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I finally made the jump to Linux Mint yesterday on my gaming tower. ProtonDB and Steam deck support finally pulled me over the edge while Office 365 and Windows apparent path forward was pushing me to leave.
Sea of Stars, Gloomhaven, and Peak installed, ran, and played with zero extra configuration. So I threw something more intense at it. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 runs like a champ, zero configuration. Doom the Dark Ages as well.
Now to throw some curveballs. I’m playing through Subnautica with my buddy because I’m a coward who can’t do it alone. The new version of Nitrox, the multiplayer mod, installed and ran just as simply as on windows. THIS was the final straw that let me upgrade as Nitrox only updated to support Linux a week or 2 ago.
Elden Ring’s Seamless Coop (yeah, I play single player games with friends to make it easier, bite me) is technically the only thing I even had the slightest problem with. But after adding the launcher to steam, I just had to tell it to use the latest proton and the problem was gone as fast as it showed up.
I’m hesitant to say “I should have jumped to Linux a long time ago” because I know it hasn’t been an easy road getting here… But damn, we’re in a good place now!
The worst issue for linux gaming are still the anti-cheat systems. Especially the kernel level kind. You can’t easily emulate that. Not to say that Linux needs a kernel patch for this, because there is still the wider issue if it’s good practice of game companies basically installing in all but name spyware on your computer.
League was playable on linux before Vanguard came along.
It’s funny because this meme is so old it wasn’t playable back then, then it was for a good chunk of time, and then anti cheat came and killed it again.
It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make
Tbh, even before switching to Linux I used kernel level anti-cheat as a red flag filter to avoid games.
It’s also hard to get certain things working.
I’ve started trying out Bazzite, but it’s definitely not ready to replace Windows yet. HDR was a pain to get working, only for me to find SteamInput is disabled when I get HDR active. I haven’t tried VR yet, but I’m a bit worried that won’t go well.
Kernel level anti cheat works fine on linux. Like battleye. It’s ups to the devs, and with steam deck using Linux I think you will see a lot more anticheats working.
Linux users: the linux community is too toxic
Also linux users: we need to let MOBA and BR players in
Meanwhile server side anticheat is close to non existent and the few ones that exist don’t even catch obvious stuff like spinbotters.
Yeah, there are a few things preventing me from going Linux full-time on my desktop, and shitty anti-cheat systems is one of them. I have friends who I regularly play BF6 with, and I enjoy it quite a lot, so it’s annoying I can’t play it on Linux.
That’s 91% of Steam’s top 1000 games but “only” 60% of top 10.
People who play toxic, exploitative PvP games deserve a toxic, exploitative operating system to go with them.
What’s it the top 10 of? most played? current top sellers? something else?
Generally the only thing that is totally borked on linux today is stuff with specific anticheat that will not support linux or mac.
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Battlefield 6 and
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CoD 2025 have specific anticheat requirements of windows 11 with secure boot. So yeah, those two are disqualified. If you want to play either you need Windows or a console.
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PUBG doesn’t work, due to anticheat not supporting linux. Guessing this is the 3rd title in the “top 10” you mentioned.
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Bongo Cat doesn’t work… because the ‘game’ is just a keycount logger that has an animation on the windows taskbar - it’s not really a game though imo.
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R6 siege also doesn’t work due to anticheat
All the top releases this year seem to work though, aside from BF6/CoD2025.
- Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is platinum
- Expedition 33 is platinum
- Outer Worlds 2 is gold
- Hades 2 is platinum
- Hollow Knight silksong is platinum
- Split fiction is platinum
- FFVII rebith is silver but solid with some tweaking and most recent reports say it’s just working now (issues were old nvidia driver related)
- Fantasy Life i is platinum
Start looking at last year’s top releases and you get similar stuff where basically everything is platinum with a couple of titles as gold. Go further and you find stuff like BG3 has a native linux build and works great.
What’s it the top 10 of?
ProtonDB says that them are “Measured by peak concurrent players”.
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We’ve come a long way from GNOME Mahjongg and SuperTux.
Don’t forget supertuxkart!
STK is amazing. It even runs on Android
Its a classic
as Windows 10 dies
It wasn’t sick, they took it behind the shed and shot it!
deleted by creator
The only gaming issues I’ve encountered so far on Mint have been fixed by just manually setting the version of Proton that the game uses to the latest stable release. In the game properties menu when you right click on the game title, I think.
I’m kinda done with gaming for now but holy shit guys. It touches me that we’ve come such a long way since the early days.
