The dream of Steam on Wayland just got closer to reality
Since Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) now supports Wayland natively, we can look forward to apps like Steam moving toward full Wayland support.
Developers of Google's ANGLE library just merged code enabling native Wayland support for the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF). That means apps that utilize CEF, such as Steam, are closer to gaining full Wayland support.
Why the merge matters: Wayland has increasingly become the standard windowing protocol on Linux desktops. Apps like Steam have so far relied on the Xwayland compatibility server to run under Wayland, but advances like this reduce the need for that.
What's happening with CEF and Wayland
As pointed out on Reddit, a patch was merged to the Chromium code base on May 26 enabling Wayland support for the ANGLE graphics abstraction layer. It addressed problems in a previous attempt to add Wayland support.
Put simply, Linux apps that take advantage of ANGLE's CEF functionality no longer have to rely on outdated X11 protocol or any compatibility layer. Steam is a good example because it's generally popular as a gaming platform and its owner, Valve, does pioneering work in the Linux space.
Don't be confused: You might have heard of the Electron framework being used to make Chromium-based apps. CEF, in contrast, allows apps to embed web content using Chromium libraries.
Zooming out
Lingering questions: When will Valve enable this version of CEF for Steam? Steam is made up of several parts, so it's also unclear when a full transition to Wayland will actually happen.
My take: I don't play a lot of games with Steam, but I am glad to see developers gain the ability to develop rich apps under the modern standard for Linux desktops. I hope it means better compatibility with other Linux apps I use on a daily basis.
Jordan Gloor
Diving in
Go further: You can read the full code review for technical details of the patch. You might also be interested in the earlier submission this merge addressed.
