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Steam data reveals PC gamers shifting from Windows to Linux
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this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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If all you do is game, outside of a few key games (Destiny 2, uhh,couple others) the experience on Linux is better for many folks.
The success of Steam Deck has helped a lot. Prior to that Linux ports tended to be very perfunctory and they weren't tested or supported very well. I guess that now there are actual Linux gamers (via Steam Deck), that support has improved. That said, I think outside of Steam Deck and SteamOS, your experience of gaming is going to be extremely dependent on your GPU, driver support and a number of other factors. Things are far more likely to work well on Windows than they would for Linux.
I could drill down into the work that went into DXVK before Proton came about, enabling the Steam Deck, but that's a boring history lesson. I will concede that newer bleeding edge hardware is far more likely to be plug and play on Windows, but one of the leading reasons I transitioned was Windows removing support for the audio chipset on the motherboard for my Ryzen 1600. Every time I rebooted, I'd have to unpack a zip file and reinstall the audio drivers, it was maddening.
In my experience (so, totally anecdotal), my hardware is stable longer on Linux than Windows.
The OS would autoremove them?!
Yeah, it was super fun. I tried reformatting, I bought a new drive and put new Windows on it and the same thing happened.
It's probably Windows update "fixing" you drivers by updating them to the Windows version because it is newer. I had to turn off Windows driver updates, because it kept updating my already fully working 5.1 Dolby digital driver to a newer one that only has dual channel audio, and it also broke the optional optical out my sound card supports (and has installed).
My experience with Linux with Nvidia drivers was basically - hey execute this ".run" file and you get drivers. Okay that worked but then if the kernel updated, the drivers broke and had to be reinstalled. And if the dist upgraded to a new version then the drivers broke completely. And NVidia gave up providing drivers at all for their older GPUs and I was stuck with Noveau which is better than nothing but useless for gaming.
Conversely, some dists are supported by graphics manufacturers with proper packages but there is always that gap where the driver dependencies and the kernel dependencies are out of sync. Or the graphics driver only works on the last couple of dists and support disappears after that. Or you upgrade the dist and then discover there are no drivers for it yet.
I know it rankles some purists, but really there should be an long term, versioned ABI for graphics drivers on Linux. The kernel devs hate binary APIs but it should be in the interests of the likes of NVidia / AMD / Intel to develop and support one for their needs. i.e. a driver works across multiple versions of a kernel and multiple dists and makes it far less onerous for users to install drivers and for manufacturers to support them.
For flat games this is true, there is still work to be done for the VR side of things, even that has advanced by leaps and bounds in just the last 2 or 3 years
check out https://lvra.gitlab.io/ for information on linux VR
Yeah that's the biggest reason I haven't pulled the trigger on a VR set.
The pace of hardware for the last few years has been crazy rapid with almost zero thought given to non-windows OS's. The people working on reverse engineering drivers for headsets get one operable just in time for it to be out of date.
I do a lot more than that, so, hard pass.
I mean, yes, but I also do dev coding work, run AI models, produce audio and video content from my machine. But years ago I adopted a 'No BS' software approach and rid myself of software that was deliberately getting in my way so transitioning to a fully *Nix workflow wasn't an issue for me.
If anyone working with aggressively anticonsumer software right now tried to switch, it's a nightmare.
Is it all in your browser, because pretty much everything is a web app now.
lol no
I never had a single issue so far. Actually, performamce is better on Linux every single time for me. I finally got rid of Windows since I have zero use for it. The only problem could be games with anti cheats.
I'm always surprised when I hear people claiming they work in IT and find Linux to be complicated. I just installed Fedora on two of my friends' machines. Both are cluless about computers and they are doing perfectly fine. Now for basic tasks including gaming, a granny could use it without much issues if any.
When was the last time you tried Linux? If it has been a while, you might be surprised how it has changed recently. Proton made everything so much easier.
I'm not a technical person by the way; just a normal dude who uses Linux now.
lol anyone who works in IT and finds Linux too complicated should not work in IT. Then again, most people who work in IT should not. It’s complex, but all you need to do is learn. People who can’t learn more all the time don’t belong in a field where things change and improve all the time.
I got started with tech starting from when I was like 7 yo in 1980 and ended up in IT since it was a passion of mine and I have an affinity for it. Working as a professional, I saw - DAILY - morons in the field who were bungling every other task they had. They didn’t think the right way, they didn’t understand it, they didn’t love it, and screwed up every other thing they did. DAILY I saw this from techs whose work I was called in to fix after the fact.
It's often easier for those that have few technical skills to learn new things. Simple because they need to unlearn so little. Experts have to put forth much greater effort to forget the "I have always done it this way" an "Why doesn't this respond exactly the same way I'm used to."
It takes far more effort to unlearn years of skills and replace them with new ones.
While This is true, AS long AS you weren't a Windows power User and stick to Distros like Mint with cinnamon The experience will be almost the same and you dont have to relearn that much.
So non-experts have an easier time switching vs a Windows power user?
Depends on what you used to do with your PC. If you are used to writing power shell scripts for doing stuff on your PC, it might take a bit longer to adapt to Linux. If you mainly used GUIs to do small stuff it is much easier to adapt.
