Steam Deck might only be able to run 72% of the top 50 games on Steam

Date:
Tue, 14 Sep 2021 09:47:26 +0000

Description:
Only 72% of the top 50 steam games can run on Linux will that be a problem for the Steam Deck?

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Ever since Valve announced its Steam Deck handheld console, theres been questions over how much of Steams huge library the device will be able to run
and it appears that, out of the box, it may struggle to run some of the most popular games.

As Toms Hardware reports , a recent survey by the Boiling Steam website found that of the current top 50 games on Steam, only 72% can be played on Linux, either natively or using Proton, the compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run in Linux. These are the best PC games Steam Deck vs Nintendo Switch OLED : which is better? These are the best free Steam games

While thats not an awful percentage, it does mean that some incredibly
popular games such as PUGB: Battlegrounds , Destiny 2 , Rust and Apex Legends cant run on Linux and thats not great news for the Steam Deck.

Thats because the Steam Deck will run its own Linux distro, Steam OS 3.0, so itll only be able to play games that can run on Linux. For Windows 10-only games, that means relying on Proton. While the Steam Deck has got a lot of people excited (us included), Valve needs it to be a success, as some of its previous hardware launches (such as Steam Machines), struggled to find a market .

If its not able to play some of the most popular games, that could put some potential customers off. Why games wont run on the Steam Deck

In a perfect world, the Steam Deck would be able to play every game on Steam, but thats not going to be the case. As Valves Pierre-Loup Griffais hinted at in a recent interview , the hardware of the Steam Deck is strong enough to potentially run any game on Steam.

But, as James B. Ramey, who worked on developing Proton with Valve,
clarifies, while the hardware could play any game, the software side of
things is more tricky .

This goes back to Valves decision to use Linux as the operating system. While it makes a lot of sense Valve gets greater control of the software, and wont need to pay Windows 10 licensing fees to Microsoft, which would up the cost
of the console it does mean that getting some games to run wont be straightforward.

Proton is a great tool that is constantly improving, and that has helped many games that have been coded for Windows 10 to run on the Steam Deck. However, some games particularly competitive multiplayer titles use anti-cheat software meaning they cant currently be run in Linux, either via Proton or natively. Analysis: Dont panic (Image credit: KinoMasterskaya / Valve)

So, if you were looking forward to playing Destiny 2, or any of the other games that cant currently run on Linux, on your Steam Deck when it launches later this year, should you be worried? We dont think so.

As we mentioned earlier, Proton is constantly being worked on to expand the list of titles it supports, and that will continue up to and beyond the Steam Decks release. That will hopefully mean that when you get your hands on one, most Steam games you want to play on it will be compatible.

In a Steam Deck FAQ , Valve also states that it is working with the developers behind some of the biggest anti-cheat software to get support for Proton ahead of launch. If this works out, then thatll hopefully make almost all of the top 50 Steam games compatible with the Steam Deck.

Finally, as Valve has been keen to point out (including in the aforementioned FAQ), the Steam Deck is essentially a PC, and that means you can replace
Steam OS with an operating system of your choice including Windows 10 (or Windows 11, for that matter). If your favorite game just wont run in Linux, then installing Windows will hopefully sort that out.

Its this kind of flexibility that could put the Steam Deck ahead of traditional consoles such as the Nintendo Switch . These are the best Steam games



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/steam-deck-might-only-be-able-to-run-72-of-the- top-50-games-on-steam/


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