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| Hollow Knight: Silksong runs at 122 FPS on the Ayn Odin 2 Portal's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 under Rocknix with Valve's new Proton 11 ARM64 beta, as shown in the MangoHud overlay. |
If you’ve been following the handheld gaming PC space, you know that x86 chips from AMD and Intel have ruled the roost for years. But a quiet update from Valve this week suggests that the company is preparing to shake things up – and the community isn’t waiting around for an official announcement.
Valve pushed Proton 11.0-Beta1 to GitHub, and buried inside the release notes is a seemingly small but genuinely significant addition: *“Added FEX-2604 for ARM64EC builds.”* For the uninitiated, FEX is an open-source x86-to-ARM translation layer that Valve has quietly supported for several years. Its inclusion in Proton means that the compatibility layer can now, in theory, run Windows PC games on ARM-based Linux systems without native ports.
No, Valve hasn’t formally announced an ARM64 version of Proton. But moves like this rarely happen in a vacuum. Industry watchers see it as preparatory work for upcoming ARM-based hardware – most likely the long-rumored Steam Frame VR headset, which is expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Or perhaps Valve is simply future-proofing for a world where Arm-powered laptops and handhelds become mainstream. Either way, the pieces are moving.
The Community Didn’t Wait – Rocknix Just Made Steam on ARM a Reality
While Valve plays its cards close to the chest, the open-source community has already sprinted ahead. Last week, the Rocknix project – a Linux distribution originally built for retro gaming handhelds – announced official Steam support across a range of Qualcomm-powered devices. We’re talking about serious hardware here: the Ayn Odin 2, Retroid Pocket 6, Ayaneo Pocket S2, and the Konkr Pocket Fit.
This isn’t some proof-of-concept that crashes after five minutes. YouTuber ETA Prime recently put the stack through its paces, and the results are eye-opening.
Watch ETA Prime’s full hands-on test here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGgQiaha1Bg
In the video, he tests three devices: the Ayn Odin 2 Portal (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, ~$433 on Amazon), the Ayaneo Pocket S2 (Snapdragon G3 Gen 3), and the Konkr Pocket Fit (also Snapdragon G3 Gen 3). All three were running Rocknix with Steam installed as a native ARM Linux binary. Games still need the Proton + FEX translation layer to run, but that’s where the magic happens.
Performance Numbers That Raise Eyebrows
Let’s talk frames. On the Ayn Odin 2 Portal, with its 120 Hz display, ETA Prime saw:
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – consistently above 100 FPS, often hitting 108 FPS with the frame cap disabled.
- Half-Life 2 – comfortably exceeded 120 FPS (124 FPS peak) when using an external keyboard and mouse.
- Cuphead – hovered between 60–70 FPS, perfectly playable.
That’s not “tolerable for a beta.” That’s genuinely impressive for x86-to-ARM translation on a handheld. For context, the Ayn Odin 2 Portal is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 device – not even the latest silicon. The fact that it’s pushing Silksong past 100 FPS suggests that Valve’s work on FEX and Proton is maturing faster than most expected.
Flashing Rocknix to the Odin 2’s internal storage delivered a “noticeably snappy experience,” according to ETA Prime. The Steam client itself runs natively, so browsing your library, downloading games, and navigating the interface feel just as responsive as on an x86 machine.
Not Everything Is Rosy – The Rough Edges of ARM64 Proton
Before you go flashing Rocknix onto your daily driver, know that this is still very much enthusiast territory. The Ayaneo Pocket S2 and Konkr Pocket Fit had to run Rocknix from a microSD card because internal storage installation paths aren’t fully supported yet. That meant game downloads and installations took significantly longer – not a dealbreaker, but a clear sign that the software stack isn’t production-ready.
There were also genuine bugs. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt refused to relaunch on the Ayn Odin 2 Portal after the first session. *Half-Life 2* required a USB keyboard and mouse because the built-in controller wouldn’t bind in-game – not ideal for a handheld. Random black screens and crashes were observed across multiple titles.
And then there’s the elephant in the room: kernel-level anti-cheat. Games like Fortnite, Valorant, or Call of Duty rely on anti-cheat systems that hook deep into the Windows kernel. Translation layers like FEX and Wine/Proton haven’t solved that problem on x86, and ARM adds another layer of complexity. For now, multiplayer titles with aggressive anti-cheat remain firmly out of reach.
What This Means for the Future of Handheld Gaming
Despite the rough edges, it’s impossible to ignore what’s happening here. The foundation for an entire category of ARM-based Steam handhelds has clearly been laid. Think about the implications:
- Battery life – ARM chips are famously more power-efficient than x86. A Steam Deck currently gets 2–4 hours on demanding games. An ARM-based handheld could potentially double that.
- Thermals – Less heat means thinner, lighter devices without active cooling (or with quieter fans).
- Cost – Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G-series chips are cheaper than custom AMD APUs. That could translate to $300–$400 handhelds with performance that rivals the Steam Deck.
Valve hasn’t confirmed anything, but the tea leaves are hard to ignore. The Steam Frame VR headset is one possibility. Another is a Steam Deck Lite – a smaller, cheaper, ARM-powered sibling to the current Deck. Or Valve might simply be enabling the ecosystem, letting third-party manufacturers like Ayn, Ayaneo, and Retroid build officially supported Steam handhelds.
Should You Jump In Now?
If you’re a tinkerer with a Snapdragon-based handheld and a spare microSD card, Rocknix + Proton 11 is absolutely worth a weekend experiment. The performance on lighter titles is already excellent, and the project is moving fast. But if you just want to play games without wrestling with black screens and controller mappings, stick with a Steam Deck or Windows handheld for now.
That said, keep an eye on this space. Proton’s ARM64 support is no longer a “maybe someday” feature – it’s shipping in beta, and the community is already proving it works. Valve has a habit of moving quietly and then releasing something that changes the industry. The Steam Controller, Steam Machines, the Index, the Steam Deck – all were doubted until they arrived. ARM-powered Steam gaming looks like the next domino.
Source: ETA Prime / YouTube
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| Hollow Knight: Silksong at 108 FPS on the Ayn Odin 2 Portal via Proton 11 ARM64. |
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| Half-Life 2 hits 124 FPS on the Ayn Odin 2 Portal via Proton 11 ARM64, run with an external keyboard and mouse. |