“But you can’t play games on Linux” is finally a saying from the past.
A humongous shoutout to all those who have spent their free time improving this operation system to be what it is today, and even more so in the future. I fucking love personal computing again thanks to Linux. Fuck micro$hit. Cheers!
Despite wanting to for years, I finally got my life sorted out enough to be able to switch this month. After distro hopping, I am staying on vanilla ass Debian. I would really recommend Pika OS to anyone looking to change.
Also, Fallout 3 runs easier on Debian than it does on windows 10.
I wrote up two reports here :
Preparing to Switch, with advice from people : https://lemmy.world/post/35450797
After Switching : https://lemmy.world/post/37274818I will never understand why people choose Debian. I’m glad it works for you, but it’s just such an odd choice for gaming. Much higher chance of stuff not working with newer hardware than distros with more up to date packages.
Bazzite is fantastic.
I mean, I wrote a whole ass post explaining why; but here’s the summary.
Ubuntu,Mint , Pika OS are basically debian. The “noob friendly intro distros” are usually based on debian or a derivative.I challenged myself to just go for bare ass debian and could do the things I wanted to. Turns out it’s not too bad (once you install KDE). Any advice people have for ubuntu/whatever I had to configure a few things, but they helped me grow a bit. I didn’t feel the need to go to a different OS afterwards (and I’m trying to replicate the things I like in the liveboot CD of Pika OS).
I was going to migrate to Pika OS if I couldn’t hack it on debian, but I can. So why move to a derived version which might have some things less in common than the sources of the majority of the help things out there online? Sure it has a nice device manager and whatnot, but I am trying to get similar things that exist in open source ecosystems to use instead. If I fail, I can just put the stuff on my other drive and move to Pika OS later.
I did try bazzite but I didn’t like that it was immutable and fedora; I feel that I’ve grown into debian derivitives and didn’t want to start learning things “the fedora way” or something. I like apt and the majority of the search results are aimed at debian and not fedora.
why does it seem odd for gaming? my hardware has built in support (even bluetooth!) and is from 2018 anyway, so I don’t feel I’m missing much.
I’m definitely not trying to convince you or anyone that your choice of Debian is wrong. Like I said, if it works for you, that’s great. And I don’t mean that sarcastically haha.
I was iffy about immutable for a long time because I’m definitely a tinkerer. But it ended up being the best Linux experience I’ve had in almost a decade of using it.
It does pose problems if you need custom compiled kernel modules, but that’s few and far between. Especially with something like Bazzite that tries to include everything one might need in their images.
Maybe what I don’t understand is less a new user’s choice of Debian or Ubuntu, but moreso that it’s still so heavily recommended by Linux veterans when there are objectively better options.
Not understanding does not mean smugness or judgement from me, so no one crucify me lol. As long as it works for you, that’s all that matters.
PikaOS sounds like a brave man’s choice. It is based on Debian “Sid”, i.e. the unstable branch that is absolutely heavily not recommended as a daily driver.
The general recommendation is: if you want bleeding edge software, just don’t go Debian.
I don’t quite follow your reasoning with the gestalt post. Debian is too outdated, but PikaOS is based on debian that is too unstable and up to date?
regardless, on my '18 laptop, and with trying to be self reliant and manage just one personal computer, I don’t think I want bleeding edge.
We’re talking about two different versions of Debian here.
Normally, Debian means Debian Stable, a branch actually meant for the end users. The latest Debian version in that regard is Debian 13 (Trixie), which was released on the 9th of August and will be mostly unchanged for the coming 2 years. This thing is super stable and rock solid, and is what Debian is famous for.
PikaOS is based on another branch, Debian Unstable (Sid), which is meant exclusively for developers to test out how well their newest packages work together. Critical bugs are a normal expected occurrence here. One update may bork your desktop, the other can introduce massive security vulnerabilities, etc. It is the first line of testing, after which there’s another branch (called, well, Debian Testing), and only then after scrupulous testing it gets to Stable.
So, what you are using is not the stable and reliable Debian as most people know it, but something on top of a dynamite house. It’s a very, very bleeding and bloody edge software you got there, and while I believe the PikaOS devs do their best to react to massive bug reports, they are unlikely to verify all packages could work well together. I’d expect at least some annoying unfixable issues here and there.
I’ve never been a gamer in the 20+ years of using linux. And I’ve never given it much thought. So this is impressive I guess.
