Valve's Proton software makes it possible to play many Windows PC games on computers running Linux-based operating system, including Valve's own Steam Deck handheld gaming PC.

So far Proton has only been available for PCs with Intel or AMD processors based on x86_64 architecture, but it looks like Valve may be planning to add support for ARM-based chips. It's not entirely clear yet what form that will take though.

SteamOS

A few days ago folks started to notice that Valve was testing a whole bunch of popular PC games using something called "proton-arm64ec," suggesting that there's a version of Proton designed to run on hardware with ARM-based processors.

There are also references to Waydroid, which is a platform designed to let you run Android applications on devices running Linux-based operating systems using the Wayland compositor, by installing Android in a container.

But there's no official explanation of what Valve is actually doing. So far all of the evidence comes from entries in SteamDB, a third-party website that tracks changes to Steam.

While some folks have suggested that Valve could be planning to release an ARM-powered Steam Deck-like handheld, others seem to think that it's more likely Valve is testing these games for use on a long-rumored VR headset that's currently known by the codename Deckard. But not all of the games that have been tested are VR titles, so maybe that's not it either?

Maybe Valve is hoping to bring Windows games to Macs with Apple Silicon? Or iPads and iPhones? Or could this be part of Valve's stated efforts to make the version of SteamOS developed for the Steam Deck available on third-hardware? Why stop with x86-based devices like the Asus ROG Ally when ARM-based chips are becoming powerful enough to handle at least some gaming?

At this point all we know for sure is that it looks like Valve appears to have begun testing Proton for ARM. Whether it's for first-party hardware, third-party hardware, or some other purpose altogether remains to be seen.

via NotebookCheck, /r/GamingLeaks, and SteamDB

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