The launch of the Steam Deck and Valve's Proton compatibility layer was something of a watershed moment for Linux gaming. Not only did the handheld gaming PC basically force publishers and developers to consider Linux gaming more than ever before during development, it also made it so that Linux gamers could access a host of games that they may not have been able to before.

According to SteamDB, Steam now officially has 30,023 games listed as 'Verified' or 'Playable' on the Steam Deck or SteamOS. ProtonDB's metrics show 29,988 Verified or Playable games. Notably, 40% of the current Steam Top 10 games by concurrent player count are Verified or Playable, rising to 46% in the Top 100.

The breakdown shows Steam Deck Playable: 21,078 and Steam Deck Verified: 8,975. Compatibility depends on factors beyond OS support, including performance and UI scaling issues that can affect playability.