago, I am happy to tell you that my response would have been: It’s a trap. :P
Last edited by RichardYao on 19 March 2022 at 6:14 am UTC
6 Likes, Who?
rustybroomhandle Mar 19, 2022
Stadia 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.
Last edited by rustybroomhandle on 19 March 2022 at 6:52 am UTC
4 Likes, Who?
They finally found a use case for Edge on Linux :D
I guess you could call it an....
edge case
you, i hate you. you caused me physical pain. take my like.
Out. NOW!
2 Likes, Who?
Where my post about MS broke online office goes? It is about topic, because author complains about the service.
0 Likes
Have you tried the steam big picture mode browser for xbox? Somebody on Reddit said it works if you remove all the controls mapping for the controller so it's seen as gamepad
0 Likes
Added an extra link for a new video, doing the same method to get Stadia working perfectly: https://youtu.be/pRGP_MXy2Wc
3 Likes, Who?
CyborgZeta Mar 19, 2022
That's nice, I guess. I will never, ever, accept Cloud gaming though.
3 Likes, Who?
Stadia 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.
2 Likes, Who?
rustybroomhandle Mar 19, 2022
Stadia 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.
0 Likes
Added this to my script : https://github.com/Chevek/Gaming-Flatpak
You can play Xbox Cloud Gaming on any Linux distribution which has flatpak. It will install the Microsoft Edge Browser for this, just like in the Steam Deck. The script will automatically do all the thinkering for you: it will appears as a regular application and start Edge in Xbox cloud Gaming mode, no extra steps. User friendly.
This is a bash script and it will most probably require the root password. Be aware !
Best regards.
Last edited by Chevek on 24 March 2022 at 9:20 pm UTC
You can play Xbox Cloud Gaming on any Linux distribution which has flatpak. It will install the Microsoft Edge Browser for this, just like in the Steam Deck. The script will automatically do all the thinkering for you: it will appears as a regular application and start Edge in Xbox cloud Gaming mode, no extra steps. User friendly.
This is a bash script and it will most probably require the root password. Be aware !
Best regards.
Last edited by Chevek on 24 March 2022 at 9:20 pm UTC
0 Likes
They do use DXVK. While currently Stadia is using a custom Linux+Vulkan platform with its desktop components stripped out, some of the ports (notably Metro ones) are using DXVK.Stadia 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.
2 Likes, Who?
Stadia definitely uses DXVK, it's part of their toolkit for developers already. I noted it in our recent Stadia article.
2 Likes, Who?
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