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Valve put up a new release of Proton Experimental today and it has some interesting changes, so here's all the latest on what's new for Steam Deck and Desktop Linux gaming. If you need a guide on Steam Play Proton check out this article.

As of this update for December 20th here's all that's changed:

Newly playable:

Improvements:

  • Added hack to allow Steam Overlay to function with EAC EOS (Easy Anti-Cheat from Epic Online Services) games.
  • Improved video playback in BIOMUTANT.

HDR now available for:

Additionally, Valve updated the HDR list to note a bunch of titles that had HDR fixed and enabled before the Steam Deck OLED released but weren't previously noted and so in addition to the above there's also HDR for: Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Resident Evil Village, Hogwarts Legacy, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Injustice 2 and Alan Wake 2.

Bug fixes:

Full changelog is available on GitHub.


It will just show up in your Steam Downloads as an update for Proton Experimental, as Proton updates just like games do, so keep an eye out for it.

How to change your Proton version:

Steam Deck:

  • Pick a game in your Library and head to the little cog icon on the right.
  • Click Properties, then Compatibility on the left.
  • Make sure the tickbox is done, then select Proton Experimental from the dropdown.

Desktop Linux:

  • Right click a game, go to Properties.
  • Compatibility on the left.
  • Make sure the tickbox is done, then select Proton Experimental from the dropdown.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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8 comments

Corben Dec 20, 2023
  • Fixed intermittent crash in Beat Saber.
That one is interesting. Just today I tried VR on Linux again, and Beat Saber crashed. I thought it would be related to my 20.04 LTS Ubuntu install, so I upgraded to 22.04 today. And the crash didn't happen again, looks like the new Proton Experimental version helped, and not my Ubuntu upgrade

Unfortunately latest Beat Saber version is still borked and you have to select 1.29 legacy from the beta branch.
Pengling Dec 21, 2023
Improved video playback in BIOMUTANT.
Nice to see this, as I suspect I know what it's for; Whilst the cutscenes have been fine ever since I picked the game up earlier in the year, Biomutant uses tiny little embedded videos to demonstrate the functionality of moves that you're choosing to unlock, and these sometimes sit there not playing right away. I can't imagine the improvement being for anything but this.
pleasereadthemanual Dec 21, 2023
WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT.
I had this on my wishlist, but I didn't realize it was going to be that expensive at release. It's a dual-language release, though, but I don't know if it's DRM-free. I'm interested in it, but I think I'm going to wait for a bigger sale...

There are a number of negative reviews from people who can't even get it to run on their Steam Deck: https://www.protondb.com/app/2052410

There are a lot of broken videos in this game that will crash the game, apparently. It's a pretty common problem with VNs and Valve is the only one who can really solve this by transcoding them to another format, so it's a good thing it's on Steam, I guess.

Most useful information here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/7348

For now it seems it doesn't crash anymore but the videos are still silently skipped. I'm guessing the comment that was removed for "legally problematic" reasons is related to Media Foundation.
Skormax Dec 21, 2023
Added hack to allow Steam Overlay to function with EAC EOS (Easy Anti-Cheat from Epic Online Services) games

So, guys, what does this basically mean? Are we still burdened by this stupid Easy AntiCheat or we can finally play e.g. Destiny 2 on SD without dual-booting?
Liam Dawe Dec 21, 2023
Added hack to allow Steam Overlay to function with EAC EOS (Easy Anti-Cheat from Epic Online Services) games

So, guys, what does this basically mean? Are we still burdened by this stupid Easy AntiCheat or we can finally play e.g. Destiny 2 on SD without dual-booting?
It simply means the Steam Overlay will actually work, for the games it didn't before. Nothing about EAC support has changed.
nenoro Dec 21, 2023
i'm waiting for Destiny 2 and One Punch Man....
Purple Library Guy Dec 21, 2023
i'm waiting for Destiny 2 and One Punch Man....
One Punch Man has a game? I'm assuming either it's not combat heavy or you don't normally play as Saitama, 'cause, well, you know, One Punch . . .
nenoro Jan 4
i'm waiting for Destiny 2 and One Punch Man....
One Punch Man has a game? I'm assuming either it's not combat heavy or you don't normally play as Saitama, 'cause, well, you know, One Punch . . .

No it's like Jump star (the one who has been delisted) where you create your character and you try to survive until saitama comes and kills the foe.
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