Thursday, August 16th 2018
Valve Apparently Working on Compatibility Tools Allowing Windows Games to be Played on Linux
Keen-eyed Linux and Valve uses have noticed what could seemingly be a big reveal and shake-up to games' compatibility with the Linux platform. If you're a die-hard Linux fan, or even if you're just a curious dabbler in that operating system, you know that there aren't many concerted efforts of bringing game experiences to that operating system. A good port requires many more hours than game developers are willing to put into it - let alone compiling a native implementation of their game for that OS.
However, Valve, being the most important digital games distributor through their Steam platform, know there's an untapped source of income in that part of the market. And if developers won't do it themselves, then Valve seem to be willing to take the matter into their own hands. This speculation arises from Steam's GUI files, which when looked at with SteamDB's Steam Tracker, include a hidden section with unused text related to an (as of yet) unannounced Steam Play system, which "(...) will automatically install compatibility tools that allow you to play games from your library that were built for other operating systems."Adding more credence to the Linux compatibility tool (and we say Linux because it's the alternative platform to Windows which has the potential to offer more new users to Steam than any other), the GUI file suggests Steam Play will offer official compatibility with "supported tiles" while also letting users test compatibility for "games in your library that have not been verified with a supported compatibility tool." Of course, these last titles, being outside of the "whitelisted", supported titles, may not work as expected, and may present all sorts of technical problems. Still, some might not.
However, Valve, being the most important digital games distributor through their Steam platform, know there's an untapped source of income in that part of the market. And if developers won't do it themselves, then Valve seem to be willing to take the matter into their own hands. This speculation arises from Steam's GUI files, which when looked at with SteamDB's Steam Tracker, include a hidden section with unused text related to an (as of yet) unannounced Steam Play system, which "(...) will automatically install compatibility tools that allow you to play games from your library that were built for other operating systems."Adding more credence to the Linux compatibility tool (and we say Linux because it's the alternative platform to Windows which has the potential to offer more new users to Steam than any other), the GUI file suggests Steam Play will offer official compatibility with "supported tiles" while also letting users test compatibility for "games in your library that have not been verified with a supported compatibility tool." Of course, these last titles, being outside of the "whitelisted", supported titles, may not work as expected, and may present all sorts of technical problems. Still, some might not.