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Any distro is fine.
At most you'll maybe see a 1 to 3 fps difference due to a different DE, but that's about it.
I would check Protondb to see if your favorite games actually run on Linux before making the change!
For people who just start out using Linux, pick something tjay considered stable and looks a bit like the OS you're used to right now.
It's probably worth noting though that the only distro Valve officially supports is the latest Ubuntu LTS running KDE/Plasma, Gnome, or Unity. That doesn't mean you'll have problems on other distros -- and you probably won't! -- but Ubuntu is the distro they're testing on. Valve also maintains Ubuntu-specific troubleshooting resources as well.
That said, Valve does not support the official Ubuntu way of installing Steam, which is via snap ('apt install steam' will install the snap). So you have to make sure to install the Steam way (manually via the deb) instead.
Learned that yesterday as helldivers 2 would crash right after starting it with the snap version.
I find it so odd that they're only testing on Ubuntu when Steam Deck runs on Arch.
The Steam runtime is designed so it doesn’t matter. They just haven’t changed their packaging or anything since the early days.
Note that ProtonDB covers Proton, which is Valve's version of WINE, which is a reimplementation of Windows' libraries. It'll deal with Windows binaries running on Linux, but not Linux-native binaries. Some games have both Linux and Windows binaries, and some just Windows binaries. Steam calls running Windows binaries under Proton "Steam Play", if you see that term.
Steam indicates which binaries are shipped for a game on the store page of a game.
Here's Team Fortress 2's Steam store page as an example.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/440/Team_Fortress_2/
You'll note little white icons next to "Play Team Fortress 2".
There's a Windows icon, so they have Windows-native binaries. An Apple icon, so they have MacOS binaries. And a Steam icon, so they have Linux binaries.
By default, if a game has Linux-native binaries, Steam will download and use those.
You can also force Steam to use Windows binaries via Proton by going to the game's properties under "Compatibility" and choosing -- I'm not at my desktop at the moment, but something like this -- "force use of a specific compatibility tool" and choosing a particular Proton version.
ProtonDB also has a number of entries for Linux native games, and sometimes people will suggest running the Windows version instead if the Linux version is buggy. It's a great resource to check regardless of Linux support.
Just so anyone reading knows....some games with Linux binaries sometimes run better using proton and the windows binaries.
Crusader Kings 3 is buggy with Linux binaries but fine using proton, while Stellaris is the reverse for me. Ymmv.
You can also force Steam to use Windows binaries via Proton
To complete that thought, doing this can be useful in cases like these:
Thank you for posting a sensible general answer, rather than the ignorant distro-bias that I often see in response to this question.
The way Steam works is that it contains a set of mini libraries, kind of a mini-distro, that Linux Steam games use, so it doesn't matter that much. It's based on Ubuntu. Games that are released on Steam targeting Linux normally "target Steam" rather than a particular distro.
Some distros tend to have newer kernels than others, which can help with video driver support for the latest cards for 3D games.
Also, some very specialized Linux distros won't have a Steam package; that won't be a concern with anything you're likely to pick.
But in general, I wouldn't worry too much as far Steam goes.
I use Debian. That's the largest "parent" distro today, and many distros -- including Mint -- are "child" distros of that, and Steam is packaged for Debian, so they'll have it too. Red Hat has a Steam package, and it and its child distributions make up the next-largest tree.
some very specialized Linux distros won't have a Steam package; that won't be a concern with anything you're likely to pick.
And the Steam flatpak can be used on any distro that doesn't package Steam but does package Flatpak, so it's even less likely to be a problem.
Check out bazzite.gg - it's a gaming spin of Fedora atomic and I've heard nothing but good things.
Otherwise there's always Arch, or a derivative like EndeavourOS, that's where I do my steam gaming. I have, on occasion, had issues with the Nvidia dkms driver and have needed to fork the nvidia-dkms package to track a particular driver release to skip a buggy version. Aside from that it's been pretty smooth sailing. I use flatpak steam and ProtonPlus to pull Glorious Eggroll releases and everything I've played has worked well.
As long as you don't have an Nvidia card, choose whichever functional and complete distro (some people call these "beginner" distros).
MintLinux and Pop!OS are normally the two front-runners for new users. Basically, if you use Steam and you don't play online-only games with bad implementations of anti-cheat software, you are good to game on either.
Make a USB that you can "live boot" from, so you can test out how they work with your hardware before you actually install the OS. Generally speaking, Mint works better with AMD, and Pop! works better with Nvidia.
