The end of a year is a good time to sit, think and reflect on what a year it has been and what we hope 2023 will bring so here's some of what I want and what I think could happen.
I actually wrote a wishlist for the Steam Deck back in October, and funnily enough pretty much every single point there is still valid right now. Some points have had minor work but most of it hasn't been touched. I hope Valve are reading, because all of those points are what I regularly see people moan and gripe about too.
What else though for the wider picture?
- Neon Prime. Come on Valve, we need a new game from you. A proper one, not another (while very cool) Aperture Desk Job. We had the trademark registration for Neon Prime and leaker / data miner Tyler McVicker thinks it's close to release. What the heck is it? I'm overly keen to find out. With good cross-platform support across Linux desktop, Steam Deck and Windows it could be an easy hit if it's a good multiplayer game like it's expected to be.
- For publishers to actually stop forcing Launchers on us. Don't make me beg. Have you ever met someone who said "heck yeah, the EA App!" or "oh lovely, the 2K launcher" in any kind of serious way? No you haven't — no one has. They almost always add nothing of value, break things constantly (not just on Linux / Steam Deck) and they're just a great big nuisance. I would like for them to just go away, forever. Throw them in the bin. Get them in the sea, just far away from me.
- Valve Deckard. We know from a lot of details going out, that Valve seem to be working on a new VR HMD, one that should be both portable and able to connect up to a PC. It will likely run Linux for the portable mode, hence all their work on Linux (not just for Steam Deck). Gimme. Seriously. The Valve Index is great, but it's also overly bulky and really Valve haven't actually done all that much with it, especially on the Linux side where they've seemingly ignored Index support for some time now and the experience is less than stellar. I have high hopes that the Deckard will be a big improvement in many ways.
- Steam Deck Refresh. Look, the Steam Deck is fantastic overall but it could be better. It's not time yet for a Steam Deck 2, Valve said it themselves that they want to keep the main internals (CPU/GPU) the same to have a good point for developers and gamers but they want to focus on the screen and battery life. So do it. Towards the end of 2023, I would be surprised if we didn't have a confirmation that a nice refresh was on the way for this. The battery life being the biggest gripe people seem to talk about would hopefully get wiped off the table. Having it a bit lighter somehow would be another great bit to focus on, to prevent that hand / wrist strain from longer sessions. I hope Valve keep focusing on improving the Steam Deck, and not entertain the ridiculous idea of exclusive games.
- Half-Life 3, Portal 3. I can dream can't I? Half-Life: Alyx was a true return to form for Valve games, and one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had but I want more! I need to find out what happens after [redacted]. Portal 3 would also be another great one, with the first two being some of my favourite puzzles games and even their own writers want to do a third.
- SteamOS 3 public release. Perhaps another big turning point for Linux and Linux Gaming as a whole? I get comments asking me for info on this daily (no I really don't know). The Steam Deck has turned a great many heads to just how powerful and good Linux can be as a platform, and now it seems many more people want to try it but they're waiting for SteamOS 3 to be released. While I think people would be better off sticking to a proper desktop Linux distribution (like Ubuntu), SteamOS 3 on desktop could actually be quite interesting to see, and with it then being available to more hardware vendors, we could see a true explosion in gaming devices shipping with Linux. 2022 was the year of Linux Gaming thanks to the Steam Deck, perhaps 2023 will truly be the year of Linux on the desktop?
- More Linux Hardware Releases. The Steam Deck is great but we need more, and not just from Valve. More hardware shipping with Linux on it out of the box and properly supported. I've said time and time again, this is what we need to push Linux forward. You can have the best distributions around, the slickest desktop environments, it can truly send Windows packing but it's largely useless if it's not out there in the face of the masses on hardware. It needs to be an oven ready deal; people just need to get it and turn it on.
- For Linux to break 3% on the Steam Hardware & Software Survey. I don't actually think this one is too big of an ask. It's trending towards 2% by the middle of 2023, thanks to the Steam Deck shipping with SteamOS.
- Anti-cheat woes. We already have Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye supporting Linux and Proton (and so Steam Deck too), so it's largely down to game developers to hook up support and many just haven't bothered to do so. There's issues developers and publishers need to think on of course, like opening up a multiplayer game to more platforms that could potentially bring in more cheaters. Both Linux desktop and Steam Deck are a growing market (#1, #2) of players, that I truly hope the Steam Deck's expansion into Asia becomes a turning point on this so that it can no longer be ignored.
- More open source from NVIDIA. In 2022 we had quite a surprise, with NVIDIA opening up their kernel modules and it would be great to see even more like this. They've made a good start and I hope to see them keep pushing. NVIDIA proprietary drivers are a constant nuisance and source of many annoyances for me over the past few years. I would already be on an AMD GPU by now, if OverclockersUK didn't oversell at the 7900 XTX launch.
- GOG Galaxy and Epic Games Store on Linux — officially. Yeah yeah, Steam is great and all but options are better for consumers as a whole. Wine / Proton development has helped firmly bridge the gap of getting games working on Linux, now we need the other stores to follow along but this is the biggest ask, much more of a dream than any of the previous.
What do you want to see throughout 2023?
Don't forget to follow along on YouTube!
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
mr-victory Jan 1, 2023
Controversial opinion: Inclusion of an Android-like official<->rooted system in SteamOS so actual kernel level anticheats and L1 Widevine (for 4K Netflix and others) can be ported to Linux.
The continuing growth of the AMD graphics users on Linux (which should have over taken Nivdia users in the GoL statistics this month if the trend continued) and the likewise growth of OSS graphics driver usage.
