No. 6 of 27 ·Game Compatibility Layers

vkd3d-proton

Windows · Linux

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

vkd3d-proton is ranked #6 of 27 in game compatibility layers on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Windows. There is a free plan.

vkd3d-proton plans and pricing

All plans

vkd3d-proton Free Open-source project; no paid plans or price listed github.com · 3 Oct 2026

Compared on game compatibility layers

Free plan: Yes
Host platforms: Windows, Linux
Runtime model: translation
DirectX support: directx 12
Vulkan support: Yes
Steam integration: Yes
Anti-cheat status: not stated

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The record

Purpose: vkd3d-proton aims to implement the full Direct3D 12 API on top of Vulkan and provides Direct3D 12 support development for Proton.
Use: It is intended to be used as native Win32 d3d12.dll and d3d12core.dll drop-in replacements in Wine, including Proton, or on Windows.
Priorities: The project prioritizes performance and game compatibility, using modern Vulkan features at the expense of compatibility with older drivers and systems.
Driver requirements: The README lists Vulkan 1.3 and specific descriptor indexing, device-feature, and Vulkan-extension requirements for drivers.
AMD support: RADV is the recommended and most-tested AMD driver, with Mesa 22.0 listed as the current minimum.
NVIDIA support: The README recommends the latest NVIDIA drivers and states that at least the 535 series is needed.
Intel support: The README says Intel GPUs have not been tested by the project.
DXGI integration: vkd3d-proton does not supply DXGI components itself; it shares a DXGI implementation with DXVK 2.1 or later.
Shader cache: It manages a driver cache for DXBC/DXIL-to-SPIR-V conversion, which the README says can reduce stutter and load times.
Windows limitation: Native Windows use is described as mostly relevant to developer testing, and the README notes that many games only try to load d3d12.dll on Windows 10.
Linux limitation: A native Linux binary can be built, but the README says it is not intended to be compatible with upstream Wine and is mostly for development.
Development tools: The README documents developer debugging features including shader dumps and overrides, RenderDoc capture, GPU breadcrumbs, and descriptor QA checks.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Game Compatibility Layers in 2026#6 of 27

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Sources

github.com/HansKristian-Work/vkd3d-proton· checked 3 Oct 2026