DXVK 2.6.1 was just released as the newest update to this Direct3D 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 over Vulkan API implementation used by Valve’s Steam Play (Proton) and other softwarefor enjoying older Windows games on Linux.
DXVK 2.6 was released a few weeks ago while DXVK 2.6.1 is out today with some additional performance optimizations and various game fixes and workarounds. DXVK 2.6.1 works around a variety of different game and graphics driver bugs, fixes poor performance in HITMAN 2, addresses “horrible” UI performance in some LEGO games, and more. Here are the DXVK 2.6.1 highlights:
- Removed sparse buffer usage that was introduced in DXVK 2.6. This caused all sorts of driver issues that would cause hangs and instability on AMD Vega GPUs and others. Note: This may increase peak memory usage in some games again.
- Worked around an RTSS bug that would cause the overlay to render incorrectly if the Vulkan swapchain uses an sRGB format.
- Worked around an issue where multisample resolves would lead to visual issues on Nvidia in certain Unity Engine games.
- Worked around an Intel ANV issue that would cause terrain to misrender in games such as Assassin’s Creed Origins. Note: This driver bug was fixed in Mesa 25.0.3.
- Worked around a RADV issue that would cause hangs on RDNA4 GPUs prior to Mesa 25.0.2. Note: Please keep your drivers up to date when using these newer GPUs.
- Further improved render pass efficiency for tiling GPUs in some cases, especially if VK_KHR_load_store_op_none is supported. Note: This change does not affect desktop GPUs in any meaningful way.
- Fixed a potential issue with display mode handling on uncommon monitor setups.
- Fixed various issues with the SDL3 backend in dxvk-native.
- Fixed compatibility of MSVC builds with very old CPUs.
- Fixed various minor issues that would cause Vulkan validation errors in rare scenarios.
- Hitman 2: Worked around poor CPU-bound performance in certain areas. Note: This may slightly regress GPU-bound performance.
- LEGO Batman: The Video Game and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures: Worked around a game issue causing horrible UI performance.
- Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005): Worked around a crash on Windows.
Those building DXVK from source can grab the DXVK 2.6.1 update via GitHub. Hopefully Valve will release Proton 10.0 soon for shipping all the latest software updates for Linux gamers using Steam Play.