At the X.Org Developers’ Conference in Montreal, Valve software engineer Timur Kristóf presented an update on the AMD RADV Vulkan driver, highlighting its maturation into AMD's official Linux support. The driver now fully supports Vulkan 1.3 and a range of AMD GPUs, driven by collaborative efforts from Valve and AMD. This shift underscores a pivot to open-source graphics for Linux gaming and computing.
The X.Org Developers’ Conference (XDC) 2025, held in Montreal, featured a key presentation by Valve software engineer Timur Kristóf on the state of the AMD RADV Vulkan driver. Kristóf, involved in RADV's development since 2016, described its evolution from a community-driven Mesa-based alternative to AMD's proprietary drivers into the company's officially supported option for Linux.
RADV now supports AMD GPUs from legacy GCN architectures to the latest RDNA series, achieving full Vulkan 1.3 conformance. It excels in advanced features like ray tracing and mesh shaders, making it suitable for high-performance computing and gaming on Linux. Kristóf emphasized ongoing optimizations, including dynamic variable rate shading (VRS) and improved power efficiency, particularly for devices like the Steam Deck.
A pivotal change occurred in May 2025, when AMD announced the discontinuation of its AMDVLK driver, shifting full support to RADV within the Mesa ecosystem. AMD stated that “all future Linux Vulkan support will rely on the Mesa-based RADV driver.” This aligns with AMD's open-source initiatives to reduce fragmentation and boost compatibility across Linux distributions.
Valve's contributions have been significant, enhancing ray tracing performance and support for older GCN 1.0 and 1.1 GPUs through bug fixes and tweaks. For RDNA 4 GPUs, lead developer Samuel Pitoiset noted that RADV support in Mesa 25.0 is “good enough,” missing only two minor components. These advancements, including shader cache optimizations and Graphics Pipeline Library integration, reduce compilation times and improve experiences on handheld gaming devices.
The presentation, as covered in Phoronix, positions RADV as a cornerstone for Linux graphics, benefiting gamers, developers, and sustainable hardware use by extending the life of older components.