For newer Linux users or people looking to switch, it can be a minefield to try and find accurate and up to date info on what Linux distro to game with. Here to help. What is the best Linux distribution for gaming? It's actually not a tough question.
With how far Linux has come in only the last 2 years, you can play a seriously large amount of games now. Sadly, there's some (quite a lot actually) places out there that seem to slap a new date on old crusty articles and give really bad Linux gaming advice. Most of the people writing these types of articles elsewhere clearly don't use Linux - I do, and I have done for around 15 years now.
Let's start off with what not to do shall we? First off, don't bother with SteamOS from Valve. Currently, it's out of date and has been for some time now. It hasn't been properly updated since 2019! Valve are not working on it but they might return one day. Anyone suggesting it likely has no idea what they're talking about and any website listing it is junk.
Next: Ubuntu GamePack or any "specialized" Linux gaming distribution. You can throw almost all of those types in the trash. They really don't do anything normal Linux distributions don't do already and they can often introduce their own special bugs. I consider them like the old discs you would find in the bargain bin in a local PC store. You really don't need them, don't waste your precious time.
So what to actually install at the end of 2020 and in 2021 to game on Linux?
The answer is actually really simple, it's not a long list and you have two really easy choices: Ubuntu or Pop!_OS. With their LTS versions (Long Term Support), you can use them as a safe bet for years.
Pictured - Ubuntu 20.04 running Steam on my laptop.
Why those? Well, Ubuntu is almost always the most widely used Linux distribution by normal desktop users. On Steam, it has always been on top as the most used distribution by gamers - there's an obvious reason for that too — it works. It's what I always recommend to newer users because it's like a warm cuddly Linux blanket. It's easy to find answers for, and it's not complicated to use. As for Pop!_OS, it's based on Ubuntu and since System76 sell desktop Linux hardware with it you can be sure it's also well tested.
If you do want a specialized distribution, perhaps for a console like experience that SteamOS was supposed to offer then take a look at ChimeraOS. It offers up a good big-screen experience for Steam.
Apart from that, everything you need can be easily installed directly on Ubuntu. Steam for the biggest library of Linux compatible games and for the Steam Play Proton compatibility layer for playing Windows games on Linux, Minigalaxy for GOG games, RetroArch for emulation, itch.io has their own client too for lots of indie gems and the Lutris game manager for everything else. It's really easy to get going too, on Ubuntu you just need to open up Ubuntu Software and search for Steam and it does it for you.
Don't make it complicated for yourself. I say all this as an Arch Linux user, which is a bit of a long-running joke about you always knowing who an Arch user is as they will tell you - and oops, I just fell into it. I'm saying it for good reason though! I have been through Arch Linux, Manjaro, Fedora and more and I still consider Ubuntu to be the number 1 Linux distribution for getting going quickly especially if you're not too comfortable yet.
Keep in mind that just as macOS and Windows do have plenty of issues, so does Linux. Don't expect perfection, be prepared to learn a bit and do things differently. If you need help, we have plenty of resources available for you. We have: a Forum, a Discord, IRC, Matrix, Telegram. You will find answers across there, with the Forum being the best way because search engines pick up answers from forums and do not from social chats like Discord.
Lastly - have fun and keep on gaming on Linux.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: FauconNoirWhy everyone is talking about Pop!_OS ? What is so cool about it compared to others like Ubuntu or Manjaro for example ?
The out-of-the-box experience.
If you don't know how to customize it yourself, then using something as ready as Pop OS has huge value.
Nevertheless Dec 15, 2020
It has been my first recommendation for new users for years, because it's easy to use, stable, reliable, has reasonably current Nvidia drivers and it never stands in your way even if you're not a new user.
Fakeman_Pretendname Dec 15, 2020
If only considering gaming, if I'm honest, it does pretty much all work immediately, and I've had very few problems (still running 18.04 LTS) - but when you're trying to do other work on the machine as well, I feel like I'm increasingly fighting against the OS instead of working with it.
I casually support some older people in my town with "having a working computer", who have now been using Ubuntu for 4 or 5 years (which did cut my "help, I think it's broken" phone calls and visits down to 2 a year each, instead of 2 a week on Windows), but things with disappearing options, strange defaults and Snaps - "special versions of programs that can't, by default, see your fonts, printer, camera, external/network drives or USB sticks" have begun to make it a lot more of a problem.
I'd done an install of Mint for a friend a few months ago and it seemed to have all the positives without the negatives. It was a joy to set up and use - and running the Live USB on both my computers, appeared to work perfectly with my existing machines and equipment. I don't doubt I'll uncover some issues once I'm using it full time, but it looks a very strong contender for what I'll be recommending for the next few years.
DefaultX-od Dec 15, 2020
Quoting: MicromegasQuoting: soulsourceMy personal recommendation would still be Debian Stable. Apart from the installation process (Debian has by far the superior installer) it's like Ubuntu, but a lot more stable. And I really mean _a lot_ more stable.
It seems that it's always a trade-off between latest drivers and updates (and the freedom to install newer software versions) versus a very reliable, stable computing environment. For me Mageia hits the sweet spot here as a very stable distribution for the non tech savvy user with lots of testing by the distribution maintainers and with major upgrades every 1.5 years. But I totally see that users have different needs, like a user of Void or a user of Debian (very) Stable.
My recommendation is Debian stable with backports. (Not necessarily for beginners, though.)
Last edited by Eike on 15 December 2020 at 3:48 pm UTC
I've had good luck gaming on Mint. Stuff tested on Ubuntu should usually work with Mint, since it's basically Ubuntu only better, plus with Cinnamon and Mate which I like as opposed to Gnome 3 which I don't, and without Snaps.
The only thing that makes me hesitate to recommend Mint for gaming is that my understanding is it tends to be a bit old and there are often reasons to want bleeding edge for gaming. Doesn't matter to me, I hardly ever buy games before they're on pretty solid sale or, in general, the kind of game that needs the bleeding edge stuff. But if I'm going to say to someone "Z is the distro you should use for gaming", that might be a problem for recommending Mint.
(Say, thinking of Mint and Snaps, I notice it's got a working Chromium again, where for a while it didn't exactly because Canonical was only packaging it as a Snap and Clem from Mint didn't want that. Anyone know what happened?)
Quoting: Purple Library GuyThe only thing that makes me hesitate to recommend Mint for gaming is that my understanding is it tends to be a bit old and there are often reasons to want bleeding edge for gaming.That problem is easily solved with a PPA or two, just like you'd do on Ubuntu.
Quoting: Purple Library Guy(Say, thinking of Mint and Snaps, I notice it's got a working Chromium again, where for a while it didn't exactly because Canonical was only packaging it as a Snap and Clem from Mint didn't want that. Anyone know what happened?)Mint started maintaining their own Chromium packages to get around the issue.
Last edited by tuubi on 15 December 2020 at 5:30 pm UTC
legluondunet Dec 15, 2020
Quoting: pbI'm gaming on SteamOS 2, but eagerly waiting for SteamOS 3.
I liked SteamOS too for the PC I have connected to the TV, but it has got no updates including security updates since summer 2019, so I gave up on it. I doubt SteamOS 3.0 will ever be releases, and if then how can we trusty Valve to not also drop support on that without any announcement?
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