this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2024
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Even gamers nexus' Steve today said that they're about to start doing Linux games performance testing soon. It's happening, y'all, the year of the Linux desktop is upon us. ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

Edit: just wanted to clarify that Steve from GN didn't precisely say they're starting to test soon, he said they will start WHEN the steam OS releases and is adopted. Sorry about that.

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[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 170 points 1 day ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (23 children)

To anyone reading this thinking "once SteamOS comes out, I'll switch", you should know:

Gaming on Linux is already here. Pick a distro and game. You can take advantage of Proton right now. You don't need to wait for one specific distro.

I've personally been gaming on Linux exclusively for about 3 years. Windows games, not Linux games.

Edit: based on other commenters' suggestions, I'll give you some.

I have gamed for those three years on PopOS. It is a distro based on Debian, ultimately, which means it's also related to Ubuntu and Mint. Realistically, you can pick any of those 4 and you should have a nice experience.

Arch is popular with the übergeeks, and I do use it on my laptop, BTW, but you shouldn't use it as a first distro.

The concept of "distro" doesn't really exist for Windows, because you pretty much get one monolithic product. But basically, it is a specific mix of software that works together and relies on the Linux kernel. Imagine it as a "version" of Windows with specific goals, some of which are overlapping (e.g. Mint and Ubuntu tend to cater to the same audience).

If you get far enough into it, the freedom that Linux allows means that you can turn any distro into any other distro.

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 100 points 1 day ago (11 children)

"Pick a distro" is why they're waiting for steamos, presumably.

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[–] vort3@lemmy.ml 35 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

It's actually surprising how easy it is to use.

My wife was playing Baldur's Gate 3 on her windows laptop (GOG version, DRM free) and I just wanted to see if I can run it on my Linux laptop.

Just copied the game folder from her laptop to my external SSD, plugged it into my laptop, ran through proton. Everything works without any issues. Simple as that.

I was pleasantly surprised. We could even join via LAN and had some co-op fun. After trying it out I think I'm buying the game.

[–] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

ran through proton

See, this is after where most gaming folks hop off.

In all fairness, if you just run Lutris (pre-installed on Bazzite), log into GOG from there and install and run the game through their wizard, it also “just works”.
That might be easier for most.

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[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Tbh the vast majority of people who say "ill switch to (insert Linux distro here) when (insert accomplishment here)" will most likley never switch

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[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 2 points 11 hours ago

Thanks Steve

[–] thisisbutaname@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 18 hours ago

I just did that. I have a dual boot laptop where Windows was used exclusively for games, and instead of upgrading that I built myself a PC with an AMD GPU (Nvidia, fuck you!).

So far I haven't run into any problem that I couldn't easily solve, and the only games that won't run are those demanding I install an anti cheat system, but I'm fine not playing those.

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 4 points 15 hours ago

I never really gamed on PC except for Command and Conquer Red Alert and Age of Empires 2. I still got a Steam Deck and it replaced my PC and not just for gaming.

[–] Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip 68 points 1 day ago (15 children)

the biggest wall imo is still getting companies with anticheat games on board.

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 6 points 15 hours ago

I'd rather kick them off the boat.

[–] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 97 points 1 day ago (8 children)

IMO, no one should be playing games with kernel level anticheat. There is no way I would let any big gaming company have that level of control over my PC. It's a security nightmare.

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[–] penquin@lemm.ee 1 points 11 hours ago

They'll come around when the userbase increases. We live in a capitalist world, and these fuckers will always follow the money. They have zero principles, they just want the money.

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[–] Cheems@lemmy.world 38 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I recently switched to fedora and I didn't think it would be difficult, but it was even easier than I expected. Every game I've tried to play has worked perfectly.

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[–] Technus@lemmy.zip 61 points 1 day ago (9 children)

A Linux distro with a great OOTB experience for gamers would go a long way.

  • Steam pre-installed
  • trustworthy Flatpak packages for popular gamer apps like Discord (not uploaded by some nameless rando)
    • TeamSpeak for curmudgeons like me and my friends
  • desktop environment tailored to Windows users
  • auto-install and configure graphics drivers for AMD and Nvidia
  • configurable automatic updates and system backup
  • choice between Chromium, Firefox, etc. for default browser during setup
  • included in Steam Deck compatibility testing
[–] asap@lemmy.world 54 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Luckily for you this already exists, and it's effectively SteamOS:

https://bazzite.gg/

You can even put this on a Steam Deck as a drop-in replacement.

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[–] BmeBenji@lemm.ee 3 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Don’t forget real, well-tested HDR and VR support on all GPUs out of the box.

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