Alternatives to Proton
Valve's Wine-based compatibility tool that lets Steam run Windows games on Linux. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Proton
Valve's Wine-based compatibility tool that lets Steam run Windows games on Linux.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Proton.
GE-Proton
A community build of Valve's Proton compatibility tool for running Windows games through Steam Play on Linux.
GE-Proton is a community build of Proton with extra patches, chosen per game in Steam, but it must be installed manually and is not an official Valve release.
Wine
An open-source compatibility layer that runs Windows applications and games on Linux, macOS and BSD.
Wine is the underlying compatibility layer, usable on Linux, macOS and BSD without Steam, but setup can be fiddly and it lacks Proton's bundled translation layers.
CrossOver
A commercial Wine-based tool that runs Windows applications and games on macOS and Linux.
CrossOver is a paid commercial Wine-based tool for macOS and Linux with support and forums, working outside Steam rather than integrated into it.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
DXVK
Vulkan-based translation layer that runs Direct3D 8, 9, 10 and 11 games on Linux.
vkd3d-proton
A translation layer that runs Direct3D 12 games on Vulkan, used as Proton's D3D12 implementation.
umu-launcher
A unified launcher that runs Windows games on Linux with Proton outside of Steam.
Protontricks
A wrapper that runs Winetricks commands against the prefixes of Steam Proton games.
ProtonUp-Qt
A Linux desktop app that installs and manages GE-Proton, Wine-GE and other compatibility tools.
SteamTinkerLaunch
A Linux wrapper for Steam that adds graphical configuration of launch options and third-party tools.
