Hello @drakerp2, feedback like this can't be generalized. Please add a comment to the compatibility report(s) for the game(s) you're seeing this behavior with including a Proton log and a gist of your Steam runtime diagnostics with your findings.
proton experimentalx1 2026-07
There have been multiple reported issues on the amdgpu page of people (including myself) getting full system lockups (Pageflip Timeout https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/work_items?show=eyJpaWQiOiI1NTAxIiwiZnVsbF9wYXRoIjoiZHJtL2FtZCIsImlkIjoxNTQwMjB9), they started 4 days ago aligning with the most recent update to Proton Experimental. It is unclear if this problem is with proton-experimental or not, however it has not been ruled out and seems like a likely potential candidate.
What has been ruled out as causes for the sudden change by confirmation of versioning:
linux-firmware-amdgpu (not updated since mid June)
mesa (confirmed on olded 26.1.4 version)
linux-kernel / zen-kernel (issue occurs on both, and confirmed on Manjaro kernel 6.x)
Wayland/X (issue confirmed on both)
I will see if the issue is resolved with the update pushed today (had already written this before seeing), and if it persists will see if downgrading fixes the issue, and will report back with further information.