Valve’s Steam Preview/Beta client now runs Windows binaries registered as non-Steam games with Proton by default, automating compatibility-tool selection but not registration. Valve’s client notes describe the change.
You still have to add the program to Steam
The update does not register a game for you. You still need to add its Windows binary to Steam as a non-Steam game; the client then selects Proton by default. The change concerns the launch setting, not a guarantee that the program will run.
In a report published October 10, 2026, Borja Rodríguez of El Chapuzas Informático noted that launchers, DRM, and anti-cheat can prevent games from running through Proton. The report says Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye can work when developers enable or configure support, while kernel-level anti-cheat remains a limitation. For title-specific reports and suggested tweaks, ProtonDB compiles player submissions; those reports do not guarantee a result on every setup.
Other changes in Valve’s client notes
The same Preview/Beta entry fixes some non-Steam launch failures after users change the Target binary with Browse, and a problem where Stop fails to close a game launched by an external tool. It also corrects a temporary error in Library playtime display, adds a setting to disable the screensaver during a game, and fixes controller reordering on Linux. Valve’s notes list these changes alongside the Proton default.
