Valve released its latest stable version of Proton towards the end of August, shipping Proton 11.0-2 with a long list of changes, including new game support. Now, there’s a new version of the cutting-edge Proton Experimental channel to bring ‘experimental’ support for 13 games in total, three of which have been added in the latest update.

Proton is Valve’s compatibility layer for getting Windows-based games running on Linux. It’s largely designed to enable support on hardware such as the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, both of which run on Valve’s Linux-based operating system, SteamOS. It’s also worth noting that the Steam Frame might launch today (and it also runs on SteamOS).

What’s new in the latest Proton Experimental update?

Three new games join the list of Proton Experimental-supported titles: 8bit Fiesta – The Drinking Game, Bloody Zombies, and Soul Land: Awakening World. In addition to the new games, there are also fixes for the EA App failing to display splash images, a small Borderlands 4 launch bug, and missing character voice lines in STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT. You can see the full patch notes below.

Available in Proton Experimental (as of 2026-09-11):

• All changes from Proton 11.0-2.
• Now playable: Welcome to Elderfield Demo, The Rabbit’s Scroll, Blair Witch VR, Elisa: The Innkeeper – Prequel, City Car Driving, Korea. IL-2 Series, The Heroic Legend of America: Second Revolutionary War, One Shot: Fading Memory, Impulse Response, Cool People Club, 8bit Fiesta – The Drinking Game, Bloody Zombies, Soul Land: Awakening World
• Fixed missing character voice lines in STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT.
• Fixed EA App titles not displaying the correct splash image.
• Fixed Borderlands 4 showing up command prompt on the first launch.
• Updated Wine Mono to 11.2.1.
• Fixed Achron displaying warning about missing fonts.
• Fixed rendering issues affecting the carpet in The I of the Dragon.
• Fixed controller not working reliably in Far Cry 4.
• Fixed Proton 11 regressions:
  • RaceRoom Racing Experience will now load the HUD in-game during races.
  • Lunacid: Tears of the Moon is playable again.
  • Ligo is playable again.
  • Intro videos in Grand Theft Auto III play again.
  • Surviving Deponia Playtest is playable again.
  • FLY’N now starts in fullscreen properly.
  • Mugsters should no longer display the taskbar over the game with certain window managers.
  • Far Cry will no longer be uninteractible after switching to a different application and back on SteamOS.
  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2 should no longer display the title bar in fullscreen mode with certain window managers.
  • Command & Conquer: Generals should no longer have graphical glitches in the menu.
  • Lords of The Fallen is playable again.
  • Forza Horizon 4 should no longer leak memory on first start on KDE Wayland.
  • Awakened PoE Trade should be able to read clipboard set by Proton reliably again.
  • Elite Dangerous HUD Mod should no longer crash the game.
  • Guild Wars 2 should no longer show KDE’s taskbar when in fullscreen.
• Fixed controllers not working in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
• Fixed Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and The Last of Us Part II showing Gnome’s top bar in fullscreen mode.
• Fixed The Unfinished Swan locking up after opening the book.
• Fixed Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora not detecting game controllers.
• Fixed middle mouse button not being able to move camera in Company of Heroes 3.
• Fixed some input issues occurring after changing focus between the game and the launcher in Arma 3 on gamescope.
• Fixed the main menu of The I of the Dragon being non-interactable with the mouse cursor.
• Fixed Far Cry 5 showing old drivers warning with AMD GPUs.
• Fixed HDR not working properly in Far Cry 5.
• Fixed Steam authentication failure in Nightingale.
• Fixed garbled and flickering rendering in SYDE Rugby League Simulator.
• Improved controller support for Far Cry New Dawn, Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and Split/Second when Steam Input is used.
• Fixed Far Cry New Dawn showing GPU warning with AMD GPUs.
• Fixed audio cutting out in Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost.
• Improved controller support on desktops in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.
• Updated vkd3d-proton, dxvk, vkd3d, dxvk-nvapi and FEX to the latest development versions.

Source: GitHub

Proton Experimental is an opt-in version of the compatibility layer where Valve tests new features and fixes before rolling them out to the stable version, and the update should automatically download if you have the layer installed. Users can switch to the experimental branch within a game’s properties, under compatibility options. If you don’t have the option, search for Proton Experimental on the Steam Store and download it on your Steam Deck or Steam Machine.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.