You can use Lutris. But if you don't want to go that way, you can simply use proton directly.

I have a script that I use on my linux machine that automatically detects an "exe" file in the same directory and runs it via proton. With that I've been able to play non-steam games easily enough.

There are plenty of tutorials online on how to run proton via CLI, here's one

EDIT: As @nottheengineer@feddit.de said, you can also add exe files to Steam and have it run that way. Its probably the easier way compared to running it via terminal

On the steam deck, you can run most things by adding them to steam as non-steam games. It'll probably work for other distros too.

Firstly, see if there is a gog version. GOG versions are always easier to install imo. I use 1337x to find the games, or any other seeder will do. Download your pirated game and either use wine locally, or for an easier way, I love LUTRIS! Search in Lutris to see if there is a 'runner' for your game. This makes installing easier because it runs a script that installs all the windows components need for that game. It it usually ask for your pirated game's .exe file at some point to install. Done, ready to go.

If you can't find a runner for your game, I usually find a runner with a more recent, heavy 3D gammer game and use it instead. For whatever reason, Star Wars Jedi Fallen runner seems to work with a lot of games.

Also, make sure you are using Wine-staging and all the i386 files. Here is a guide to help you install.

Tbh running them directly in steam has worked out great but bottles and/or lutris works as well.

There are multiple game launchers that are able to run windows games and programs: Lutris, Heroic, Bottles, just to mention some of them. I played around with all of them on my steam deck and found that Heroic works the best for me in terms of reliability and convenience.

You click on „add game“ and a window pops up prompting you to input the game name, where to create the prefix (basically a virtual windows environment), and the path to the executable. If the game isn’t pre-installed you can hit the „run installer first“ button and install the game and any dependencies beforehand and add the executable after the successful installation.

You may not have to deal with this but if you find that a cracked install isn't working then consider creating a windows vm where you unpack/install the game and then copy those files back down to your game dir.

First check whether johncena141 on 1337x has a Linux torrent available