Linux gaming trends shaping the future
Linux gaming trends shaping the future
Linux gaming has evolved significantly over the past year. What used to offer around 35 to 50 frames per second can now reach 70fps with higher settings. Tools like Wine, DXVK, Lutris, and SteamPlays have helped bring competitive play closer to reality. The challenge is figuring out the future of Linux gaming—can it grow its user base meaningfully? While Windows laptops currently lead with up to 5% performance advantage, Linux devices could become more appealing if they deliver comparable results. What are your thoughts?
I’m growing frustrated with Windows. It wasn’t the final blow, but I was really annoyed when my PC shut down without asking for a Windows update, and there are plenty of other issues like annoying notifications about faster alternatives, file deletion problems, and security concerns. Almost every game can now run smoothly on Linux, so I’m thinking about switching soon.
If Microsoft keeps moving forward as planned, Linux looks increasingly appealing. But if they commit to making Windows more modular and customizable, the shift might not be as strong. I’ve considered switching before, but allowing me to turn off Cortana and manage notifications will keep me on Windows.
You're likely sticking with what you know unless you're open to trying something new. This update helps those who already use it, though most everyday users won't see the value right away. Fun fact: meme bonus included!
I’m currently using Windows since NVIDIA Optimus laptops still have poor GPU drivers. However, I’ve been working with Linux a lot and feel very at ease with it. If Linux driver updates improve enough for me to run Microsoft Office smoothly, I’ll make the switch.
It's DXVK and the extra work going into the staging patches that have pushed things forward, Lutris and Proton are just accessibility tools for those unwilling or unable to compile their own wine executable, or wait for it to go mainstream. When PBA came out it was an amazing improvement, and over the last year has been slowly but steadily out performed by DXVK now to the point it's about half as good. Also, games that run one core at 100% on windows, get "load balanced" (for want of a better term) by wine, I dunno what the overhead of this is, if it's intentional or even just a reporting error... I also get typically about twice as much network latency from the windows network stack than I do the linux one, even with wine in between. I can't see the blistering pace of gfx performance increases we've seen over the last 12 months continue to follow the same trend, not for as long as the next 12 months at least, but I didn't expect to see the change I have, so hopefully I'll be wrong on this point. Right now, I can play my games with good performance, and nice looking settings too, I have complete control of what gets updated and when, the only files that get deleted are the ones I choose to delete. I have a large community of skilled techies to call on if I have issues, who don't suggest switching it off and on again. I actually look forward to driver updates because they so often result in noticeable performance gains. I use a meta distro, so do all this on a OS that was installed over 10 years ago, but is still up to date. If the amount of fondling you have to do to make windows behave itself continues to increase, as it has up to this point in time, coupled with further user friendly ways of using wine like Lutris and Proton, it will be easier and more viable for annoyed gamers to switch with less initial investment in learning how to. Mainstream, no, can't see it, too much proprietary software out there, how many times have we been asked "is this the year the linux desktop goes mainstream?". So many rigs are not exclusively used for gaming, if you have to fondle windows for other reasons, there is no sense in dual booting unless you value what linux has to offer as much as I do, I think most people don't and won't.
I prefer avoiding WINE for Overwatch, but soon I plan to dual boot a system like Ubuntu to understand its requirements. It's not ideal yet, but it improves daily.