Valve appear to have some pretty ambitious future plans for Steam, as we've seen recently in a leak (and not for the first time) that Valve has plans for ARM64 and Android support on Linux.
As usual, the leaks come thanks to SteamDB, which scrapes everything possible related to Steam. The latest "ValveTestApp3043620" appears to show various VR and standard non-VR games being tested on ARM64 with Proton (the Windows to Linux compatibility layer). When you scroll down the list it shows this is thanks to an open source project called FEX, which "allows you to run x86 and x86-64 binaries on an AArch64 host". It also mentions Waydroid, an open source container system that allows you to run Android apps and games on a Linux-based system.
Before people think it's about any Windows and macOS stuff here, it seems very specific to Linux. The configuration text mentions how it's from Windows to Linux.
Initially, I thought this would have been purely for the long-rumoured "Deckard" VR headset, which I believe based on previous leaks will have a standalone mode that runs Linux (with an Arm processor) as well as being able to be hooked up to a PC. So it would make a lot of sense for Valve to be working on a system like this to extend Proton support to ARM64 and get Android-based apps / games working as well.
However, since the list included a lot of standard non-VR games too, it does beg the question: might we actually see Steam for Arm-based desktop devices too and not just whatever the new VR headset turns out to be? Definitely interesting times ahead. Valve's funding of various Linux-related open source projects will continue to pay off in the long run with the Steam Deck and whatever comes next.
Scrolling through the list it showed Valve testing compatibility for the likes of Pistol Whip (VR), Gorilla Tag (VR), Left 4 Dead 2, Garry's Mod, Shadow of Mordor and a great many more including various smaller indie games too.
Thinking back to how the Proton compatibility layer was announced originally, it confirmed a long-held suspicion by many that the DXVK project was being funded by Valve to get the Vulkan-based translation layer for Direct3D into a good state. So who knows, perhaps Valve are doing similar funding for FEX and Waydroid developers well ahead of any announcements again.
Valve later wiped it (but SteamDB shows the history) and put it behind a protected token, so that SteamDB can't scrape it again in future until they set whatever it is live. Bit of a woops by Valve there, but this sort of thing has happened quite a few times in the past.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
strixpoint already proved you can have arm consumption on x86 hardware, and valve is already wasting a lot of resources making proton and testing all the games, in fact, steam receive new games faster than valve can test then, now imagine if they add another target (arm) and want to have an good performance on it?
maybe seling on android can pay for the costs, but i dont think mobile gamers will change the type of games they play, making an steamdeck 2 arm based... it seems to soon for that.
Quoting: Eikeand so many games need 32 bit support anyway.
Only legacy games. Nothing recent should require 32-bit (if something recent does, I'd simply stay away from it).
With Wine you can now run 32-bit games without 32-bit libraries (at least as long as they go through Vulkan path). The only need to have 32-bit libraries now is for old Windows games using OpenGL path (something like DX7 era games) or for old native 32-bit games.
So dropping 32-bit bloat could be a benefit and Steam client itself shouldn't be a thing that slows this down.
Last edited by Shmerl on 23 September 2024 at 8:46 pm UTC
RandomizedKirbyTree47 Sep 24
I hope the adoption of ARM64 will prompt them to improve the UI around filtering searches: if I get an ARM64 desktop I'd like to be able to filter out games without ARM64 support (once ARM64 games become more common).
Last edited by RandomizedKirbyTree47 on 28 September 2024 at 4:12 pm UTC
dirkdierickx Sep 24
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