GamingOnLinux Article RSS For: Editorial

Steam Frame and Steam Machine will be another good boost for Flatpaks and desktop Linux overall too

Liam Dawe — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:35:03 +0000

With the Steam Frame and Steam Machine launching with SteamOS Linux this year, we're going to again see a nice boost for Flatpaks and desktop Linux overall.

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The Legion Go with Bazzite is an excellent machine for gaming

Liam Dawe — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 01:14:30 +0000

I finally acquired an original Lenovo Legion Go and of course I had to put Linux on it and get rid of Windows, so I finally got to see the fuss over Bazzite.

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The best Linux distributions for gaming in 2026

Liam Dawe — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:52:53 +0000

Here is your up to date list of what distro you should be picking if you want to start gaming on Linux in 2026. The latest edition of you telling me I'm wrong.

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Some releases to look forward to in 2026

Liam Dawe — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:34:34 +0000

It's a new year, so here's some games that should release on PC during 2026 that I'm excited for.

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Here's our 2025 GOTY picks

Liam Dawe — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 12:34:29 +0000

The year is almost over and so it’s time to let you know what we enjoyed the most this year while gaming on Linux.

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Talking point - what have you been playing lately?

Liam Dawe — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 14:18:53 +0000

Welcome back, dear readers, to another community article for us all to have a little chat about what we've been playing recently.

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Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 49: One More to Go!

Hamish — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:23:03 +0000

Candy Cruncher stands as an interesting piece of Linux gaming convergence, with it pulling on almost all of the major threads that defined the industry.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 48: Byzantine Labyrinthine

Hamish — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 07:16:18 +0000

Part 48 of the long running series of retro Linux gaming goodness. This time it's all about point and click adventuring.

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According to Epic CEO Tim Sweeney - game stores don't need an AI label as it will be everywhere

Liam Dawe — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 13:38:13 +0000

With the increasing amount of games using AI, Epic Game's Tim Sweeney believes the AI messages on stores like Steam make no sense.

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Hello from Fedora KDE

Liam Dawe — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 11:12:26 +0000

I recently did a bit of a major woops, and so I decided perhaps it is once again time to Linux distro hop and have settled on Fedora KDE.

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Guide: Alternatives to popular games that don't work on Linux, Steam Deck and SteamOS

Liam Dawe — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:23:10 +0000

With the amount of games that block Linux platforms including SteamOS and Steam Deck, here's your guide to some great alternatives.

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Leaks again hint at Valve doing a proper Steam Machine Console

Liam Dawe — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:44:49 +0000

We are again seeing leaks of a potential future console from Valve, which is exciting considering how well the Steam Deck has done.

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7 years later, Valve's Proton has been an incredible game-changer for Linux

Liam Dawe — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:24:20 +0000

It has been 7 years since Valve revealed Proton, their compatibility layer to run Windows games on Linux systems. What an incredible time it has been.

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Some game developers are far too shameless about generative AI use

Liam Dawe — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 11:31:29 +0000

I'm having to be steadily more careful on what I choose to cover here on GamingOnLinux, with more games releasing using generative AI.

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According to one source Linux hits over 6% desktop user share

Liam Dawe — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 08:25:36 +0000

Depending on where you look, Linux on the desktop has somewhere between 4-6% user share on the desktop. Showing it's growing slowly but steadily overall.

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A selection of upcoming games I'm excited to see release

Liam Dawe — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 10:03:44 +0000

It's easy to miss games when there's just so-much-news, so here's a small selection I wanted to highlight to go on your wishlists.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Steam Deck sales still going strong over three years later

Liam Dawe — Mon, 12 May 2025 12:15:37 +0000

Back in February we hit the three year mark of Valve's Steam Deck with SteamOS Linux, and as we approach the release of the public SteamOS 3 Beta for more devices, here's an updated look at the sales charts.

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End of 10 is a campaign to move people over to Linux with Windows 10 support ending

Liam Dawe — Mon, 12 May 2025 08:44:31 +0000

Windows 10 is close to being dead now, with support ending this year. So why not try out Linux? And bonus - you can get away from all the AI junk being pushed.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Playtron wanted to take on Windows and SteamOS with their GameOS, now they're announcing a cryptocurrency

Liam Dawe — Tue, 06 May 2025 15:22:33 +0000

Reading the press release sounded like a late April Fools joke, but I think we all saw where Playtron were heading. After originally announcing PlaytronOS (now GameOS), their Linux-powered gaming system, they're now directly moving into crypto.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 47: Before I Was Born

Hamish — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 09:37:08 +0000

In Part 47 of the long running Linux gaming series, we're really going retro with Jetpack from 1993.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

As Epic Games continue ignoring Linux / Steam Deck for Fortnite they're putting it on Windows Arm

Liam Dawe — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 10:27:59 +0000

Ignoring one smaller market while supporting another, Epic Games announced they're getting Fortnite and Epic Online Services Anti-Cheat on Windows Arm.

