90 of the 100 most popular Steam games can run on Linux

90 of the 100 most popular Steam games can run on Linux. This is evident from figures from ProtonDB. 80 games receive a gold rating or higher. 29 games run natively on Linux; the rest runs through the Proton tool. Most non-working games use anti-cheat.

Currently 90 of the Steam top 100 run on Linux. 80 percent of the top 100 receive a rating of gold or higher. This includes 29 games that run natively on Linux. Games from Steam owner Valve, among others, run natively on Linux, such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and DOTA 2. Also games like Payday 2, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI and Euro Truck Simulator 2 offer native Linux support.

The other working games use Proton. That is a Wine fork from Valve, which makes it possible to play Windows games on Linux systems. Of these, six receive a platinum rating, the highest possible rating. That means that the game works right away, without any adjustments needed. Those games include, for example, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Football Manager 2022.

46 games get a gold rating, which according to ProtonDB means that the game works after some tweaks. Seven games get silver, meaning the game is generally playable, but with some minor issues. Three games in the top 100 are awarded bronze, meaning the game will run but may crash or have issues that could hinder the playing experience.

80 percent of the top 100 games are rated ‘Gold’ or higher. Image via ProtonDB

Games not working mainly because of anti-cheat

It is striking that six out of ten non-working Steam games are in the top 10. These include PUBG: Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, Halo Infinite, New World, Naraka: Bladepoint, and Destiny 2. Further in the top 100 are Black Desert, Hunt: Showdown, Dead by Daylight, and Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout; those games don’t work either.

Nine out of those ten games don’t work because of anti-cheat software. Of those, eight use Epic Games’ Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye. Naraka: Bladepoint, a battle royale game from developer NetEase, also doesn’t work due to anti-cheat, but that game uses NEAC Protect.

The only exception to this is Halo Infinite. Users report that the Steam version of that game does boot to the main menu via the experimental version of Proton, but that the frame rate is then unplayable. The PC version of Halo Infinite does not currently use client-side anti-cheat, notes The Verge. Developer 343 Industries does indicate that anti-cheat will be added to the game later. It is not clear which tool will be used for this.

Two games with anti-cheat from the top 100 will also receive a bronze rating on ProtonDB. That concerns tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege and spiritual Left 4 Dead successor Back 4 Blood. Gamers note at Rainbow Six Siege that only offline game modes work well. Also with Back 4 Blood users complain that only the single player seems to work. The multiplayer modes of those games don’t work yet. A third bronze-rated game from the top 100, Icarus, does not suffer from non-functioning anti-cheat, but according to gamers it does suffer from performance problems on Linux.

EAC and BattlEye are already available for Linux, but not for all games yet

Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye are already available for Linux. For example, BattlEye recently indicated that it will support Valve’s Proton tool. Epic Games also recently released EAC for Linux, macOS and the Steam Deck via Proton. However, developers have to add that support to their games themselves and that has not happened on a large scale yet. The first two games with BattlEye got Proton support last month. That concerned Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord and ARK: Survival Evolved. Unturned, another BattlEye game, now also supports Linux systems.

These announcements from EAC and BattlEye followed the news that Valve will be making a Linux handheld; the Steam Deck. The first copies of that handheld will be delivered in February according to the current schedule. The Steam Deck comes standard with SteamOS 3.0 and Valve already announced at the time of the announcement that it would partner with anti-cheat makers to make such software compatible with the Steam Deck and Proton. It will also be possible to install Windows on the Steam Deck.