But hey, come for the gaming and stay for the freedom, security, and choices.
i’d say it’s less about gaming per se and more that linux is becoming everything the lay-person needs… a lot of people often play games (i’d wager there are more gamers in the world than those that use linux on the desktop, and by a pretty large margin), which previously had all but ruled linux out as a one stop shop
certainly when i played games this was the case - i started by booting linux by default with a windows gaming partition, and tried to hard to make that work but in the end it was just far too much effort and i just started booting windows every time (granted, this was in the windows 7 days ;p)
gaming on linux is more about the average person being able to use linux for all of their tasks than it is about gaming on linux as a specific thing
Switching to Pop_OS was easy. I have a dual boot setup but I basically never touch windows now.
It took a tiny amount of effort to figure out how to troubleshoot games which was mostly just getting protonup-qt and downloading whatever current cachyos and GE versions of proton are available and then if a game doesn’t just work on proton 9.0-4, enabling one of those.
I also had an issue with audio crackling that I found a workaround with a launch flag on games. I found it to be system-wide so I incorporated it into a pipewire-pulse.conf file which sets it on boot. Zero issues with audio now in any game.
Lutris works great for non-steam games including whatever you can manage to download anywhere. Once you setup one program it’s easy to setup others. I have a prefix setup per game (which is basically like a folder with a windows file system where the game data lives.) Really love how it works overall.
FSR4 isn’t hard to get working on a 9070xt (a launch option is all it takes.) Overall stuff is just copacetic.
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Monster Hunter Wilds runs great (for mh wilds) - it’s basically the same as windows.
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Age of Wonders 4 feels like it has better 1% lows and overall stability.
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Enshrouded feels like it runs better than windows.
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Farthest Frontier just worked on the 1.0 release, no issues.
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Eternal Strands just works.
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Soulmask just works.
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Armored Core VI took a bit of troubleshooting for me. At first it wouldn’t take controller inputs unless I used Proton Experimental, and audio was a mess - but this was basically the first game I tried on here. I found out the input issue was from easy anticheat becoming what steam recognizes as the game (which is fixed in proton experimental, proton-ge and proton cachyos.) After I figured out the aforementioned audio fix and I figured out how to swap proton versions within steam itself (It’s a drop down selection box in game properties) all my issues went away and it just works now.
Overall i’m super impressed. I have no desire to go with windows - though I am itching to try other distros. If I was gonna start over today i’d use Endeavour, Cachyos or Bazzite probably. The former because I don’t mind tinkering but the others because they sound perfect for gaming.
Recently came over from windows myself to Pop OS 24.04. My experience has been much like yours. I actually like it way better than windows. I’m not looking to try others right now but am having fun learning the commands and setting up my environment.
I’m in love with the workspaces for productivity, and love that I can leave a game fullscreensl on one workspace then flip over to another with my notes and tools.
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last problem I had was a couple years ago with Helldivers 2 (something with the game being on a separate hdd messed up launch sequence), after that it’s been smooth sailing.
Admittedly I mostly play indie stuff, no battlefields or marvel rivals
I play arma reforger, dayz, clair obscur, half sword, factorio, beamng multiplayer all on linux.
Linux gaming is great now.
Are you using a standard controller for beaming? Or are you using a wheel?
Looking into Linux but finding information about wheels and compatibility/software has been rough
Logitech g920 Wheel with WMR headset. Hp reverb G2.
Had a similar issue with HD2. Tried it again a month ago, no issues.
Ya, we’ve played it since launch without issue. Don’t know it’s rating on protondb but I’d assume it’s gold or higher.
I just checked and yes it’s gold
I’ve been eyeing ZorinOS for two reasons.
One ZorinOS 18 just released this month, and it feels like it would be an easy transition as a lifelong windows cuckboy to use.
Two, my daughter does home/virtual schooling and the educational ZorinOS seems to offer a lot of useful features on their educational/school build. Because while playing games on Linux is cool and all, the main problem I have witha full household swap to Linux… is that schools and so much of the wider system are built around windows. And I worry that changing to Linux would screw up things she needs to do with school.
Why not give her another laptop with ZorinOS installed and see if she can make the switch?
Its always funny reading these things on a windows 10 machine. And then when I go watch a show in my living room on my windows 7 machine (that still works better and steam works fine). I have the USB made to move these machines to Mint, but every time they say that its dead I need to push it another week.
Its weird that people buy into forced obsolescence so easily. Just back your shit up and use what ever, if your going to get your shit messed up its not going to be due to your OS. Your bank will be hacked, or more likely phished. Your card will get skimmed or your data leaked without you even knowing it. This is all a farce, nothing is stopping you from running an older OS, and most would be shocked at how many “important” machines are running on legacy tech.
