- cross-posted to:
- steamdeck@sopuli.xyz
- cross-posted to:
- steamdeck@sopuli.xyz
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As a long time Linux enjoyer, this is honestly the easiest way to get it into the mainstream. People have already seen the success of the steam deck which only reinforces that Linux can be used for gaming better than ever before. As long as people stop using Windows I’m here for it.
Eh, I don’t really care if they stop using Windows, I care that they start using Linux. Dual boot if you need, but more market share for Linux increases the likelihood that devs will support Linux directly.
If linux breaks 5 or 10% marketshare on hardware surveys, developers will start thinking about the 300-600 dollars they lose every 100 sales simply from disabling anti-cheat on linux.
For sure. I’m doing the dual boot life these days because as much as I want every game to work on Linux there are still some that don’t. And some games just work better on Windows. But at the same time that’s why more devs supporting Linux is what we wanna see.
I’m always curious tochear what games people aren’t able to run in Linux. Which ones are you unable to run?
It’s mostly the problems with anti cheats. The one that comes to mind is Helldivers. I already hated the anti cheat for that game but it’s impossible on Linux. If I was still into Apex Legends I’m sure Easy Anti Cheat would cause some issues but I’m not sure. If Easy Anti Cheat doesn’t work then there are a lot of games to add to that list like Halo and The Finals. I can’t name a lot off the top of my head but Easy Anti Cheat is super popular with devs of online games.
Proton has modules for EasyAntiCheat. I have played Halo on Arch. I don’t know about Helldivers, or Apex. But I absolutely know anticheat is an issue on Linux. Well if you ask me it is more so that these Kernel level anti-cheat mechanisms need to die.
(iirc) Apex worked great up until recently, when they started deliberately banning Linux players.
Helldivers or Helldivers 2? HD2 runs very well in Linux.
Helldivers 2. It kept crashing so I figured it was because of the anti cheat. Perhaps it was just user error and I need to try again.
I’ve played Helldivers 2 for over 400 hours now, and all of that has been on linux.
Look it up on protondb, there’s some launch options you could try.
openSUSE, Mass Effect Legendary Edition does not boot on my setup, but on ProtonDB, it says gold. Just using Proton did not work for me, so I don’t know what extra BS people did to get it running, but yeah. That’s a recent one I’ve run into.
Not super familiar with openSUSE, but you could get protonup-qt and install Proton-GE.
I tried that too, as I did have the GE option under compatibility when trying different versions. It just won’t install EA’s shitty app. I feel like on one of the Proton versions, it did “install” and booted up, but then just showed a black screen with nothing afterwards. I shut it down to try again because I know how finicky these things can be, and then the EA app was saying t wasn’t installed. I gave up after about an hour and went back to Windows. I work way too much to be able to sit there and tinker with this crap when I get off from a 10 hour shift…
I mean, use the tool that fits the job. I could probably help point you in the right direction. Is it from steam, or straight EA play app?
more market share for Linux increases the likelihood that devs will support Linux directly.
I’m starting to wonder if that’s true. I thought so do but now I’m wondering, especially with compatibility layers like Proton, and even Wine before that, and plenty of tools like Electron, Unity, etc helping to be cross-platform, if the lack of support is rather due to bad habits instilled by years of Microsoft partnership with manufacturers (and thus driver support) implying that drivers must be kept secret and thus Linux support is “bad for business” and that then cascades down to developers then users.
I think it’s more that devs see Linux support as a liability. Linux market share is low, and supporting Linux opens them up to Linux specific cheats, so they’ll need to spend resources on Linux specific mitigations. Why do all that for ~2% market share, most of whom seem content not playing their games?
I don’t think we need to jump to conspiracy theories. If Linux adoption gets to 10% or so and still see this issue maybe the conspiracy theory carries some weight.
Imagine gaming with no windos OS…. The future is better!
No need to imagine!
I just installed Linux and holy shit it is so much easier and more straight forward than a windows install. Really wish I would have done it sooner.
It’s funny because while some of it has to do with work to make Linux desktops better, a non-trivial amount of it is how worse Microsoft has made it to deal with Windows.
Because Windows is a data-mining and advertising tool these days, more than anything. So they want to make sure you have a MS account on day 1 and that you have to opt out of all of their services 34 times over before they let you use the damn thing.
Yep, and then have to opt out all over again the next week when an update decides you need to verify you really mean to opt out again…
And if you managed to not have an MS account when you installed, interrupt your login and say “you cannot proceed like you have been doing for the past year without adding an MS account now”, and then look up how to get out of that dialog without doing the MS account…
Yep 100% this kind of shit drove me away a couple years ago. It had nothing to do with Linux getting better and everything to do with Windows getting worse.
Also, some (most) annoyances with installing Linux, still, is primarily due to Microsoft managing to fuck things up in subtle ways.
