As a linux user: I don't mind this? Sure ideally games would be properly supporting linux, but as-is all this stuff means linux is even running most of these games at all.
In an ideal dream world this keeps going until most of gaming is on linux, at which point supporting linux proper might get to be more attractive again.
I'm actually not sure this isn't better. Targetting Linux directly can have some challenges to work across the given distros. Instead we've adopted this standardised portability layer that just needs to be made to work once on each target.
The popularity of Steam Decks means that more and more people will purposefully test against Proton and reduce the number of hacks and workarounds needed, and Linux gaming will be in a happy place.
One recent positive development was Battlebit. The main limitation on Linux gaming is anti-cheat. Battlebit were going to bring in FACEIT anti-cheat, which in its current form prevents Linux (and on Windows requires you to disable VM processor extensions in the BIOS). They have announced that in fact they're implementing a different version of it that's Steam Deck friendly. Whether they changed their minds in response to pressure or it was always the plan and was poorly communicated isn't clear, but it's a nice development anyway.
As a long time Linux desktop user, I almost never use desktop mode on my Steam Deck as I prefer to use it just for games. If I want a desktop interface, I just reach for my laptop instead.
