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DXVK

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DXVK
Original authorPhilip "doitsujin" Rebohle
DeveloperDXVK Project
Release14 January 2018; 8 years ago (14 January 2018)
Stable release
3.0.1 / 6 July 2026; 8 days ago (6 July 2026)
Written inC++
Operating systemCross-platform
Platformx86, x86-64
Licensezlib License
Websitegithub.com/doitsujin/dxvk
RepositoryDXVK on GitHub

DXVK is an open-source translation layer which converts Direct3D 8/9/10/11 calls to Vulkan.[1][2][3][4] It is used by Proton/Steam[5] for Linux, by Intel Windows drivers,[6][7][8] VirtualBox 7.x,[9] and it can be used to run Direct3D-based games under Windows using Vulkan. DXVK has been confirmed to support over 80% of Direct3D Windows games "near flawlessly".[10][11][12]

History

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DXVK was first developed by Philip "doitsujin" Rebohle, then a recent graduate searching for his first job. It originated as a Nier: Automata fan project from him, to develop compatibility for the game on Linux. He was frustrated with the low performance of Wine's Direct3D 11 to OpenGL translation layer and was also suffering from an AMD driver bug which prevented him from playing on Windows. He had the idea of translating the game's graphics to the recently-released Vulkan and achieved this in late 2017.[13] Rebohle released the project publicly in January 2018. He was swiftly approached by Valve with the offer of a contract, as it was apparent that this approach could have broader applications. He was hired to expand compatibility of the Linux version of Steam with Windows games.[14] [4]

In 2019, DXVK received Direct3D 9 support by merging with d9vk.[15][16]

In November 2022, version 2.0 was released, introducing improvements to Direct3D 9 memory management, shader compilation, state cache, and support for Direct3D 11 feature level 12_1.[17][18] Vulkan 1.3 support is now required.[19]

Released on 24 January 2023, version 2.1 implemented HDR support and improved quality for certain old games.[4][20]

Released on 12 May 2023, version 2.2 added D3D11On12[21][22] support.[23][24][25]

Released on 10 July 2024, version 2.4 added support for Direct3D 8.[26][27]

Released on 11 November 2024, version 2.5 features an overhauled memory and resource management which resulted in VRAM savings up to 1 GB in certain games. Direct3D 8 and 9 received support for software cursor.[28]

In June 2026, DXVK 3.0 replaced its legacy DXBC shader translation code with dxbc-spirv, reducing memory use in some games and moving more shader compilation work off the application thread. The release also began requiring Vulkan 1.4-era driver support.[29] Users of AMD RDNA 1.0 and RDNA 2.0 architectures on Windows are advised against using DXVK 3.0 because "Windows driver for these GPUs no longer receives feature updates, can only use the slow legacy binding model, and suffers from severe performance issues that are not seen on any other driver".

Forks

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D7VK is a DXVK fork that uses its D3D9 back-end to implement support for Direct3D 3, 5, 6 and 7.[30] The project does not expect to be upstreamed or merged with the parent.

Controversies

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The use of Wine/DXVK has gotten users banned from some online gaming platforms because these layers have been classified as illegitimate by their anti-cheat systems.[31][32][33][34]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Staff, Ars (21 August 2018). "Valve's "Steam Play" uses Vulkan to bring more Windows games to Linux". Ars Technica. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Conway, Adam (23 December 2022). "How Proton on the Steam Deck works". XDA Developers. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Chapter 13. WINE". FreeBSD Documentation Portal. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Proven, Liam (3 February 2023). "WINE Windows translation layer has matured like a fine... you get the picture". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Compatibility tool for Steam Play based on Wine and additional components: ValveSoftware/Proton, Valve, 3 April 2019, retrieved 3 April 2019
  6. ↑ "Intel using DXVK (part of Steam Proton) for their Windows Arc GPU DX 9 drivers". GamingOnLinux. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Jason R. (1 November 2022). "Intel Arc A750 Shows Boosted Performance In Older Gaming Titles Using Vulkan "DXVK"". Wccftech. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Aaron Klotz (8 December 2022). "Intel Arc Driver Optimizations Leverage Valve's DXVK Translator". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "VirtualBox 7.0 is out with their DirectX 11 support using DXVK". GamingOnLinux. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Aaron Klotz (21 December 2021). "80 Percent of Steam's Top 100 Games Run 'Nearly Flawlessly' on Linux". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "It's Now Even Easier To Check How A Game Runs On Steam Deck". Kotaku. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Conway, Adam (6 December 2022). "Need more games to play on your Steam Deck? Check out ProtonDB". XDA Developers. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ↑ Roach, Jacob (25 February 2024). "Proton and Nier: Automata — the untold story behind what makes the Steam Deck tick". Digital Trends.
  14. ↑ "An interview with the developer of DXVK, part of what makes Valve's Steam Play tick". GamingOnLinux. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "D9VK Merged Into Upstream DXVK". Phoronix. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "D9VK is no more as it merges with DXVK, making DXVK a D3D 9/10/11 to Vulkan layer". GamingOnLinux. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  17. ↑ De Meo, Francesco (6 March 2023). "Hogwarts Legacy Vulkan DXVK 2.1 ASYNC Mod Reduces Texture Loading Stutter". WCCF Tech. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  18. ↑ Larabel, Michael (10 November 2022). "DXVK 2.0 Released With Many Improvements For Direct3D Over Vulkan". Phoronix. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "Driver support". GitHub. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  20. ↑ "Release Version 2.1 · doitsujin/dxvk". GitHub. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "microsoft/D3D11On12". GitHub. Microsoft. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Direct3D 11 on 12 – Win32 apps". Microsoft Learn. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  23. ↑ "DXVK 2.2 Released With D3D11On12 Support, Many Game Fixes". Phoronix. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  24. ↑ Wilson, Jason R. (13 May 2023). "DXVK 2.2 Launches With D3D11On12 Support For Unity Engine, Game Fixes & More". WCCF Tech. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  25. ↑ "Release Version 2.2 · doitsujin/dxvk". GitHub. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  26. ↑ "Release Version 2.4 · doitsujin/dxvk". GitHub. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  27. ↑ "DXVK 2.4 Released With Direct3D 8 Support, Native WSI Improvements". Phoronix. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  28. ↑ "DXVK 2.5 Brings Memory Management Rewrite & Other Improvements". Phoronix. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  29. ↑ doitsujin. "Release Version 3.0 · doitsujin/dxvk". GitHub. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  30. ↑ WinterSnowfall (10 February 2026), WinterSnowfall/d7vk, retrieved 10 February 2026
  31. ↑ "Linux Gamers Banned in Battlefield V if Using Wine and DXVK". BleepingComputer. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  32. ↑ "Some Linux Gamers Using Wine/DXVK To Play Blizzard's Overwatch Banned - Updated". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  33. ↑ "Caution: Playing 'Overwatch' On Linux May Get You Banned". North America. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  34. ↑ "Some Linux Gamers Using Wine/DXVK To Play Blizzard's Overwatch Banned - Slashdot". tech.slashdot.org. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
[edit]
  • ProtonDB - a Proton/Wine/DXVK compatibility database
  • DXVK - GitHub repository
  • Wine - a Win32 compatibility layer for POSIX operating systems
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