Tips for Playing Games on a Linux Desktop

Explore tips for playing games on a Linux desktop, including the key concepts, practical examples, important considerations, and useful guidance.

Some games actually run better on Linux than on Windows. The difference is quite noticeable, and that makes switching between different boot options worthwhile. Plus, users have the opportunity to experiment with Linux more and learn more about it, so it's a double benefit. There are some downsides to completely switching to Linux for gaming, but if you're not a fan of multiplayer games, this could make your dream a reality.

Choosing the right Linux distribution is very important

SteamOS is suitable for handheld devices, while Bazzite is an operating system that should be used on desktops

Choosing the right "version" of Linux to use on your computer is crucial. While Ubuntu works well on laptops, you can use Bazzite for this experiment.

Bazzite is built around the idea of gaming. Bazzite offers a lot of customization and integration capabilities to import your other game libraries. The desktop interface, powered by Fedora/GNOME, is also a bit more intuitive than what's offered on SteamOS.

Want to give up Windows entirely? Get ready for streaming!

NVIDIA GeForce Now can be helpful

As mentioned previously, there are some games that cannot be played directly on Linux. If you hope to completely switch away from your Windows infrastructure and want to play these games, you will need to find some additional ways to overcome the issue. You can use streaming programs like NVIDIA GeForce Now or Boosteroid to play these games.

Even then, you might still encounter some issues with the games you want to play. There might be long queues before you can log in, and there might even be games that aren't included in these programs. But if you're hoping to get an AAA gaming experience that isn't available on Linux, here are some ways to overcome these limitations.

There might be too many restrictions on the multiplayer mode

Playing multiplayer games is fun, but some games don't work on Linux

Now, one of the biggest things you need to worry about if you plan on switching to Linux for gaming is the lack of multiplayer support. Some games, like Helldivers 2, run great on Linux. Others, like Destiny 2, don't work at all. Even with all the brilliant tech minds working behind the scenes to optimize Linux, overcoming things like kernel-level anti-cheat is impossible at this point.

Dual booting might be the best option for things like this – keeping all your multiplayer games on the drive that Windows can access, and putting your single-player games on the drive that Linux can access. It's a bit cumbersome, but since some single-player games show a 5- to 10% performance increase on Bazzite or Nobara, it might be worth it for some people. It's great to see Space Marine II running better than ever on my Windows partition.