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I hope Valve are watching closely with Microsoft working towards an Xbox Handheld

Liam Dawe — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:13:47 +0000

With Microsoft pushing to improve Windows on handhelds, and reportedly working with a specific partner on an Xbox-branded gaming handheld, Valve should be watching closely with their Linux plans for Steam Deck and SteamOS.

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Happy three years to the Steam Deck - the Linux gaming machine that changed everything

Liam Dawe — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:29:05 +0000

It's been three years today since Valve released the Steam Deck. Not only has Valve shown how incredible Linux actually can be as a gaming platform, but they really kicked the industry into gear on PC gaming handhelds.

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Amazon's previous VP of Prime Gaming said they "tried everything" to disrupt Steam

Liam Dawe — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:53:52 +0000

Everything except making a store people wanted to use? Ethan Evans, who was previously Vice President of Prime Gaming at Amazon, has a short retrospective of trying to take on Steam.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 46: Bursting Bubbles

Hamish — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 10:26:48 +0000

I have had my fair share of success in running games released up to around 2004 or so, but after that I do begin to encounter more issues with binary compatibility.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

What Valve would need to do to make a Steam Console a success

Liam Dawe — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:18:59 +0000

While the most recent rumour of a Steam Console was complete junk, it did get me thinking on what Valve would need to do to make a Steam Console / Steam Machine actually successful.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

The latest Valve Steam Console rumour with AMD RDNA4 can be safely ignored - here's why

Liam Dawe — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 12:24:17 +0000

Thanks to posts on social media and YouTuber videos, which now other news sites have picked up, we're seeing fresh rumours about a new Steam Machine / Steam Console.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 45: Free as in Beer

Hamish — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 20:04:40 +0000

For a time the term "multimedia" was one of the hottest buzzwords in the computer software industry. A number of individuals and firms staked both their futures and careers on the creation of bespoke interactive experiences, often in the service of marketing more established businesses and brands. Enter Lost Boys, an outfit based in the Netherlands intent on doing exactly that.

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Can 2025 please be the year more games add Text and UI Scaling

Liam Dawe — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 14:09:54 +0000

I get it, you worked hard for hours and days and weeks on your incredibly cool-looking interface for your game. You made it so all the text perfectly lines up everywhere and picked a slick looking font, but it's all too darn small.

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SteamOS moving from Steam Deck to more handhelds gives me hope for better anti-cheat compatibility

Liam Dawe — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 18:03:42 +0000

With 2025 looking potentially like the year of SteamOS Linux with it coming to more handhelds, perhaps we might finally see a solution to the anti-cheat problem that has plagued the Steam Deck and desktop Linux for so long.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

The best Linux distribution for gaming in 2025

Liam Dawe — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 10:40:00 +0000

In a few previous years, 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.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 44: The Legend of Kobo

Hamish — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 07:43:37 +0000

A lot of early UNIX and therefore Linux games struggled with the fact that the X toolkit was geared towards constructing staid graphical user interfaces, rather than for the speed and flexibility needed by games. Magic can come out of people working against imposed limitations however, and games like Xkobo succeed by this.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Steam purchases now clearly state you're just getting a license not ownership

Liam Dawe — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:43:20 +0000

Doing the rounds across the net right now is a small update to the Steam checkout process when you're making a purchase, to make it clear you don't own what you buy.

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GTA V / GTAOnline highlights Steam Deck's verification system has problems

Liam Dawe — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 17:53:28 +0000

Recently, we had the news that Rockstar updated Grand Theft Auto V to include BattlEye anti-cheat, and they have not enabled the Linux / Proton support that BattlEye offers. With that change, the online mode is now broken for Linux / Steam Deck. This just highlights an ongoing problem with the Steam Deck verification system.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Microsoft Windows kernel changes don't suddenly mean big things for Linux gaming

Liam Dawe — Sun, 15 Sep 2024 16:43:13 +0000

There's a lot of blog posts and news articles being written right now centred around Microsoft's plans for updates to Windows 11, and potential kernel changes, with some thinking this means big things for Linux gaming.

