I am thrilled that we are talking about linux again

The potential of a vastly better gaming experience

Over a decade ago I worked through a very long guide on how to compile a Nvidia driver so that I could play League of Legends on my Ubuntu laptop.

I loved the idea of linux gaming, unburdened from the shackles of Windows and its issues and price tag.

But no matter how many things seemed to be heading into that direction, it didn’t quite take off.

We had high profile linux ports, massive upgrades to Wine, Steam Machines, gaming distros, and official linux support from the likes of Nvidia, and yet windows stayed the dominant gaming OEM.

I’ll admit I mostly gave up. As I grew in adulthood with adult money, I had less time and desire to tinker with making an operating system work when I really just wanted to build a kick-ass gaming rig and play my game with no hassle (even windows there was plenty of hassle if we’re being honest).

Then Valve, who we all believed had given up on their linux gaming goals, released the Steam Deck. A portable gaming computer, that not only ran linux, but some super charged linux that made AAA windows only games work, no porting required.

It changed everything.

For me, I got rid of my gaming rig, I wasn’t using it much, I preferred playing big games on my Xbox in front of my large TV, and for Indies and small games I was using the Switch. My personal computing needs were being met by the Apple devices slowly taking over my house, and so I no longer needed Windows in my house.

The best change to that equation was swapping out the Switch for a SteamDeck, I didn’t really play Nintendo games and the Steam Deck sounded amazing, and it was.

But what I didn’t expect for it to re-ignite my passion for linux.

I don’t just own a SteamDeck, I optimize it. Before I play a game, I check ProtonDb to know the best set up. I make sure I have the latest CryoUtilities set up, and I don’t just settle for Valves Proton, I make sure I’m always running the latest GloriousEggroll.

I find myself reading GamingOnLinux articles more than ever before, excited about news about Linux supported games, updates to FSR, and all the exciting things the community is doing.

If you had told me a decade ago that this is what was going to change the tide in Linux gaming, I wouldn’t have believed you. But it all makes sense in hindsight.

It needed Windows to maintain their poor customer service and indifference to their dedicated market, it needed someone huge to change the tide with something people have to have, and it needed the fundamental architecture to shift.

ARM is changing computers in what can only be referred to as a format shift. I play a decent amount of games on my M3 MacBook Pro because the support and technology is there.

It feels good to be exciting about Linux gaming again.