What is Steam play/Proton?

Steam play/Proton

Proton is a compatibility layer for use with the Steam client which allows games which are exclusive to Windows to run on the a Gnu/Linux device. It enables users to install and run Windows games that do not offer native Linux versions. Proton is developed with cooperation between developers at Valve and CodeWeavers.

Proton was first announced on August 21st, 2018. It is based on Wine and includes additional components like the wrappers DXVK (which translates Direct3D 9, 10 and 11 calls to Vulkan on-the-fly), vkd3d-proton (which translates Direct3D 12 to Vulkan), and FAudio (an XAudio reimplementation).

Although you can't play ALL Windows games on a linux distro using Proton, a lot of titles like Apex Legends, ELDEN RING and Tales of Arise run very well. So yes Steam Proton supports a lot of popular titles. The ProtonDB website contains a list of verified titles that run natively on Linux desktop and Steam Deck. You can play many other titles with a little tweaking.

To test Steam Proton on your Linux Distro, open Steam, and head over to Settings > Steam Play. Select the checkbox on Enable Steam Play for supported titles. You may also choose Enable Steam Play for all other titles from the Advanced menu.

Conclusion

The most important point to be made here is: The proton compatibility layer is not Windows and neither are Linux distributions. So, a compatibility layer like proton can only be a helper. If you need to play every single Windows game ever made, Gnu+Linux is the wrong platform. It is NOT the better Windows or any Windows replacement at all. Also, there are other options like dual boot.

Popular games playable with proton:
Apex Legends
ELDEN RING
Warframe
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Ascent
Hades
Tales of Arise
Control Ultimate Edition
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
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