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Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 43: Demons and Angels

Hamish — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 09:51:27 +0000

The Spanish game development scene does not get much attention paid to it, especially when compared to some of its other European counterparts, but sometimes you encounter polymaths like Ángel Ortega that deserve to be highlighted. There is a real auteur talent here that was impossible for me not to appreciate.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Black Myth: Wukong shows very clearly Valve are selling a lot of Steam Decks

Liam Dawe — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 16:27:07 +0000

Valve don't exactly like to give out sales numbers, so we often have to make educated guesses but sometimes with huge hits like Black Myth: Wukong, it gives us a slightly clearer idea on how the Steam Deck is actually selling.

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Celebrating 6 years since Valve announced Steam Play Proton for Linux

Liam Dawe — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 19:17:18 +0000

Today marks 6 years since Valve decided to change everything, especially for Linux fans, with the announcement of Steam Play Proton.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 42: Upset the Applecart

Hamish — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:01:37 +0000

While the studio's destiny would later see it become consumed by Microsoft, in its earliest days Bungie instead stayed a Mac focused development house. They would later switch to cross-platform development, which soon caught the attention of a fledgling Loki Software. Bungie would again cater to an underrepresented video game market.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Developing a Video Game with Unreal Engine 5 on Linux

Vasilis — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 12:10:26 +0000

In November 2022, we started a side project in my company, a video game called Cuprum 2929. Because I love Linux (being a full user since 2009) and I'm the owner of the company, I made the bold decision to fully develop it on Linux.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Will anything dethrone the Steam Deck? Probably not

Liam Dawe — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:11:27 +0000

While other vendors continually push out new handheld pc models, sticking similar internals into different shell designs and gradually bumping up RAM or the Processor, the Steam Deck just keeps selling like hot tasty cakes.

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No leaving a Steam account in a will after you die according to Valve

Liam Dawe — Tue, 28 May 2024 09:15:10 +0000

Doing the rounds right now is a post from Valve's Steam support, when a user asked about what would happen to their Steam account when they died and it's not great news for anyone hoping to pass on your Steam account.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Microsoft's new Recall AI will take screenshots of everything you do - freaky

Liam Dawe — Thu, 23 May 2024 09:47:44 +0000

This will be preaching to the choir for some readers, as you didn't exactly need another reason not to use Windows right? Microsoft's new Recall AI will take screenshots of everything you do and that sounds truly terrible.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

EA want to put adverts in your video games to squeeze you for every penny

Liam Dawe — Mon, 13 May 2024 09:00:31 +0000

As if things couldn't get any worse, now EA are looking at ways of putting adverts in video games to squeeze every possible penny from you.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

With a Nintendo Switch 2 on the way, I hope Valve make a Steam Deck 2

Liam Dawe — Wed, 08 May 2024 13:50:03 +0000

I love my Steam Deck, as any regular reader will know. It's my favourite gaming device but it could always be better right? And with competition hot (hi Nintendo), I hope Valve have more plans.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Linux continues to be above 4% on the desktop

Liam Dawe — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:38:54 +0000

According to the StatCounter, Linux on the desktop has continued to rise and remains above 4%, with this being the healthiest it's ever looked on the desktop.

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Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 41: The Worm Turns

Hamish — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:49:55 +0000

The Allegro library is a cross-platform backend for low-level game routines, which for much of its history was very much associated with the MS-DOS freeware scene that was still going strong well into the early 2000s. Seeing this wealth of game content, the Fedora contributor Hans de Goede decided to see if he could port some of these over to Linux.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Steam now has over 100,000 games listed

Liam Dawe — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 14:11:21 +0000

There really are a lot of games, and with more releasing every year, Steam has gotten rather large as a platform with it now listing over 100,000 games.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Steam Deck had a strong end to 2023 and a great start for 2024

Liam Dawe — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 13:39:19 +0000

While the Steam Deck is now two years old, and has since had the Steam Deck OLED refresh for a few months now, it seems there's just no stopping it.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 40: The Cyborg Project

Hamish — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 10:11:04 +0000

An action platformer first released in 1999, you play as Urban Gutter, a man taken by an evil scientist to a secret military base and changed into a cyborg against his will. The acronym in the title then is a bit odd, but your one goal is to escape and enact as bloody a revenge on the world as possible. Any hope for true catharsis here often gets lost in frustration however.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.