Creating an offline account to install windows is worse than installing 99% of the Linux distros out there.
I had issues with drivers, like I would have to find them somewhere on the internet, trust a random stranger to download and install them. And even then some things required me to launch drivers manually every single time I wanted to use my hardware.
I had issues with games, constant crashes or some games flat out not working. Some even crashing the entire system occationally.
I had issues where my pc would randomly turn on. Going to sleep was funky and would break the system requiring restart. I had to find drivers for my audio systems to get them running.
I had to run around confusing settings and tweak them through different control panels made by random people that largely overlapped to fix basic issues.
Thankfully those issues were solved the moment I installed linux.
As a Mac user I too want SteamOS to succeed, because it will indirectly result in more games that are compatible with macOS via game porting tools and wine.
Honestly windows is just annoying to deal with. I don’t like the ads, and I don’t like my start menu bar being reorganized. I run it in a VM and managing my install keys is a huge pain with their login system.
Linux is awesome, it’s neat watching its developer friendliness result in snowballing market share.
That would be nice, having good competition solves a lot of problems. Plus if steamOS gains enough traction more large game studios may start to specifically support it.
Steam is terrified of the Microsoft store. It’s part of why they’re moving to linux
Even MS hasn’t dared to release a version of Windows you can’t switch out of “S mode” yet, but the fact that it even exists would be troubling for them.
MS would love a walled garden like Apple have made, but there’s no way in hell it would ever pan out for them, and certainly not before regulation arrives (probably from the EU) that would stamp it out, and that’s before you take into account the business implications. Windows only exists because of all the pre-existing software. Flattening the only reason to stay would be suicide.
Sure, but Valve is terrified of the Microsoft store for a subtly, but importantly, different reason than why Microsoft should be terrified of Steam OS.
Microsoft should be terrified that Steam OS will destroy their monopoly by making it so users no longer have to use their product.
Valve is terrified that Microsoft will destroy their monopoly by making it so users no longer can use their product.
Microsoft has already lost the console wars, and now it starts to look like they might even lose the PC wars. Is there any future for Microsoft gaming? It feels like the only thing they got going for them is Call of Duty.
Is there any future for Microsoft gaming?
Yes, in the “Netflix of Gaming” Game Pass, they’ve already been pivoting on it more and more. They know they’re losing their hardware dominance
Only a matter of time IMO before they work on getting Game Pass games on Linux. Which would be great because I got the bulk of my games from Game Pass these days lol
The only real limitation for Game Pass on Linux is market share. There’s no way Microsoft passes up that money if Linux gaming gets big enough.
True. When they start feeling threatened, they will bite as hard as they can.
I hope the installer will be so easy that even non-gamers with little to no technical knowledge will be able to download it, double-click, and follow the wizard then end up with SteamOS installed. That would be the dream.
SteamOS will let you pay games from GOG, right?
Because they’re DRM free, they’re super easy to install too! Another install method is Heroic
Yes you just have to sideload the client. I believe Lutris makes it easy but I don’t use GOG myself.
Heroic makes it even easier
I’m legitimately curious how many half-baked ad-filled second-to-the-punch products will be too many for Microsoft before they finally capitulate.
I hope to see this before the EoL date set for Windows 10 and a bunch of people throw out perfectly good machines to buy something that works with Windows 11.
Personally, I won’t use Windows 11 on my home machines. But my concern is that I install a distro this year and want to switch to SteamOS later, but would have to start over with customizations, etc. in the new distro. I wish SteamOS was available now for gaming rigs!
I think Steam Machines would be successful now.
When most/all multiplayer games start working on Linux that’s when Linux can really start taking off.
They do. We’re already there.
The only titles that don’t work are the ones with kernel level anti-cheat, and that needs to die anyway.
Are you serious? Most games can be played on Linux? I don’t care about the kernel anti cheat games, since that shit is not going on my pc anyway
I played enshrouded and path of exile and Diablo and Elden ring coop and bg3 coop all with zero issues except on like the first few days of release if there are any.
The worst thing right now about Linux multiplayer gaming with anticheat is the release day experience. Or if it’s a AAA title with heavy graphics expectations, odds are they use some weird directx fuckery that’s not available in vulkan immediately and needs patching.
All of that gets fixed when Steam deck compatibility at launch day becomes more of a thing, so it’s just a matter of time tbh. I’ve been using Linux dual-boot since Hardy Heron and as my sole OS since 2018, 2025 may be honestly the year of the Linux desktop no joke.
I’m waiting for a MS vs Steam lawsuit where MS tries to sue over the usage of the Windows api
They would have a hell of a time trying to say they want to control API usage after letting everyone and their mother use it free and unrestricted for decades. But I wouldn’t put it past them to try.
