Intel engineer Damian Tomczak submitted four linked pull requests on October 19, 2026, proposing an XMX-accelerated path for XeSS Super Resolution in Windows games running through Proton on Linux. The changes coordinate Wine, VKD3D-Proton, DXVK and Proton; the linked requests remained open in the October 21 project-page inspection.
What each project would do
The proposal splits the work across four components. Wine would bridge the game’s XeSS calls to Intel’s native Linux library, while VKD3D-Proton would handle the Vulkan requirements. DXVK and Proton would make supporting changes around Intel GPU visibility and library selection.
| Project | Proposed role |
| Wine | Adds a built-in libxess.dll to forward XeSS Direct3D 12 calls to Linux’s native libxess.so. |
| VKD3D-Proton | Passes graphics resources through D3D12-to-Vulkan interoperability and queries XeSS for the Vulkan extensions and device features it requires. |
| DXVK | Changes GPU handling so Intel GPUs are not hidden when Proton supplies XeSS. |
| Proton | Coordinates the linked project changes and selects a compatible native XeSS library when available. |
The bridge matters because Windows games make Direct3D 12 calls, while the proposed Linux path uses XeSS’s native library and Vulkan. VKD3D-Proton connects those graphics interfaces. Rather than hard-code a list of Vulkan requirements, its proposed change queries XeSS for the required instance and device extensions and device features. If the library cannot load or lacks the query functions, that change leaves the existing behavior intact.
How Proton would select the XeSS library
Proton’s proposed search order starts with the location set by XESS_LIB_OVERRIDE, then checks Proton’s contrib directory, followed by the system library path. The native library would be used only if its major and minor version numbers meet or exceed the version required by the game’s Windows XeSS DLL. If no suitable native library is found, Proton would use the game’s DLL instead. The change also respects a user’s WINEDLLOVERRIDES entry for libxess.
That fallback keeps library selection tied to the game’s version requirement, while the override settings give users control over which implementation Proton uses. The Proton pull request updates the three companion projects and is described as the one that should merge last, reflecting the series’ dependencies.
The proposed XeSS scope
The changes target XMX acceleration for XeSS Super Resolution. On October 21, 2026, the linked pull requests were still open, so the proposal had not yet become a general Proton release.