So in conclusion yes, as long as the non Power user has some technical knowledge and doesn't get scared away, if the UI looks slightly different.
I recently got a new work laptop with Windows 11. It's just different enough from Windows 10 that it pisses me off to try to find the stuff I need. I end up hunting and grumbling and searching the web for answers to simple things.
If you're going to do that anyway, just try Linux. It's free and easy, and it doesn't steal all your private data, sell it, and use that money to corrupt your government to steal your rights and give them to corporations.
The things that keeps me coming back to Windows in my gaming rig is mostly VR, which I haven't been able to get working on Bazzite.
Though I steam my games with Apollo/Moonlight to Mac's and handhelds, so I rarely need to look at Windows at all.
I have VR running in Kubuntu using the sigh "official" nvidia drivers for my 4070ti super. Many of the games work from (I have over 100 in my library) ok to real good. It is just some of my peripherals have no drivers or software to configure them. I am no expert, but I might be able to assist you in your vr on nix issue, feel free to dm
Thanks, kind stranger, and I might take you up on that, in the days ahead.
I get that it won't be turnkey like in Windows and that I'll probably need a Windows partition (or a dedicated system) for some time longer.
Just so we are clear, you are able to play Steam PCVR games and use the SteamVR environments on your Kubuntu system?
Added monkey wrench, I just use 'Virtual Desktop' for streaming 100% of my PCVR content to a Quest 3 wirelessly. I assume handling the controllers and telemetry is all software for Steam and not needing obscure system calls or api's that will have driver complications?
'Cause in hella ignorant. Lol.
actually, for my vive, the setup was EASIER than on windows as steam does all the heavy lifting and I didn't need to install the vive software, and didn't have to pair my controllers, room setup is simple same as windows.
I only do pcvr, and the steam overlay works for LOOKING at your desktop (sadly can't interact with desktop through steam, it just closes, but there is an easy to install app that is kind of like Desktop+ that gives desktop control with a double press of a button on your controller) or using the steam launcher. I stopped using their environments (I had the basic and some Dr Who ones, some star wars ones like the cantina and millennium falcon) on my older pc cause the environment was adversely affecting performance(don't think it was shutting off completely, I now simply use the empty space on the round grid with mountains in the distance and bring up my steam menu from the controller.
I never used VD and the people I know that do are only on windows.
I wish I had an answer for this one. Can quest use the steam backend like vive/index? if so should be good. I know vive and valve worked together on the software so are compatible that way. Like I said above wrt controllers they just worked with no pairing, both my index controllers and vive wands (I did a quick test for someone who was having issues with vive wands "stuck on the floor while in their hand"
Just make sure you use the steam installer from the steam site, not the flat pack or snap or whatever, they don't have the correct screen lease thing (whatever it is called) and I used Kubuntu simply because when I started my journey KDE was the preferred DE, I personally prefer Gnome but VR dammit, and wayland was the better choice for VR x11 maybe better now for VR but wayland is the future from what I read.
Yeah, that is fair. I personally don't know much about VR so I wound't know.
I admit it might be a a bit more complicated when it comes to make VR or things like a racing wheel work without having to dig around.
I had to move back to windows on my son's computer because of VR... But we now have the quest 3 and most things I want to run just work on that now anyway. It's for the kids really, it's gives me a headache
But year vr on Linux doesn't really work from what I can tell.
It's probably because I'm using an NVIDIA card but I switched an SSD to arch Linux because that's the only thing I could get to actually run a game and not a black or grey screen. Once I finally got steam and heroic launching games I will say only about 60% of the games I've tried work but that's because I'm trying to keep up with some newer games and play Jedi Survivor, The Last of Us part 1 and the Mass effect Legendary Edition and half the time it won't boot or has HDR issues or something. But all my indie or smaller games that are verified I'm surely installing and only playing them there.
lol ya
Maybe depends on what distro you are using. There are ones dedicated for gaming.
Well I tried redhat ubuntu gentoo fedora knoppix mint arch MEPIS and even fucking slackware because apparently i am a masochist
And you will say 'Oh but those are old distros, now they're much betterer!'
Nope the weeks of frustration aren't worth revisiting. You really don't understand how much PTSD I got from the linux forums
Get a techie to set gaming distros for you. My brother installed Bazzite for me and troubleshoots. Speaking of which, Bazzite is meant to be for average users who are less literate on computers. I have rarely had issues on Bazzite unlike with other distros. Indeed, newer distros are better.
I understand. Linux can be daunting for us average Joes. Plenty of information i see on the internet are either outdated, or simply doesn't work.
Bazzite feels so close to feature complete, but there are still corners I stub my toes on.
I have to care about whatever Wayland is, because RustDesk on Bazzite fights me (it's my backup for remoting to fix a machine when moonlight or Steam Link is misbehaving), and I miss Steam PCVR hosting, but both of those are edge cases for most folks and I can forego on most systems.
Meanwhile, the lean, light, singularly focused environment is great and I really do like not having to bother with Windows. I never want Edge to barge in on my day again. I will never subscribe to OneDrive. I don't want an AI companion modem Bonzai Buddy to "help" me remember anything, and memorize my SSN or Birthday along the way.
Your experience isn't normal, I give fedora to the elderly and they have less problems than on windows. You also aren't saying what any of your problems are, bad trolling.