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Valve Quietly Open-Sources Its Android Compatibility Layer
Quoting: Valve Quietly Open-Sources Its Android Compatibility Layer —
Yeah, Valve has not bothered putting out a proper announcement for this. I got to know about this thanks to Liam Squires-Hand, who covered it briefly yesterday. The gaming giant has open-sourced the Android compatibility layer it built for the recently launched Steam Frame.
Lepton lets users play games exclusive to Android on Linux by launching them inside a container. Valve says most users will not interact with Lepton directly since the Steam client itself handles that job.
The project is aimed at game developers who want to bring VR-focused Android titles over to Steam Frame, though the repository does note other use cases are possible.
GamingOnLinux:
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Lepton from Valve to run Android games on Linux is now open source
Valve have officially opened up the source code for Lepton, their compatibility layer to run Android games on Linux for the Steam Frame. It's available on their GitLab instance, under the MIT license for their code.
Much like Proton for running Windows games on SteamOS / Linux, Valve have a laser-focus here specifically on getting Android games working, making it easy for developers to bring over their standalone games to the Steam Frame.
How-To Geek:
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Valve's new open-source tool is bringing Android games to Linux and Steam
ou could soon see more mobile games on Steam. Valve has released Lepton, an open-source tool that brings Android games to Linux and, of course, Steam.
The repository code is meant to help game developers port VR Android games to the newly available Steam Frame headset, which can run the titles independent of a PC. Valve notes Lepton isn't limited to VR or other purposes, but that they "were not the focus of development and may lack polish."
You can't use the tool to run Android itself, as it only includes the "bare minimum" features needed to launch games, according to Valve. The company adds that everyday people should use Lepton built into the Steam client itself.
More Update:
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Valve has open-sourced Lepton, its tool to bring Android games to Steam.
Valve has open-sourced Lepton, its tool to bring Android games to Steam.
“Lepton is intended to help game developers bring their VR Android games to the Steam Frame,” Valve writes. “Lepton is not designed for general Android use, instead opting to keep the bare minimum functionality required to launch into games.”
Developers have already used it to port Meta Quest games to the Steam Frame. But could it do more?
Valve 'Lepton' tool brings Android games to Steam Frame
Valve has just released its Lepton tool as an open-source resource for bringing Android-native games to Linux and, in turn, Steam.
On GitHub, Valve has released Lepton as an open-source repository, allowing developers to use the tool primarily for porting games to the Steam Frame. Valve explains: [...]
Also here:
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Valve Quietly Open-Sources Its Android Compatibility Layer
The Lepton project is aimed at game developers who want to bring VR-focused Android titles over to Steam Frame.
Notebookcheck:
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Linux receives additional support for Android gaming thanks to Valve
Valve has open-sourced Lepton, a compatibility layer that lets you run Android games on Linux through the Steam client. Initially developed for Android VR titles on Steam Frame, the project could broaden Linux gaming support as developers adapt its code for more games and devices.
XDA:
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After it revolutionized PC gaming on Linux, Valve's new Lepton project may do the same for Android games
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
I don't think it's too much of an understatement to say that Valve's Proton layer revolutionized gaming on Linux, which is pretty funny given how it only started because Gabe wanted to get away from Windows 8. Now, it appears the gaming giant wants to do something similar with Android games with a new project called 'Lepton'.