Nearly 90% of Windows Games now run on Linux, latest data shows — as Windows 10 dies, gaming on Linux is more viable than ever : tech

[–] QuantumTickle@lemmy.zip 62 points 2 weeks ago

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!

[–] MrSoup@lemmy.zip 34 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

That's 91% of Steam's top 1000 games but "only" 60% of top 10.

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 46 points 2 weeks ago

People who play toxic, exploitative PvP games deserve a toxic, exploitative operating system to go with them.

[–] Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 34 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

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.

Battlefield 6 and
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.
PUBG doesn't work, due to anticheat not supporting linux. Guessing this is the 3rd title in the "top 10" you mentioned.
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.
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.

[–] MrSoup@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 weeks ago

What's it the top 10 of?

ProtonDB says that them are "Measured by peak concurrent players".

[–] gary@piefed.world 31 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

We've come a long way from GNOME Mahjongg and SuperTux.

[–] morto@piefed.social 14 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Don't forget supertuxkart!

[–] fin@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago

STK is amazing. It even runs on Android

[–] gary@piefed.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Its a classic

[–] Eh_I@lemmy.world 23 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

as Windows 10 dies

It wasn't sick, they took it behind the shed and shot it!

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

Then again, it was windows, it got what it deserved

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[–] Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

You can use protonup-qt to install ge-proton (ge-proton10-23 is the most current).

It's a community build of proton that includes additional fixes and workarounds. It updates a bit more often than Valve's proton so issues that pop up are usually fixed pretty quickly.

[–] FreddiesLantern@leminal.space 17 points 2 weeks ago

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.

[–] LucidNightmare@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 2 weeks ago

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!

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

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/37274818

[–] PixelPinecone@lemmy.today 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I 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.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

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.

[–] BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You’re probably not missing much — if your computer’s from 2018, newer graphics drivers won’t bring major benefits, and stability is likely your main goal.

That said, you’re not representative of all gamers, and older systems can still run into issues. For those with newer GPUs or who want to use the latest Proton or Wine, a bleeding-edge distro will usually work better. Linux relies on thousands of interdependent packages, and while Debian backports security fixes, it rarely updates package versions. This ensures stability but causes compatibility gaps as newer software depends on newer libraries.

Bleeding-edge tools like Proton and Wine evolve alongside their dependencies, so older, stable bases gradually fall behind. Backports help, but only to a point.

If gaming, especially new titles, is your focus, a more up-to-date distro will give you fewer issues. You don’t need a fully rolling release, but Debian-based distros with faster release cycles (every 6–12 months) offer a good balance between stability and modern software.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Sure. I guess because this version of debian is quite fresh (Trixie came out in august, this version is 13.1 already) I am not seeing that much "oldness", and the problem with this choice might come out as the OS ages.

But if I really need dependent packages updated, can't I add sources to apt and discover that have never versions of the packages?

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[–] Allero@lemmy.today 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

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.

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[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] pupbiru@aussie.zone 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

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

[–] Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 7 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

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.

Monster Hunter Wilds runs great (for mh wilds) - it's basically the same as windows.
Age of Wonders 4 feels like it has better 1% lows and overall stability.
Enshrouded feels like it runs better than windows.
Farthest Frontier just worked on the 1.0 release, no issues.
Eternal Strands just works.
Soulmask just works.
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.

[–] BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Install Qemu and have a play with Kernal Virtual Machines to try other distros. You can get a feel for them in a near native speed and find something you like.

Even if you stay with your current distro, VMs are useful. I have a Win11 VM (fully licensed), as well as some dedicated linux VMs sandboxed for testing software, and a VM set up with a VPN for torrenting, plus a variable number that I play with to learn linux. I've set up Arch from scratch in a VM just for fun/interest for example.

[–] ViceroTempus@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

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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[–] Maxxie@piefed.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

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

[–] reddifuge@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I play arma reforger, dayz, clair obscur, half sword, factorio, beamng multiplayer all on linux.

Linux gaming is great now.

[–] OrgunDonor@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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

[–] reddifuge@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Logitech g920 Wheel with WMR headset. Hp reverb G2.

[–] okamiueru@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Had a similar issue with HD2. Tried it again a month ago, no issues.

[–] gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I just checked and yes it's gold

[–] SailorFuzz@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] fin@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

Why not give her another laptop with ZorinOS installed and see if she can make the switch?

[–] vane@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 7 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

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.

[–] Mesophar@pawb.social 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

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.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

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.

[–] refalo@programming.dev 1 points 2 weeks ago

Unfortunately, none of my TeknoParrot games run under Linux.

[–] Sektor@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Does this apply for older games, early to mid 2000s? I have new pc to put together and a Mint on an usb ready.

[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Generally those run even better on Linux

[–] Qwel@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

You can check if your games are compatible on http://protondb.com/

If you have the game as a cd-rom or "just files", you will have to copy the files inside a windows-compatibility environment. It won't just start on double-click. Bottles has a pretty UI to create windows environments and run executables in them

[–] Sektor@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Tnx man, I'm neck deep in windows emulation :D

[–] Benchamoneh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I dual booted primarily Linux (Ubuntu) with a Windows 7 backup while at University, but since then I've been mainly on Windows for compliance on work machines and reverted to running Windows 10 on my old (2012 era) desktop hardware.

Worth the recent death of Windows 10 I tried to jump back to Ubuntu but my God what is this flatpak nonsense and all the other shit they've pulled over the years?? It felt very different and lasted about 4 boots before installing the nVidia driver left me stuck at 1280x720 resolution. I haven't booted it since.

Looking for suggestions on Linux distros to try that are flatpak free and ideally Debian based, but modern enough to run steam, wine, proton and legacy nvidia drivers

[–] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 week ago

You don’t need to install anything as flatpacks. They are just a convenience

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