I hope it works with fractional scalling !
Valve should migrate steam to wayland eventually, the X code to run steam is not the cleanest thing ever.
this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
87 points (98.9% liked)
Linux Gaming
20383 readers
638 users here now
Discussions and news about gaming on the GNU/Linux family of operating systems (including the Steam Deck). Potentially a $HOME away from home for disgruntled /r/linux_gaming denizens of the redditarian demesne.
This page can be subscribed to via RSS.
Original /r/linux_gaming pengwing by uoou.
No memes/shitposts/low-effort posts, please.
Resources
WWW:
Discord:
IRC:
Matrix:
Telegram:
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
There's a launch option you can add to your Steam .desktop file or whatever that will scale the UI up and fractional works. I think I have mine at 1.15x.
Don't remember the command off the top of my head though.
The funniest thing is how the Gaming Mode on the Steam Deck works. It first runs Gamescope, a Wayland compositor. This then runs Steam in a XWayland session. Then when a game is started it starts another Gamescope session which launches the game in a second XWayland session.
Then when a game is started it starts another Gamescope session which launches the game in a second XWayland session.
No, it doesn't start another gamescope. It starts a second Xwayland in the same gamescope instance.
the X code to run steam is not the cleanest thing ever
Where is that available to inspect?
I think this is what they are referring to https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver
I feel like the part where they say
the X code to run steam […]
is what sets it apart from the entire X server code. Something specific to Steam. But I could be wrong.
I can't find anything online but I remember when I started using linux ( around 12 years ago ) I kept hearing stuff on IRC about how steam needed specific workaround in the X11 and how that was setting a bad precedent.
I can imagine. How curious. 😁
I actually stopped having problems with steam on Wayland quite some time ago. But, one of the first things I did was turn off scaling (I have 1080 and 1440 screens). There used to be random issues with the menus in steam, and that went away a few months ago.
My only problems (as an NVidia user) with KDE plasma on wayland right now is occasionally discord will just freeze and I need to minimize/maximise to bring it to life. And very very rarely (and actually it might have been fixed, I've not seen it in weeks), one screen will entirely freeze and I have to either switch to a console and back or logout/login to bring it back to life. Oh and not a bug, but the OBS issue with global hotkeys. Now I can run it in X mode, but then it will randomly cause an issue where it makes games shudder. Only in X capture mode. It's most odd.
It brings enough positives compared to X that these really minor problems are worth it.
I have the exact same frozen screen issue!
I thought steam was able to run natively on Wayland?
(◑‿◐)