With Valve's impressive work on the Proton tool for Linux and the Mac's Game Porting Toolkit and CrossOver options, there are few games these days that are truly “Windows only.” The exceptions are those that have aggressive Windows-based anti-cheating tools baked in, something that will hit back hard on players eager to dive into a new superhero shooter.
Marvel RivalsAn Overwatch-style free-to-play hero shooter released in early December 2024 and includes all the typical major online gaming elements: an in-game store with skins and customizations, battle passes, and anti-cheating technology. While Proton, which makes the Linux-based Steam Deck capable of playing just about any Windows game, has come a long way in just a few years, its biggest blind spots are these types of online-only games, like Grand Theft Auto Online, Fortnite, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, and the like. The same goes for Mac players, who, if they can work past DirectX 12, can often get a Windows game running in CrossOver or Parallels, minus any anti-cheat tools.
Can it hurt to try? For a while there was a value of 100 years. As described in the r/macgaming subreddit and on r/SteamDeck, many players have had success Marvel Rivals Works would receive a 'Penalty Issued' notification, where a violation is 'detected' and bans are issued until 2124. If such a ban stands, players risk missing out on the much-prophesied Year of the Linux Desktop or Mainstream Mac Gaming entirely, which will almost certainly happen. at some point during that period.
