Intel GPU-based Linux gamers are about to receive a performance uplift. According to the latest update to DXVK, a Vulkan-based translation layer for DirectX 8/9/10/11, Intel's "Battlemage" dGPUs and "Lunar Lake" Arc iGPUs now support memory defragmentation by default, helping Intel GPUs reduce VRAM usage and increase performance, which provides a smoother gaming experience when using the DXVK translation layer. In version 2.7, DXVK forces discrete GPUs to adhere to driver-set memory budgets whenever possible and dynamically frees unused resources to system memory when applications place a significant VRAM load. DXVK v2.7 release notes state that this will be particularly beneficial to Unity Engine and VRAM-constrained titles. This optimization will also enable higher texture quality in game settings, maintaining the same performance as before, and further building upon the memory optimization.

As a critical component of Valve's Proton software stack, this DXVK update also provides Intel-based handhelds, such as the MSI Claw, with increased performance when running SteamOS. Given that we measured a sizable crowd, comprising 3.4% of all handheld users, playing with MSI Claw, many handheld gamers considering running SteamOS on their device will find this DXVK update quite welcome.Here is a complete DXVK v2.7 changelog.

Bug fixes and Improvements:

• Added support for planar video output views. This is required for video playback in JR EAST Train Simulator.
• D3D11 shaders will now zero-initialize all variables and groupshared memory by default in order to work around game bugs resulting in undefined behavior. The d3d11.zeroWorkgroupMemory option was removed accordingly.
• Optimized D3D9 StretchRect in certain multisample resolve cases encountered in Source Engine.
• Fixed an instance of invalid Vulkan usage in Modulus, and possibly other Unity Engine games that use the D3D11 video API.
• Implemented support for the ID3DDestructionNotifier interface.
• Vulkan devices that lack the required feature support to run DXVK will no longer be listed as DXGI / D3D9 adapters. This may fix crashes in case an outdated graphics driver or an unsupported integrated GPU are present on the system.
• Trying to build DXVK in a MinGW environment with AVX enabled will now result in a compile-time error. We cannot support AVX builds due to toolchain issues, nor is it expected to be beneficial.
• Astebreed: Fixed crash when changing graphics options.
• GTR - FIA GT Racing Game: Worked around a game issue that would cause it to not start.
• LEGO City Undercover: Worked around a game issue that would cause the intro video to be broken.
• Star Trek: Starfleet Command III: Worked around resource leak in GOG build.
• Test Drive Unlimited 2: Worked around alt-tab issue causing input loss.
• Wargame: European Escalation: Worked around gamma issue when the game detects an NVIDIA GPU.