A look at the top 100 Steam games on Linux - January 2022 edition

If you use a tool like ProtonUp-Qt (AppImage), the time it takes to install Proton GE is reduced to essentially your download speed for ~400 MB and a few seconds for the automated installtion.
This awesome tool supports downloading and installing many other things for Steam/Heroic/Lutris as well, Proton-GE, Lutris-Wine, Luxtorpeda to name but a few.

From that list, I own around 10% of the games, and probably have not heard about 40% of the others, and not interested in the rest. It's becoming easier for people like me xD

76%? Not good enough, it must be 100% or Linux fails! FAILS!

Sorry, my sarcasm gland is throbbing something fierce over here.

Between a certain video series and a well known Linux Youtuber telling people not to game on Linux I am a little grumpy. I understand criticisms, but I prefer a "here's what you must know" format to a "don't do it unless you are weird" type attitude, especially when they set unrealistically high bars*

* unrealistically high if you are high jumping, or unrealistically low if you are limbo dancing

Halo Infinite depends on DirectX 12 API calls that Vulkan does not have an equivalent for (yet), so there's nothing Valve can do with VKD3D unless they start funding Vulkan development, which is unfortunate. I'm sure it's not the only new game on this list like that. On the other hand, from what I've played of the multiplayer and heard of the campaign...I'm not sure I even want to play it. I do want Halo: MCC to use a version of EAC that supports Proton, though.

Quoting: rustybroomhandle76%? Not good enough, it must be 100% or Linux fails! FAILS!

Sorry, my sarcasm gland is throbbing something fierce over here.

Between a certain video series and a well known Linux Youtuber telling people not to game on Linux I am a little grumpy. I understand criticisms, but I prefer a "here's what you must know" format to a "don't do it unless you are weird" type attitude, especially when they set unrealistically high bars*

* unrealistically high if you are high jumping, or unrealistically low if you are limbo dancing

My opinions are mixed. On the one hand, setting people up with high expectations is historically a bad idea because it doesn't end well for anyone, with animosity on all sides. But saying that GNU/Linux is DOA as a gaming platform is a bizarre take to me. For one thing, it really depends on what games you play. And for another, it has a library many times larger than any singular gaming console—and that's if you just count the Steam games. If, however, gaming is a social exercise for you, you're likely not going to be able to play games with your friends frequently. And it's not the only issue.

Coaxing eroge into functioning on GNU/Linux is an exercise in frustration I wouldn't recommend lightly, for instance. And when I finally do get them working, what I wouldn't give to be able to fullscreen some of these games without them crashing...800x640 resolution is not fun. If you're the type of person who mostly plays this genre of games, there's miles to go. Even if there's only really 2 or 3 DRM schemes blocking the way, my bet is that they're 10 years away from working in WINE, if they ever work at all.


Last edited by pleasereadthemanual on 4 January 2022 at 12:24 pm UTC

Quoting: rustybroomhandle76%? Not good enough, it must be 100% or Linux fails! FAILS!

I see Linux as equivalent of console gaming. If you buy a PlayStation, you do not expect to be able to run XBox games. In the same way I fully realize that when running Linux I will not be able to play all Windows games, and that is fine.

The latest Call of Warfare does not run on Linux? Well, I am an adult with a full-time job, and a several hundred games backlog on Steam. By the time I will have time to even consider playing it, Call of Warfare 4 will be out, and I will still have hundreds of other games to choose from.

Quoting: Guest

Quoting: Linas

Quoting: rustybroomhandle76%? Not good enough, it must be 100% or Linux fails! FAILS!

I see Linux as equivalent of console gaming. If you buy a PlayStation, you do not expect to be able to run XBox games. In the same way I fully realize that when running Linux I will not be able to play all Windows games, and that is fine.

The latest Call of Warfare does not run on Linux? Well, I am an adult with a full-time job, and a several hundred games backlog on Steam. By the time I will have time to even consider playing it, Call of Warfare 4 will be out, and I will still have hundreds of other games to choose from.

This isn't the same as PS Vs Xbox exclusives. If you buy a Steam based console you expect to be able to play everything in your Steam library

Why? This makes no sense. If that is the expectation they are setting for your users then yes, but if they are telling people that "these 80% verified green tick games work" then you should not expect to run the other 20% and then complain about it.

