Should you switch to Linux gaming?

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Linux gaming has progressed over the past few years to become, in some respects, a viable competitor to Windows for gaming. But should you swap to Linux? The answer to this question is: it depends. What matters is whether the games you care about work, and whether you are willing to commit the time to get everything working. You should really see how you like Linux as a general desktop experience first, and then try gaming on it.

Considerations

Gaming on Linux can be more complicated than gaming on Windows. If you want a computer that just works, then Linux is probably not the system you want to use. You should not be expecting a drop in replacement, Linux is different in a lot of ways. You should also not expect a flawless experience. Linux can be painless, but be prepared to encounter issues that you will have to research and solve. However, this experience is very rewarding, and you will end up getting a system that does exactly what you want.

Pros

  • Popular Linux distributions don't spy on you.
  • You don't have to keep up with Windows releases and can keep using your Linux installation for a long time.
  • It doesn't nag you to use Edge, Skype, Teams and it doesn't show you ads in the file explorer or Bing results in the start menu.
  • Linux is significantly more secure by design with access restrictions placed on many applications. Due to Linux's smaller market share for desktop use, most malwares (viruses, worms, spywares, adwares, ransomwares) target Linux servers. You can even sandbox games or applications. Wine can still run Windows malwares though[1].
  • You learn valuable knowledge that can make using your computer much easier.
  • Some games (like those using in Vulkan) perform better on Linux (input lag, framerate) by default and if you tweak your system accordingly or use FSR, you might have significantly better performance in some games. Linux can be modified and optimized at its core a lot more easily than Windows thanks to to its open source nature.
  • If you mostly play indie games, single-player games, older games or do game emulation, you'll likely have a satisfactory gaming experience on Linux.
  • The system and almost all software are completely free, without ads and trial versions.
  • Older hardware stays usable and it basically has no system requirements.
  • It's also free as in freedom. It respects your choices. If you don't want to do updates now, it will not force you. If you want to change your browser, it will let you.
  • It's customizable. You can choose between many different file managers, thousands of themes, task bars, start menus, docks and all kind of other things. There are multiple collections of these things, called "Desktop Environments" (like Cinnamon, KDE Plasma or GNOME) and "Window managers" (like Sway or labwc) which all look and feel vastly different.
  • Old Windows games compatibility. They might run better and have no dependencies issues (when two games want to install the same thing but two different versions of it, for example C++ redistributable) because all games live in their own personal Windows filesystem. Of course this doesn't apply to all games, so your mileage may vary.
  • Many games can be installed without problems and, usually, problems can be fixed within a couple minutes. Over 80% of the top 1000 games on Steam run without issues, and only 3% don't run at all[2].
  • Installing software is much easier, you don't need to search shady websites for downloads, you just open your software center and download whatever you want, like on Android or iOS. You have the option to install software in other ways, too, such as via the terminal and a package manager, but some people may find that more difficult when starting off.
  • Linux is much smaller in terms of file size, and doesn't tend to slow down over time like Windows does, which means you rarely have to reinstall to improve performance. There are also issues which you can run into on Windows which require you to reinstall it, of which, many you have just learned to avoid.

Cons

  • You can already tweak Windows to have better privacy so that it doesn't spy on you as much. If you use Windows 10 Education or Enterprise, the spying can even be completely disabled (if you trust that Microsoft doesn't lie to you).
  • Modern Windows Defender is often all that is needed to have a reasonably secure system. Provided you don't download files or programs from unreputable sources and use your common sense, you're unlikely to run into malwares.
  • You may run into issues which require you to reinstall your operating system.
  • On most distributions, the out-of-the-box performance can be a lot worse than on Windows when playing some games.
  • Even if most games should work out of the box, some of them are harder to install or configure on Linux.
  • Linux works differently to Windows. Learning how to use it can be time consuming and you may need technical knowledge to understand what's going on.
  • Game modding support vary on Linux. While games like Minecraft, Terraria and most games with Steam Workshop support are easy to mod, it's not always as easy. It really depends on the individual tools used.
  • A lot of racing sim equipment isn't well-supported on Linux.
  • Virtual reality is doable on Linux, mainly through the Valve Index headset. But it currently lacks many quality of life features, and isn't really worth recommending as of right now.
  • Some hardware won't work as well and you may need to buy new computer parts.
  • Games requiring an anti-cheat software or an intrusive DRM, like AAA multiplayer ones, are a mixed bag[3]. Again, it really depends on the game as Elden Ring, for example, worked on day one.

Future

References

  1. ↑ https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/wikis/FAQ#is-wine-malware-compatible
  2. ↑ https://www.protondb.com/dashboard
  3. ↑ https://areweanticheatyet.com/
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