Are there hardcore gamers there or is it mostly for coders?
Thanks to Valve and Proton gaming on Linux is already pretty viable and it’s getting better all the time. I am very happy with how compatible Steam Deck is and what’s funnier sometimes stuff that doesn’t work on newer Windows versions works perfectly on a Deck. Battle.net Launcher installed as a non-Steam app and set to run with Proton allowing me to install and play Diablo IV just like I would on my PC just blew my mind.
Never thought of installing the launcher and setting it to run with Proton. Do you know if it’s possible to play Fortnite on the deck using this method?
If it doesn’t run on Linux (via Proton or direct), I don’t play it. It has made some things less than fun (because I can run much lower powered hardware on Linux) but I’ve managed to keep up with the kids and their Windows-only machine including bigger games like Satisfactory and Hollow Knight.
I use Linux as my daily OS, for study and work. I primarily game on it as well!
Every game that I’ve tried on Linux runs smoother (less 1% lows) than on Wind0ws. I assume it’s because of the bloat on win11, but then again I researched as much as possible to clean up and optimize win11. Still runs much better on Linux. I mainly play Apex Legends, and though I don’t consider myself good, I was D3 in S15.
The biggest issue is dealing with the games that use Anti-cheat systems that put kernel-hooks on wind0ws, which can’t be emulated.
That’s very cool! In general, assuming a game runs well through proton, how’s the gaming performance between Linux and the same hardware on Windows? (You mentioned 1% lows are better, but what about average?)
I’m not super familiar with proton so I would think running in proton has some performance hit; is this not the case?
it really depends on the game. most will be just about the same (in my experience), but some are worse and some are better. It does help to have a lightweight DE/WM.
Linux as an OS is just so much better about getting good performance out of the hardware, and keeping itself out of the way. I’ve converted a lot of people to Linux over the year in an effort to get better performance on older systems. They couldn’t afford to buy a new computer, and usually just wanted to be able to check email and go on the web. Slap Ubuntu on and they were always shocked how much better everything ran, but was still easy to use.
You can check for yourself if the games you want to play work on Linux, just look up “(game name) ProtonDB” and look for a gold or higher for a good gaming experience. Subjectively, 90% of the games I’ve tried work well. CSGO, Overwatch 2 (through Lutris), Don’t Starve, Deep Rock Galactic and Red Dead Redemption 2 are all games I know play well on Linux since I’ve tried them myself. It’s incredible what Valve has done with Proton for game compatibility on Linux.
I used to run a PCI-passthrough/VFIO Windows virtual machine for gaming, but I haven’t started it up or used Windows on my own machines in almost a year now.
I got a Steam Deck and it proved to me that Linux gaming was ready. My main beefy desktop now just runs Linux and uses Proton to do it all, and I’m extremely happy with it. I deleted my Windows VM’s partition recently. It’s run everything I want to play just fine! I play a fair mix of stuff… Indie and AAA, new and old, single-player and multi-player.
Every problem I’ve had so far is related to my own system or choices, not Steam, Proton, or the game. (eg, had a bad stick of RAM, did an incomplete upgrade, etc.)
CS: GO, Don’t Starve, and many others work natively on Linux with no need for Proton. This makes for the best experience.
Valve has certainly given linux a boost with the SteamDeck and all the work they’ve funded to make it a viable gaming platform. I just hope they release SteamOS for all platforms soon, maybe we’ll see an uptick in PC pre-builds with SteamOS as an option instead of just Windows.
Linux gaming is growing a lot, especially in the last couple of years. You can play almost any windows game on Linux, the biggest hang-up right now is anti-cheat. Most anti-cheat made for windows will not like being emulated on Linux, and even if it works a lot of time you will run the risk of being banned.
So bigger multiplayer games, mainly AAA titles, are still lagging behind.
Well the Steam Deck’s OS is forked from Arch so.
I play mostly Indie so I couldn’t speak for stuff like anti-cheat/graphics but… the types of game I play, for the most part “it just works”.
If you’re into RPG maker games, they sometimes require workarounds (hint: you can hot-swap the contents of RPG Maker MV/MX/MZ into Linux’s native nwjs…)
I think the only games that struggle on my computer are mostly because of GPU (I’m on a laptop) rather than anything else TbhSteam deck has grown it a fair bit. Excluding anticheat, most games can be made to work with the assistance of proton See protonDB for specific games, but it’s a definite thing.
^ this. I still check protonDB occasionally before a purchase but it’s rarely been an issue in the last 6 years. That about as how long I haven’t had any windows in the house.
BattleEye and EAC are supported, IF the developers enable it for their games.
I can play whatever I want on Linux, there’s so many options that make it work like Lutris, Bottles, Heroic Games Launcher and Steam of course. There are some exceptions though, some games don’t work, but that’s often a deliberate choice of the studios. Looking at you, Bungie.
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Through Steam and Proton, I’m able to play most of the games I’m interested in: Mass Effect, Last of Us, Jedi Fallen Order & Survivor. Steam Deck is built on Linux too.
Proton is huge and is making gaming on Linux actually viable. The Steam Deck also is a huge motivator for devs to make games compatible.
Linux is a great choice for gaming!
While there may be some anti cheat games it cant run (at the moment), I’ve heard that some games can run even better on Linux than on Windows!
I have been gaming on Linux since 2017, and it is super super viable now. Did you know that over 70% of the top 1000 games on Steam are playable on Linux?
I use Linux exclusively for gaming. Sometimes there’s a performance hit or weird bug, but mostly it runs very well, occasionally better than on Windows. I have quite often heard of windows players complaining about older games no longer running properly, and I’ve often had no problems with these on Linux, for example the original Dead Space.
However there are technologies which are still quite some ways off. Rtaytracing is improving but still a generation behind windows in terms of performance and support. HDR is barely supported anywhere. Variable refresh rate, is supported in some instances, but not universally, e.g. Gnome doesn’t support it yet for Wayland. I don’t know anything much about VR but would suspect it may not be very well supported yet either.
I’m playing on Linux for 4 and a half years already now. I am a programmer, too, but my home system is used mostly for games.
I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore gamer. Only play on weekends and almost exclusively SP games. But so far experience is great (Pop OS, NVIDIA GPU, medium tier gaming laptop). Steam games are mostly playable without serious issues (adding some launch parameters or choosing certain Proton version might be advisable for certain games). Emulation also works nice (tried PPSSPP, RPCS3, Yuzu, Cemu). I would say that gaming on Linux is fine, unless you really need to play one of the not fully supported titles (especially ones with those pesky anti-cheats). Couldn’t care less about RTX or HDR (would not work well even on Windows with my rig).
