In a few previous years (#1, #2), I decided to do a fresh take each time on what the best Linux distribution was for gaming - so I'm back for a 2025 edition of the article that will cause you to tell me how wrong and terrible I am.
What's changed? Well, quite a lot actually. Both previous times I firmly suggested going with plain Ubuntu. However, time moves on, and the software world evolves rather quickly. So I have a new recommendation for you! Why am I even writing this? Sadly, there's still articles out there pushing for tiny completely random fringe distributions and plenty with stupidly outdated and republished information to get to the top of Google.
My current home for a while now, and what I'll recommend you pick up, is Kubuntu. It has all the goodies and support of plain Ubuntu, but with the KDE Plasma desktop environment, which is the same one used on the Steam Deck's Desktop Mode. It has an interface that will be much more familiar to people coming over from Windows, it's more customizable (if you want it) but with a sane default setup that just gets you going quickly.
The latest Long Term Support (LTS) version of Kubuntu, Kubuntu 24.04.1, is supported with security and maintenance updates until April 2027. So you can install it and basically forget about it and keep it running and secure for years to come. However, you're likely better off with Kubuntu 24.10 which is more up to date, if you're okay upgrading again when the next version of Kubuntu comes out (Kubuntu 25.04) which is around April 17, 2025. Either way, both work well.
I've been through Fedora, Manjaro, Linux Mint, plain Ubuntu, Arch and many others over the years. No Linux distributions is perfect and they all come with their own set of quirks and problems, just as Windows has its own set of unique issues. To me, Kubuntu just offers the best all around middle-ground of everything you need to get going.
People will argue about Snaps, but for the majority of normal users — it just doesn't matter in the slightest. I use the Spotify, Thunderbird, Telegram and other Snaps and they work great and are kept nicely up to date without me even needing to do anything.
I will suggest though, that you enable Flatpaks from Flathub, so you get the best of all worlds and access to even more easily installable packages. It's incredibly easy to do as well.
You can download Kubuntu from their website.
If you need help and support for Linux and Steam Deck gaming, you can try asking in our Forum and Discord. Don't forget to follow me on Bluesky and Mastodon too while you're at it.
Don't agree with me? That's fine! The benefit of Linux is that there's truly no one-size-fits-all. Leave a comment to tell me how wrong I am. You're still wrong if you disagree though.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
PaulAlastor about 10 hours ago
Quoting: NerdNoiseRadioQuoting: PaulAlastorRight now, I'm still in a dual boot kinda mode between the "Innominabile OS" version 11 and the great, updated, little know, Debian-based gaming distro PikaOS: the last one is pretty good and very performant for my 5 year old build with an Amd Cpu and Nvidia Gpu. I'm staying put with Kde on it and, at least till now, has been a breeze. Then again, always IMHO, it is one of the trinity of next generation gaming desktop I personally love!(the other two being the Arch-based CachyOS and the Fedora-based Nobara Linux. Through the two YouTube channels I follow that talk, principally, about Linux gaming stuff, I also know these three distros have some collaboration among them).
Okay, first, I simply -LOVE- that you used the word "innominable" here! That's fantastic, friend!!! ❤️🍻
Second, I briefly had Nobara (Gnome) installed on my old gaming PC before I gave it to the Mrs when I got the new laptop (which also originally came with "Innominable OS 11"....which I did not enjoy at all)! I have a reasonably high opinion of Nobara! It's a distro that does an awful lot of the work for you....kinda like PopOS, but different...and Fedora-based to boot. Before that, I had Geruda. It was gorgeous in its
KDE "Dr4gonized" iteration, but this was also around the time that I was finding my allegiances shifting away from KDE and towards Gnome, and I was not particularly crazy about its very inconsistent Gnome implementation. It was also around the same time that I was beginning to cool on Arch and waerm to Fedora -Which is how I found myself on the sunny shores of Nobara.
But I do thing that Pop, Garuda, and Nobara are all very solid candidates for anyone who's not brand new to Linux. 🍻
The only thing that I'd try too, indeed, is the Cosmic DE. I saw some videos on YouTube and I liked what I saw! I'll comfortably wait the first beta-ready version from S76 and try it out when releases. Good times to be on Linux!
For me Kubuntu 24.10 + lowlatency kernel + Nvidia DKMS combo works ok.
Projectile Vomit about 8 hours ago
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