Liam Dawe: 5 years ago Valve released Proton forever changing Linux gaming

Gamers using Linux (be it desktop or Steam Deck) in 2023 are now in a place where they can get excited alongside friends who use Windows or traditional consoles, because they know there's a good probable chance at release that whatever new exciting game coming out will work without much trouble.

Valve did amazing work getting Windows games to run on Linux with literally zero work from game developers. I have a Steam Deck which runs Linux and it’s never a question whether a Windows game will be compatible because they all are (or at least close enough to all that I’ve never run into a compatibility issue with a game I want to play). Obviously, game devs can test on Linux and the Steam Deck, but the point is that they don’t have to and their game will likely run just fine.

Apple’s currently-in-beta game developer tools give me hope that this sort of experience can come to the Mac one day. And to properly set the goalposts here, I’m talking about being able to install games built for Windows directly from the storefront (Steam, Epic, GOG, etc). The current weird workflows are fun experiments, but I dream of a world where gaming on the Mac is more user friendly and expansive than on Linux (I can't imagine myself saying that even 5 years ago).