QuoteThen there is the thorny issue of games not on Steam which, again, millions are going to want to play. Gamers are going to be able to expect to download EA Origin, Uplay, Epic (most will not know about Heroic) and expect to be able to install it. Again it won't be Steam or the developers of those stores who get the blame.

Why would customers expect to be able to play non-Steam games on the Steam Deck? I don't buy an Xbox console expecting to play PlayStation games, or a Switch expecting to play Xbox games.

You can argue that Valve is setting up this expectation by talking about how open it is, and how the customer actually owns the product, but this isn't a normal expectation at all.

In fact, I wonder how these users would even stumble out of the Steam client mode and onto the "regular desktop" and then onto epicgames.com. It's not obvious to me, from the few videos I've seen on it.

QuoteIt will be an unpopular opinion but Valve would have been better off shipping Windows on the Steam Deck out of the box and just not locking down the bootloader for anyone who wants to install linux.

That entirely depends on what Valve wants out of the Steam Deck. Most companies end up losing a lot of money on consoles anyway and make it back on the games and services.

Keep in mind that not all of these games would be playable on a Windows version of the Steam Deck, either. I can't imagine playing MapleStory or something like it on the Steam Deck; that would be painful. I think Valve really wants a platform—their own platform. Just like Microsoft wanted a Direct XBox, and Sony based their PlayStations on FreeBSD.

Ultimately, of course, the customer will decide if they want to be on that platform. Guess we'll find out next month.

Quoting: rustybroomhandleWhy? This makes no sense. If that is the expectation they are setting for your users then yes, but if they are telling people that "these 80% verified green tick games work" then you should not expect to run the other 20% and then complain about it.

Well, if you go to the website, they don't say anything about some of your games not working. They set up expectations to the contrary like:

Steam, without compromises

Your Steam library is already on your Deck.

Once you've logged into Steam Deck, your entire Steam Library shows up, just like any other PC. You'll be able to find your collections and favorites - exactly where you left them.

Quoting: pleasereadthemanual

Quoting: rustybroomhandleWhy? This makes no sense. If that is the expectation they are setting for your users then yes, but if they are telling people that "these 80% verified green tick games work" then you should not expect to run the other 20% and then complain about it.

Well, if you go to the website, they don't say anything about some of your games not working. They set up expectations to the contrary like:

Steam, without compromises

Your Steam library is already on your Deck.

Once you've logged into Steam Deck, your entire Steam Library shows up, just like any other PC. You'll be able to find your collections and favorites - exactly where you left them.

And I still think it's really bad to market it like that, but the other side is...it's marketing, of course they're going to say that. The reality, as we all know, is different. Unless, they are hiding a number of Proton updates and have more anti-cheat stuff lined up.

Quoting: Liam Dawe

Quoting: pleasereadthemanual

Quoting: rustybroomhandleWhy? This makes no sense. If that is the expectation they are setting for your users then yes, but if they are telling people that "these 80% verified green tick games work" then you should not expect to run the other 20% and then complain about it.

Well, if you go to the website, they don't say anything about some of your games not working. They set up expectations to the contrary like:

Steam, without compromises

Your Steam library is already on your Deck.

Once you've logged into Steam Deck, your entire Steam Library shows up, just like any other PC. You'll be able to find your collections and favorites - exactly where you left them.

And I still think it's really bad to market it like that, but the other side is...it's marketing, of course they're going to say that. The reality, as we all know, is different. Unless, they are hiding a number of Proton updates and have more anti-cheat stuff lined up.

I don't begrudge them for it, I was simply challenging the argument that all customers know what they're getting into. We know the reality is different, but I have to wonder how many others don't.

On the other hand, of course, you are right. They have to come out strong with a product like this, not start putting doubts into customers' minds. I'm personally partial to CodeWeavers' marketing for CrossOver, but that's a $60 software product that you can trial. Not a $399 hunk of metal you have to ship back.

I've heard some strange rumors about Valve holding onto an "internal" version of Proton that is supposedly much different to what regular users have access to, but I've dismissed it as people misunderstanding something about ProtonDB.

Time will tell, I suppose.