Valve announced its Linux-based handheld PC/console for gaming on the go back in July. The new Steam Deck would enable convenient portable access to your PC games library, with a custom AMD APU, 7-inch 800p touchscreen, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, extensive built-in controls, and SteamOS 3.0 as standard (you can install a different OS if you wish). A slight weakness might be that Steam's Linux library isn't quite on a par with the Windows alternative, but Valve pledged to work hard so that its portable would play the vast majority of Steam games without a hitch, by the time it is launched properly (pre-order product rollout starts in December).
Over the last few days, we have seen some important pieces of the compatibility jigsaw fall into place, and I expect Valve's developers are now much more optimistic about getting the majority of Steam games working smoothly on the Linux-based Steam Deck.
On Friday, Epic Games announced that its Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) system for Windows would be extended to support Linux and Mac for developers who maintain full native builds of their games for these platforms. On Linux, it clarified that EAC will work with the Wine and Proton compatibility layers that are often used by gamers. Epic said it would only take a few clicks to add EAC for Linux via Wine or Proton in the Epic Online Services Developer Portal. Moreover, EAC is free for all users though Epic Online Services.
Major games on Steam which use EAC include; Apex Legends, Hunt: Showdown, Fall Guys, Fortnite, and the Halo Master Chief Collection.
On Saturday, BattleEye shared confirmation that its anti-cheat solution "will also support the upcoming Steam Deck (Proton)". Just like with EAC, developers will have to add the functionality, so it shouldn't be a problem for popular modern games which are still being services regularly to get this update too.
Major games on Steam which use BattlEye include; PUBG, Destiny 2, and Rainbow Six Siege.
Last but not least, it is interesting to see this Steam Deck initiative benefit the wider Linux (gaming) community. With continued tuning to make Linux games work better on the Steam Deck, Linux will become a more attractive choice for PC desktop and laptop users who like to game.
Steam Beta news
In another Steam news morsel, PCGamer is reporting that "you won't be able to revert to old game builds much longer". A new beta of the client is disabling the older game version reverting feature, an aspect of Steam which is enjoyed/appreciated by modders, speed runners, archivists, and others. At the time of writing, it hasn't been confirmed if this beta feature will make it to the mainstream release.
