Lutris 0.5.20 arrives with improved integration for Proton and emulators

Lutris 0.5.20, the popular open-source game manager for Linux, was released this Monday with a series of improvements aimed at integration with emulators and compatibility layers. The update was highlighted in coverage from the Phoronix site, which pointed out the new support for Proton-GE via umu as one of the main changes. According to founder Mathieu Comandon, the version also improves communication with Proton, Valve's layer for running Windows games on Linux, and expands options for classic console emulators. The release comes a few months after version 0.5.18, consolidating Lutris as a central hub for those who play on Linux.

For Wine users, Lutris 0.5.20 adds an option to select the native Wayland driver, something that had been under discussion for almost a year in the project's repository. This choice can reduce latency in modern desktop sessions, as Linux Compatible pointed out. New support for the Ptyxis terminal was also included, expanding integration options with the system. These changes show a continuous effort to improve the experience in Wayland environments, which are increasingly common in current Linux distributions.

In the emulator field, Lutris 0.5.20 brings a new runner for Azahar, the Nintendo 3DS emulator, and support for importing Commodore 64 ROMs. It is also possible to define the location of BIOS files used by libretro cores in Preferences, making it easier to configure systems such as PSX and Dreamcast. Several runners were updated, including TIC-80, EasyRPG, mGBA, Rosalie’s Mupen GUI, Ruffle and 86Box. The Ryujinx runner, the Switch emulator, now allows defining an application ID for multi-game XCIs, as detailed by 9to5Linux.

The version also expands supported game sources, with the addition of Steam Family, which allows integrating shared libraries on Steam, and ZOOM Platform. The EA App was updated to the new Electronic Arts API, and Itch.io now requires API keys instead of username and password. Media improvements include buttons to select covers, banners and icons via URL, plus fallback to external sources when Lutris media is unavailable. The manager also gained compatibility with Python 3.14 and file association to open .lutris installers with a double click, as GamingOnLinux recalled.