When it comes to gaming on a PC, Windows is pretty much the only operating system of choice suitable for the job. Sure, there are a few titles that can run on Linux at the moment, but the list is fairly thin. However, things may not stay this way for long, as Linux is making tremendous efforts to step into the game, with the upcoming SteamOS being the pièce de résistance. With no official released date available yet, Linux’s swing at Microsoft’s domination over the gaming industry may have to wait a bit longer. That doesn’t make its efforts any less remarkable, though, as Linux came a long way when it comes to gaming.
Off to a slow start…
Linux was not designed to be a gaming operating system, and pretty much everyone agreed on that. That’s exactly the reason why game manufacturers didn’t stress on making their games available on Linux, and Linux developers didn’t stress much on squeezing the horsepower from the hardware. However, as time passed, small and simple games started to emerge on Linux as well. Nothing compared to the wide collection available on Windows, of course, but it was a start.
… And almost coming to a halt
While there were several attempts to bring Linux to speed in terms of gaming, most gaming ports turned out to be time consuming, and the gaming conditions less than ideal. The lack of solid driver support contributed to the problem, as graphics cards manufacturers didn’t stress much on creating Linux drivers that could unleash the full potential of their hardware. This means that, even if games did eventually get ported to Linux (which actually happened in several cases), the hardware was not up for the job.
The porting process itself turned to be a nightmare, considering that there were so many different Linux distributions out there, each with their own specs. Getting all the right libraries turned out to be a nightmare, as some distros had them, others didn’t.
All this lasted until Valve entered the scene.
Steam saves the day
Valve is renowned for making daring investments, in products and technologies that have yet to demonstrate their potential, so it was no real surprise when they released their Steam platform for Linux. Their move, however, meant a great leap forward for the gaming world, as the games that would be obtained through Steam would have all the necessary libraries and files within the Steam client itself, thus resolving one of the most long-lasting problems of gaming on Linux.
That was not enough for Valve, though, so they pushed forward and started working on the SteamOS, an operating system that will equip a range of small-size console-shaped PCs. The operating system will be Linux-based, and the gaming devices, known as Steam machines, would be an alternative to Windows-running PCs and consoles.
There are several models of Steam machines already on the market, but in the absence of a finished SteamOS, a lot of manufacturers preloaded the machines with Windows. This is a temporary move, and it is expected that the Steam machines will switch to SteamOS once it’s officially released.
Linux – a bright future
Aside from demonstrating that Linux CAN be used for gaming, SteamOS will have another great advantage for the Linux gaming community: it will bring a lot of casual gamers that will be looking for a different experience into the world of Linux. This move should increase the percentage of Linux gamers enough to make PC gamers curious, and game developers willing to take a leap of faith and create games for Linux as well.
Overall, the future of Linux gaming is looking bright.
This is the guest post by Jason Phillips and Make Up Games 365!
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The tonal issues of this article are mind blowing.
At first it comes off to be a FUD article designed at saying how much Linux sucks and Gaming On Linux will fail.
The author decided to bold the wrong text eg: “… And almost coming to a halt” when should have bolded text “All this lasted until Valve entered the scene.”
Only when you get to the end do you realize that the article is trying to paint Valve as some kind of Savior to Linux.
You know what will cause Gaming On Linux? Charity! The goodness of Developers hearts to port to a system used by a mere 1% of users. /sarcasm
Sarcasm aside, the correct answer is $$$$ Money $$$$. Linux Steam marketshare is nearly 1 million users. If a game can corner a market like Linux and sell 500,000 – 750,000 @ $10 a piece thats 5 Million – 7.5 Million Dollars.
That number will only grow. PS4 is based on a fork of FreeBSD and I predict that SteamOS will extinguish Traditional Consoles from the face of the marketplace as the foundation of SteamOS is completly open. Linux Gamers need to get it into their head that kindness will not cause Blizzard and others to port their titles to our system. Wheelbarels of 5 – 10 million dollars on the other hand will.
Please don’t write any more articles or learn to write in a way that doesn’t contrast and make your highly esteemed OS look retarded, also what is LXER coming to that they’re full of trash articles these days.
If more than 900 games on Steam for Linux and 75% of new AAA PC titles is slim then you sir must be quite Stout.. Slim selection for Linux on Steam is rubbish. Do your homework before writing an article.
I’m not raving about the tone of the article, but I don’t have huge issues with it either. But it seems poorly researched.
Valve had been intending to release the Steam Machines, together with the Steam controller which seems crucial to the objective (a machine which will functionally play mouse-and-keyboard PC games from the couch in front of the TV), last year. When their release date slipped, some of the partners making the actual machines went ahead anyway, having already invested money. Understandable. But it wasn’t a true release of the Steam Machine.
But it seems as of early March (since that big conference thingie, cant’ remember the name) that we now have a (fairly) firm release date for the Machines, the OS, and the now-apparently-finalized controller. The roll-out is officially set for November. You can pre-order the controllers, Machines from some OEMs, and some related bits of hardware on Steam right now. The only worry is that the current price-point for many of the machines seems underwhelming. Hopefully as the release date approaches, there will be, first, some more machines that are cheaper, and second, a Steam Sale or two.
In terms of the background, I’m perhaps a bit disappointed that there was nothing about the early Linux gaming prospects that seemed high back in the Loki Software days only to crash. Overall, the article is very superficial and low on information, both when it comes to the early stages of gaming on Linux and the current situation.
I am a Linux gamer. My Steam Library currently houses 28 titles that my sons and i are on all the time. The average cost of these games is about $16. They are so good (there are some bombs out there) i have started looking towards “high end” ports like Borderlands – The Pre-Sequel ($60), Wasteland 2 ($50) and i would already own Dying Light if i wasn’t in a contest in Blockstorm to win one. The future of linux gaming is now.
Great comment ElectricPrism