It'd be nice to get a native Linux release of Skyrim and/or Fallout 4, especially since "Microsoft loves Linux" and keeps hyping the Steam Deck.
on_en_a_gros Jan 1, 2023
Have you ever met someone who said "heck yeah, the EA App!"Oh quick, let's just jump in a quick battlefield game, I just need to update steam, origin, battlefield and I don't have any time left to play (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻
(and when I do have time, to not deliberate what to play for so long that I end up not playing anything)You should join in on the weekly Weekend Players' Club threads on the forums - it's a really good motivator for this sort of thing.
1) add the missing Linux versions
2) restore Saints Row IV's offline installers without EOS including the removed DLCs
3) restore access to Spear of Destiny missions packs that got removed during the upgrade
What I want from Steam is to fix some bugs like https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/8164 which is very annoying.
Last edited by Klaas on 1 January 2023 at 2:56 pm UTC
For publishers to actually stop forcing Launchers on us.
If they'd actually care for user experience, there would be an easy solution: make them optional (like Feral did). We all know why they won't do that...
For publishers to actually stop forcing Launchers on us. Don't make me beg. Have you ever met someone who said "heck yeah, the EA App!" or "oh lovely, the 2K launcher" in any kind of serious way?there are Launchers that do not break things and do add value but it depends on what you class as a Launcher
Command & Conquer 3, not the ea origin / EA App lets you select the mod you want to play and watch your replays, and when the game was originally released it lets you check for game updates and it was optional
aliens versus predator classic 2000
lets you select the cross-play or the steam version platinum rating on proton DB
the EA App is a digital distribution application getting used as a launcher and the 2K launcher is trash
GOG Galaxy and Epic Games Store on Linux
I do not think this is going to happen IMHO which is a good thing the GOG Galaxy IMHO interface needs a redesign Epic Games Store launcher needs a rewrite to use fewer system resources but there is the heroic launcher
rustybroomhandle Jan 1, 2023
Of course nvidia is the top of the list right now. If they don't get better or more open soon I'll be done with them permanently, but I still use an nvidia card and it is the primary source of headaches for me as a linux gamer.
Other manufacturers also either need to open up their source or start supporting linux, especially elgato. For me the hardest part of moving linux exclusive was actually the loss of use of a lot of gaming related hardware, not the less-than-100%-compatible game library.
#2 "steamboxes". Whether valve makes one (unlikely this year IMO since they already only want 1 targeted hardware profile and the steamdeck's hardware isn't powerful enough for 1080p which is the bare minimum for large displays), or if they finally release a full version of steamOS 3 for desktop use and vendors market/bundle apu mini pc's with it. This would be another big push for gaming on linux since people would no longer have the burden of expensive prebuilts or building their own to get into pc gaming; it would be like the steamdeck, but for home consoles (like xbox or playstation etc). This is obviously part of Valves planning, but sooner rather than later would certainly be better. They could at least just release a Ryzen-only beta ISO while we wait for a wider range of hardware support...
#3 A new steam controller. I have 2 steam controllers, but I never use them. I just don't find them comfortable, personally, without having to consciously hold them a specific way; and the lack of a full set of traditional controls and built-in rechargability make them something that just sits in the box. I always grab my ps5 or 8bitdo controllers and the lack of dual touchpads reduces the list of games I'm willing to play on a big screen with controller. Desktop steamos 3 necessitates a new controller, at the very least, but I also just want a full featured pc gaming controller and there really isn't one on the market.
What I want from GOG is
1) add the missing Linux versions
....
For me I find it unacceptable that companies both:
A) do not have usable official linux versions
B) don't have some sort of linux-compatible full feature api system.
If you're too lazy/closed-minded to make your own linux version then fine, but at least give the community tools to do your work for you. Imagine how much better support we could have of hardware and software if companies would at least offer us proper open sourced api systems to work with.
Valve should then strike a deal with major OEMs to bundle SteamOS 3 and a Steam Controller 2 with desktops/laptops for the same price as the Windows equivalent without a controller (yes, Valve may have to subsidise much of this). Valve would have to help the OEMs with cuatoner support (e.g. maybe sequester some Valve staff with the OEM who trains up support staff for a while). Note that the SteamOS machines must ne in the same page as the Windows machines (i.e. a simple radio button selection) and not on a well-hidden separate section like Dell infuriatingly do with their Linux XPS laptops.
I think this is the only way to significantly increase Linux market share - the vast majority of people stick with the OS their machine was pre-installed with.
- HDR
- VRR
- low latency focused development for everything (speed is everything)
- Proton being faster than native (because windows)
- the death of X.org
- better support for popular gamepads
What will be done in 2023:
- probably nothing because Linux isn't developed to atend the end user.
chickenb00 Jan 1, 2023
Elsewhere, I'd also like to see both a Steam Controller 2 and a Steam Deck Controller. Two controllers would satisfy the two camps constantly bickering: those (like me!) who want touch pads to occupy the primary input space on the controller, and relegate joysticks to the sidelines; and the majority who want a Valve-branded controller with some small touchpads a la Steam Deck, more or less something to pair to their Deck with the same inputs.
I don't think we will see a refresh until mid-2024 at the absolute earliest, and even then I'd feel a little bit spurned that my perfectly-good, barely two-years-old Steam Deck 1.0 must be set aside if I want to take advantage of OLED. If Valve were charitable they'd offer a mail in upgrade service for $150 or whatever.
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