Comment by pinusc

They're also effectively creating a market for linux gaming, which will encourage developers to actually officially support linux.

Note that I use "will" instead of "might" based on personal anecdotal evidence of seeing more and more games support linux natively (not on Proton) since the steamdeck launched. Granted, it's more indie games than AAA, but the latter will never care until the market becomes actually sizable.

Linux has already had decades of long-term "strategy" that did not in any way shape or form bring gaming to linux... except of course for the tireless effort of wine, which is the basis for proton. In other words, even if you're right, and you well might be, I feel that the point is moot since there's no linux gaming market otherwise, and valve can't kill what's already dead.

Unless you have alternative strategies in mind that have not been tried and failed already