Valve is reportedly developing an "ARM64-compatible" version of its famous compatibility layer Proton, hinting that ARM SoCs might potentially debut on Steam Deck.
Valve Is Moving Towards Adding In Support For ARM64 Platform At The Proton Compatibility Layer, Sparking New Rumors
The development comes from a new SteamDB test application detail, which apparently mentions the "proton-arm64ec" version of Proton. This likely shows that Valve might be preparing for a debut of ARM64 compatibility on their platform. In addition, the developers have started testing out new titles, including Rogue Legacy, Shadow of Mordor, and The Forest. This shows that it won't be long before we see an ARM64 version of Proton, and while we haven't seen any official details surface, we can make up assumptions about why this is happening, which we'll talk about next.
The ARM architecture has seen a massive adoption in the Windows PC markets in the past few months, mainly fueled by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite SoCs. With the AI PC hype kicking in, these chips offered industry-leading AI TOPS, which was one of the main reasons for their utilization by manufacturers.
Similarly, ARM might be trying to expand its scope of influence into the handheld markets by choosing Valve's Steam Deck as the platform to revamp, but this isn't certain at all for now, given that choosing ARM over x86 will be a massive decision for Valve.
Another take on this would be a usual routine development by Valve to aid support for ARM SoCs at Linux and potentially allow cross-compatibility of Proton with ARM-focused handheld devices in the future, but that would mean compromising on the exclusivity of the compatibility layer. Regardless it, it would be interesting to see how Valve proceeds with the next iteration of Steam Deck, given that the "pioneers" of the handheld markets would need to make a profound impact if they want to stay competitive.
News Source: Tom's Hardware
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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