Bloober Team announced a native Linux build for Cronos: The New Dawn a month after the game’s launch, posting on Steam that, “Today, we’ve released a native build of the game for Steam’s handheld console, which means even better performance on this platform. Enjoy Cronos on Steam, wherever you are!” The change means Linux and Steam Deck players no longer need a compatibility layer to run the game.
At launch, the game was already Deck Verified, but a native build tends to improve performance and battery life on Steam Deck hardware. Native support removes an extra compatibility layer, which can make a real difference on handhelds and some Linux setups.
More titles are shipping native Linux versions as the Steam Deck influences developer priorities. For example, the Cronos: The New Dawn review arrived alongside the launch, as confirmed by the studio’s Steam post. Cronos now joins more than 42,000 games on Steam that list Linux support, according to the Linux games search on Steam. Over 9,000 games are Deck Verified, and currently six of the top ten titles on Steam’s U.S. Top Sellers list are marked Playable or Verified for Steam Deck, though only two of those ten have native Linux builds.
The September Steam Hardware Survey shows Linux usage at 2.68%, up from 1.92% in September 2024, per an archived survey snapshot. It’s still a small slice of Steam users, but the number is trending upward, and developers like Bloober Team are responding. Kernel-level anti-cheat remains a significant obstacle for many competitive multiplayer games, which means titles that require these systems, such as Fortnite or Valorant, generally can’t run on Linux, even with compatibility tools. For a running list and context, see areweanticheatyet.com. A few competitive games have found ways to work around these limits, but for many players, anti-cheat support is the reason they won’t switch to SteamOS or other Linux distributions.
Regardless of platform preference, it’s welcome when games become playable on more systems. Cronos: The New Dawn getting a native build mainly affects Steam Deck and Linux owners who prefer a native experience or want improved performance without Proton. Please share your thoughts in the comments about running games natively on Linux or your Steam Deck experiences, and follow us on X and Bluesky.
