How to Install Proton-GE with ProtonPlus on Steam Machine

Proton is the compatibility layer that lets many Windows games run on SteamOS. Valve's Steam hardware guidance treats the selected Proton build as a per-game compatibility decision, so Steam's default is the right starting point.

Three choices matter here, and knowing which to reach for solves most compatibility problems without any tinkering beyond a dropdown.

Default vs Experimental vs GE

The practical order: leave it on default. If a game misbehaves, check ProtonDB for that title. If the fix people report is a GE build, install GE. If the thing you want is a new Valve feature, use Experimental.

Do not treat newer as better. All three are current, they just serve different purposes.

What GE-Proton actually adds

GE-Proton is a community compatibility build maintained outside Valve. Its primary repository describes it as a custom Proton build and lists the extra media playback patches and per-game fixes it carries. ProtonPlus documents it as one of the tools it can install, while Valve's own support boundary remains the default Proton and Proton Experimental builds it ships.

That codec point is the most common reason people need it. Games with video cutscenes in proprietary formats can play silently or crash on default Proton and work immediately on GE.

Install ProtonPlus

ProtonPlus is a graphical manager for compatibility tools. It downloads GE-Proton and other builds, puts them where Steam expects them, and handles updates.

1. Switch to Desktop Mode: Steam button, Power, Switch to Desktop.
2. Open Discover.
3. Search for ProtonPlus and install it.

One cosmetic note: ProtonPlus is built with GTK4 while SteamOS Desktop Mode is KDE Plasma, so it will not match the rest of your desktop theme. It works correctly regardless.

ProtonPlus or ProtonUp-Qt

Both do the same core job and either is fine.

ProtonPlus is distributed as a Flatpak and is a straightforward choice when you only need Steam compatibility tools. The GamingOnLinux comparison covers its SteamOS workflow.

ProtonUp-Qt's documentation describes a wider compatibility-tool manager with support for Proton-GE and other runners. If you want anything beyond GE-Proton, it is a reasonable alternative.

Pick ProtonPlus if you just want GE-Proton with minimum friction. Pick ProtonUp-Qt if you expect to want the wider toolset later.

Install GE-Proton

1. Open ProtonPlus.
2. Select Steam as the target.
3. Choose GE-Proton from the available versions.
4. Install the latest release.
5. Fully close and reopen Steam. It only scans for compatibility tools at startup, so a running Steam will not see the new build.

Use it on a game

1. Select the game in your library.
2. Open Properties.
3. Go to Compatibility.
4. Tick Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool.
5. Select the GE-Proton build from the dropdown.

Per game, not globally. Same principle as Proton Experimental, and for the same reason: a build that fixes one title can break another, and you want the blast radius to be one game rather than your whole library.

Before you switch, back up

Changing Proton versions can cause a game's prefix to regenerate. If that game keeps its saves inside the prefix rather than in Steam Cloud, those saves can be left behind.

Prefixes live here, one folder per game App ID:

``` ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata ```

Games with working Steam Cloud saves are low risk. Games without cloud saves, or with mods installed into the prefix, are worth copying that folder somewhere first. It takes a minute in Desktop Mode.

Keeping it updated

GE-Proton releases often. ProtonPlus will show newer builds when they land.

You do not need to chase every release. Old builds keep working, and a game configured against a specific GE version keeps using that version until you change it. Update when you have a reason to, not on schedule.

Old versions accumulate on disk, though. Each build consumes additional disk space. Remove versions you are no longer using from ProtonPlus, especially on the 512GB model.

When GE is the wrong answer

The game already works. Nothing to gain, real risk of regression.

You want FSR 4.1. That comes through Proton Experimental on Steam Machine, not GE. See the Proton Experimental guide.

The game uses kernel-level anti-cheat. No Proton build solves this. It is a decision made by the anti-cheat vendor, and swapping compatibility layers will not change it.

You are troubleshooting and running multiple launchers. If you also use Heroic or Lutris, pin the same GE version in each. Otherwise a game behaving differently in one tool tells you nothing, because you are comparing two compatibility layers rather than two launchers.

What is confirmed and what remains unknown

The installation path and compatibility-tool choices above are documented by ProtonPlus, ProtonUp-Qt, and Valve's Proton guidance. GE-Proton remains a third-party build, so a title that needs it can regress after either a game update or a compatibility-tool update. We have not represented a first-party Steam Machine test for every game.