Steam Deck: How to change Proton version
Unfortunately, getting games to function on Linux is a major pain. So it seemed, however. Proton was developed by the team working on SteamOS as part of Valve’s never-ending battle to convert us to Linux. Developing a bridge between Windows and Linux is nothing new; the immensely successful Wine does just that.
To make Windows-only apps work on Linux, Valve developed a version of Wine called Proton. Valve put forth a lot of time and effort to perfect the gaming experience on the Steam Deck. This is still a work in progress, with games being checked for accuracy on a daily basis.
Even though many games can be launched with a simple Steam installation, some may require a little more coaxing to get rolling. Proton receives updates on a weekly basis, and the games themselves are always evolving. As we observed with EA’s patches, this might cause the game to malfunction.
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The courageous programmers at Valve are always on the case, checking in to make sure Proton is performing as expected. All updates are initially tested in the “experimental” environment before being released to the general public. As of now on, it will be an official revision.
Steam Deck: How to change Proton version
Picking a game to play in SteamOS’s dedicated gaming mode is an essential part of the experience. After that, either hit the three lines at the bottom of the screen or navigate to the full splash page and hit play there. Go to the gear icon, then select Manage from the drop-down option that appears.
Select the Proton version that will work with your current setup. It needs to be compatible with them all the way from Experimental to the earliest stable release. In case your fiddling causes problems, remember to save a backup of your saves.
If you’re having trouble with your games, try updating to a newer version of Proton. It’s really simple to implement, however there are some restrictions.
When upgrading to a newer version of Proton, will my game saves be lost?
Even though we’re now using Version 7, upgrading from Version 5 to Version 6 meant losing all of our progress. We don’t know if this will be necessary in the eventual update to version 8, as Valve likely doesn’t want to anger consumers.
Games like Dark Souls 3 that don’t support Steam Cloud saves may destroy your data when you switch computers. Make sure you have a copy stored away just in case. Because Proton stores its saves in a specific spot on the Steam Deck, and because it must make room for the new version, the old data must be deleted.