I feel like this is a question that might have been asked around and maybe there are guides around, but that's a discussion that I'd like to have with the lot of you.
The context
Using Linux on both my work laptop and the Steam Deck has made me quite interested in a full switch to Linux - my other computer is a gaming desktop, which I use a lot for many things, but mostly for gaming. Getting used to Linux has made me quite more intolerant to all the BS Microsoft is pushing than I used to be, the latest one being forcing the users to switch from the older email client to the new Outlook, which has a big, nice ad banner that looks like an unread email. So I've began wondering: after all, why not? Why shouldn't I embrace the penguin? Well, the answer is that I should not if there are too many hinders and drawbacks in using Linux, which would make me need a dual boot instead of a single OS install.
We all know gaming has long been one of the main limiting factors in switching, but the Deck has changed the whole landscape on that front. We've basically switched from "Windows is the only OS suitable for gaming" to "Linux is also viable", and the Deck has been made that available to the general audience. Therefore, nowadays, how viable is Linux for a gaming computer? What are the limitations users will encounter? Would I be able to play all the games from my Steam, Epic and GOG library with a bit of tinkering, including the new releases?
The drawbacks of using Linux (or those that I can think of)
- Other gaming launchers support on Linux suck: GOG and Epic will work through Heroic Games but Activision/Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA and Rockstar games will all be a pain, or even not work at all. Is is true? Is there any way around that?
- No Microsoft GamePass. Or none that actually matters, as the only solution is to pay for the higher tier and stream the games - so no game actually runs on the desktop. No, thanks.
- Some DRM will prevent games from working, and this is especially true for games with heavy online content.
- NVIDIA support for Linux is far from being on-par with that on Windows, especially the open-source drivers. Is this still true?
- Many devices, especially those for gaming, might not have good (or even working) compatibility drivers for Linux. I know my UWQHD monitor works flawlessly on Windows, but requires quite a bit of tinkering on Ubuntu
- Newer games might not be optimized for Linux in the first place
- Tinkering is inevitable (as with any Linux computer, really)
What can we add?
The advantages (I can think of)
- It's free
- It's ad free
- Customization on Linux is awesome, and I might end up spending more time ricing, breaking it all and reinstalling than gaming (see also, previous section's 7.)
- I will no longer be sending data to Microsoft
What else am I not thinking about?
What distro?
And finally, let's say I make the switch. What Linux distro should I use? I've read a bit about Drauger, Ubuntu GamePack, or even Pop! OS with some manual setup. What do you guys think, and advise?
I know you dissed cloud gaming, but Xbox cloud gaming has actually worked fairly well for me personally on my steam deck, and for the most part (after some config), runs nearly as good as inhome streaming, which 99% of the time I can't even tell isn't running on device. I've also messed with Nvidia gforcenow and Amazon luma and those could fill a pretty big Linux compatibility gap if I solely gamed on Linux (probably using a controller or steam deck due to xcloud gaming not supporting mouse or keyboard input yet but it's progress). I even figured some interesting things you can do with steam regarding that, in addition to Microsoft's instructions on adding xcloud gaming to steam deck, like setting up different launch options to handle different users under different Microsoft accounts, directly linking a game (having a non steam game called Fortnite with a custom icon that launches xcloud gaming 's url for that game and boots right into it) and some others to make it more enjoyable but just like everything on Linux you gotta tinker with it. The "no native gamepass" is a big deal to me lately, it's actually a pretty nice service and I remember seeing posts a few years ago talking about windows store format version of proton which would allow gamepass to run natively on Linux but I think we're still awhile form that happening.
I understand cloud gaming works well, and I agree that it might be a very good alternative for the Steam Deck. However, it's not a viable first option with a powerful enough desktop - I've bought such a machine to be able to play on it, not to stream to it. Besides, my backlog of games is already large enough that I shouldn't require an unlimited library of new games!