Do not listen to this guy.
Ha, yeah. Lets go over all this again. Nothing is secure and your windows vintage matters a lot less then your backup habits.
Backups are important, but it’s also important to have a secure OS; they can do a lot more than delete your data, you can have your session keys stolen, your accounts compromised, and your files used for blackmail.
I guess if you don’t use the computer for anything except games, and you backup your saves, then you can treat the machine like a toy and let it get owned, factory reset when you want to use is again; but even then, you’d be letting the attacker into your network.
I really can’t imagine a situation where it’s better than just using Mint, which is more reliable and secure than any version of Windows could ever dream of being.
All those threats are more likely from other attack vectors then an old OS. Your not an organization, your not a target in that way. The network you are on is not worth the type of attack you describe, and can be remade with little issue. This is just fear based sales bullshit, your more at risk from the low effort email phishing attacks.
But yes I agree mint is better in every way (its what all my work machines and laptop run at the moment).
Well I personally do run a business out of my home, and I take security very seriously.
I’m not selling anything, I’m explaining the importance of keeping your operating system up to date.
Email phishing attacks often target OS exploits, there’s two Windows 10 zero days that just came out which allow code to run with elevated permissions without user authorization. That’s the sort of thing that enables a piece of malware compromise your entire system.
there’s two Windows 10 zero days that just came out which allow code to run with elevated permissions without user authorization.
That is my point, zero day vulnerabilities show that new does not mean better or more secure. They did not just “come out” they where there and likely used from the start. The issue is that people still put their faith in updates and software, even though its clearly a mess. You can do you, but until (like news on phishing scams) the outdated OS vulnerability becomes a common attack vector I will keep banging my drum on better understanding digital risks and keep running my old crap (partly just to see what happens mind you).
“It’s so wild that people say driving without a seatbelt will kill you. I haven’t died yet!”
Yeah but people die in car crashes often, where are all the people getting their PC compromised by using an old OS? I have yet to read about even one incident, have never seen one since windows 95 era and even when asking for an example in the last 10 years got nothing.
All the OSs have vulnerablies, using one not getting updates is a risk, but not a very big one in this day and age.
I think the biggest problem right now is that people are unable to install Linux themselves on old / new windows computers and they are afraid that they won’t be able to understand how to use it.
I would say the biggest issue is that Windows 10 still works and why throw out something that works damn near 100% of the time with a monthly nag screen for something that works 90% of the time with caveats.
Normal people just don’t think about operating systems at all.
Works 100% of the time with a monthly nag screen doesn’t sound like it works 100% of the time.
I became a proponent for Linux not because “OMG Linux is so awesome and perfect!”, but because I was experiencing tons of issues on Windows (10) with driver and registry issues. I figured if I had to do the troubleshooting and fix a broken system anyway, I might as well do it on a system I actually had control over.
I started with dual-booting. I had a new storage drive I bought for the extra space, but said screw it and tried with installing Mint. I ended up only going to my Windows boot for adjusting RGB on a new mouse (it was too bright and I was too lazy to install openrgb for just that), and for a couple of larger games (I didn’t want to reinstall them because I had slow Internet at the time).
The only thing I still miss from Windows that I haven’t found on Linux is VoiceMeeter Banana. I had just started getting into refining my audio setup before I switched over for good, and I haven’t found a good audio mixer on Linux that works as well. Though, the main reason I was using VoiceMeeter was to more easily switch output devices inside games (sometimes the audio wouldn’t switch if the game was already launched), but that has never been an issue on Linux using the default audio mixer.
I didn’t think of my OS much before my switch, either. I agree that it is something most people just overlook because it “works well enough”. But I had gotten tired of complaining about how Windows is broken and difficult to work with under the surface, and at a certain point I decided to go for an alternative instead. It was one of the best choices I’ve made.
If Windows is working for you and you don’t have issues with it, then that is great for you and you are welcome to stay! However, if you have complaints about Windows and the direction Microsoft is taking it, you have a choice. Put up with it, or try something new. Both will take learning and getting used to, but one of them puts the control in your hands.
This 1000000%. Laypeople will simply not use it when you start talking about “oh you just need to recompile this binary” or whatever. They don’t give a fuck why it’s not working, they just want it to work. It’s why I haven’t daily driven Linux ever on personal machines even though I’ve used it for work for ~25 years.
