Valve Sponsors Work Bringing Open-Source RADV Driver to Windows

> users are still served only by the proprietary driver [...] An open source Vulkan driver on Windows opens up a number of possibilities: a shared codebase across platforms, easier debugging and experimentation, faster turnaround on fixes, and a path for the community (e.g., game developers) to report problems or contribute improvements that benefit everyone regardless of operating system.

To me, the argument against a proprietary driver seems extremely weak if you're running Windows anyway, but I guess they see it more that if more game devs can run the RADV driver, they can get wider testing (or a simpler story for devs to test at least) and backdoor improvements into the Linux side?

I guess I dont understand the "a shared codebase across platforms, easier debugging and experimentation," comment. Shared RADV codebase? Or shared game engine code, at least the specific parts of the engine that target Vulkan x Radeon (how big is that really?). Similarly I guess "debugging" here is tracking down odd ball RADV bugs where you could then run it in windows to see if its a linux thing or a RADV thing?

Re: Valve Sponsors Work Bringing Open-Source RADV Driver to Windows

#6

Post by coderbants » Wed, Jul 29, 2026, 3:04 PM UTC

This is a net good for Linux.

Most of the PC gaming audience is on Windows, so Windows is still the primary target being developed against. Having better Vulkan on Windows means more support for Vulkan in games in the pipeline, which means better Linux support in those games over time, which ultimately benefits Steam and their hardware.

Re: Valve Sponsors Work Bringing Open-Source RADV Driver to Windows

#7

Post by Razengan » Wed, Jul 29, 2026, 3:10 PM UTC

Rohansi wrote: post #3

Razengan wrote: post #2

[flagged]

Say that to the 95% of people using Windows to play PC games.

Well millions of people are still smoking cigarettes doesn't mean that shit is good

Re: Valve Sponsors Work Bringing Open-Source RADV Driver to Windows

#8

Post by simoncion » Wed, Jul 29, 2026, 3:24 PM UTC

Rohansi wrote: post #3

Razengan wrote: post #2

[flagged]

Say that to the 95% of people using Windows to play PC games.

Many or most of those 95% who are just using Windows for PC games and using a web browser would be well served by either trying out or having a tech-savvy neighbor help them try out a Linux distro like Bazzite.

I used to boot into Windows regularly to play video games. I haven't booted into Windows in ages. Proton is really good, and the major web browsers work the same on -at minimum- Windows, OSX, and Linux.

Plus, it's been my experience that drivers for AMD's graphics cards just work better on Linux... especially for older games. It helps that the folks writing them aren't working for "AI"-crazy companies that have probably massively slashed the resources they're giving the driver programmers for their consumer-grade cards. (After all, why spend any money on software for video games when you can spend that money on software for "AI" stuff and get a much larger ROI?)

Re: Valve Sponsors Work Bringing Open-Source RADV Driver to Windows

#9

Post by NDizzle » Wed, Jul 29, 2026, 3:34 PM UTC

simoncion wrote: post #8

Rohansi wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Say that to the 95% of people using Windows to play PC games.

Many or most of those 95% who are just using Windows for PC games and using a web browser would be well served by either trying out or having a tech-savvy neighbor help them try out a Linux distro like Bazzite. I used to boot into Windows regularly to play video games. I haven't booted into Windows in ages . Proton is really good, and the major web browsers work the same on -at minimum- Windows, OSX, and Linux. Plus,…

From what I can tell, gaming with an nvidia card on Linux is still rough. Is that incorrect?

Re: Valve Sponsors Work Bringing Open-Source RADV Driver to Windows

#10

Post by nessguy » Wed, Jul 29, 2026, 3:40 PM UTC

simoncion wrote: post #8

Rohansi wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Say that to the 95% of people using Windows to play PC games.

Many or most of those 95% who are just using Windows for PC games and using a web browser would be well served by either trying out or having a tech-savvy neighbor help them try out a Linux distro like Bazzite. I used to boot into Windows regularly to play video games. I haven't booted into Windows in ages . Proton is really good, and the major web browsers work the same on -at minimum- Windows, OSX, and Linux. Plus,…

Last time I tried out linux (Earlier this year) I had to give up on it because my system would occasionally freeze to the point I needed to do a hard reset.

I thought it was a hardware issue, but it ended up being a linux amd driver issue. I haven’t had a problem since switching back to windows.