Steam Play (Proton, DXVK...)
This stuff is great news for the Linux ecosystem.
Howevere, loads of points of criticism have been raised that I'll try to
ramble on about.
1) What about native ports? Is this not going to kill them?
For years we've had the chicken & egg problem. People don't switch because game
ports weren't available.
Developers haven't made ports because the users weren't there for them to give
a damn.
This effectively kills the argument - Developers don't need to get out their
way to support Linux ports and worry about the distribution. Steam will.
I don't think it needs to be said that the strategy of insisting on native ports
has brought us anywhere. Ever.
2) What about all those jobs for native game porters?
This is a tough one to answer and think about.
I'd hope that the Linux cracks in the industry keep doing what they love in case
this thing explodes and causes a mass-exoddus in the Windows userbase...
I doubt that'll happen so quickly though and even then, people will know the
difference between a proper port and Steam Play. We'll just have to see I guess.
3) Game XYZ does not work, this is garbage/crap/useless!
This was released earlier this morning. There is focus on specific high demand
titles right now. Patience is a virtue. The main point of this is to be as
convenient as possible.
Convenience kills the competition every single time. Now that players are able
to install and at least attempt to run their Windows library is a huge plus.
With testing all the issues will be slowly, but surely, ironed out.
Most games I've tested work great out of the box, however.
Give it a shot! You may just not be able to tell the difference.
That's the idea, anyway...
-- Marco