Here’s the official basic guide for Mint:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
And here’s the official basic guide for Pop!:
https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop/
Nvidia drivers are largely reliable these days. I've daily driven AMD/Nvidia hybrid setups since ~2020 and have only occasionally had Nvidia driver issues. I've actually had more breakage in amdgpu due to insufficient testing and code churn - I think I've reported close to two dozen regressions over the last 4y.
I have a nVidia card. Is that bad?
As a general rule for Linux; Yes, Nvidia hates linux, and the drivers cause issues in a lot of cases.
But Pop! has specifically worded to try to deal with Nvidia, so it might be smooth sailing, depending on which card you have.
Nvidia can be tough sometimes with linux, but not impossible. Seems like Linux Mint has a Driver Manager program that can install Nvidia's proprietary drivers for you. When you first install the OS, it'll just use the open source drivers, but those usually don't perform as well while gaming as Nvidia's own drivers, so you'll have to switch them after first boot.
protondb is a website that crowdsources how well specific Steam games work, and any workarounds that may be needed, if you'd like to check game compatibility. You can set it to show only reports from PC users, rather than PC and Steam Deck users.
AMD/Nvidia hybrid user here. I've had more breakage in the amdgpu driver than Nvidia by far. I think a more fair comment is "drivers break on Linux occasionally and it's a good idea to learn how to roll back package versions."
Not at all, in Linux Mint for example I simply picked the recommended driver and I had no issues with that.
For purely steam gaming and browser work, I've really liked Pop! OS.
Basically any that appeals. My biggest issue when I last used Linux with gaming was getting non steam games working through bottles or lutris, I had no idea how to set them up. Steam and proton played almost all of my library and worked well.
I had issues with mint but everything worked fine with PopOS. Not a large sample I know but my 2 cents
For me has ubuntu and pop os just worked with all my hardware. I have tried manjaro (it broke often after updates so I gave up on it. This was maybe 5 years ago), arch (worked great but got tired of the tinkering), mint (never wanted to work with my wifi and Bluetooth adapter so I don't have a ton of experience with it), debian (too long ago for me to remember why I switched), ubuntu and now pop OS for 3 years and I won't switch. I have only had problems with yakuza 1 (couldn't save and input delays were crazy) and mafia 1(all icons for the game pad were blank) . I also own a steam deck and play a lot of games on it without any problems. But I do not mod that much, skyrim is the only one I heavily moded and I played it on windows. Cyberpunk did I mod some on my steam deck to fix bugs but it was bellow 30 mods.
Tldr; i am with kaldo! Pop OS is great! And yes I use Nvidia GPU and I have never had a problem with the drivers.
You're an Nvidia user then
Yep
One thing I’d like to ask, as someone also starting to get fed up with windows. I know there’s proton and all but how does Linux work with VR? I have an index and nvidia card, and most of my VR is playing digital combat sim (DCS) but I do enjoy playing actual VR games from time to time. Is Linux still decent with those? Or do I have to stick with windows?
VR can work but is overall a buggy and less supported platform.
Ah man that’s a shame. I appreciate the heads up! I guess for now I’ll have to stick with windows unfortunately
I've been using Nobara for gaming a while now, and it's certainly a good choice from by experience. It's a modified Fedora distro that's designed for gaming.
Having used many distros (gaming-oriented and otherwise) Nobara would be my recommendation as well.
People saying "doesn't matter" aren't considering someone brand new to Linux would probably benefit from an out-of-the-box gaming ready distro (nvidia drivers ready, rgb drivers built in for gaming laptops, other gaming specific tweaks and fixes that they won't know to install on say mint, a perfectly fine, general use distro). Not to say they wouldn't be able to do all that on mint or Ubuntu or whatever with a bit of googling and effort, but they're asking specifically for gaming.
I started using Pop_OS! because it looked like that it was focused to gaming. Then I changed to a rolling release distro to get the latest drivers and kernel (openSUSE Tumbleweed) and I'm pretty happy with it.
I've heard good things about Nobara Linux. It's basically Fedora but customised for gaming. It's maintained by GlouriousEggroll, who does a lot for Linux gaming in general. Otherwise I'm using Bazzite on my Steam Deck, which is pretty cool as well. It is a gaming-centric Fedora atomic version. It even comes with the Deck's gaming mode, but only on amd GPUs unfortunately.
I also recently switched to Linux on my main PC which is also my gaming PC. I tried Mint first but had too many hardware issues, mostly related to motherboard audio chip. Manjaro was next and it resolved my hardware issues but I didn’t like the package manager. Third was openSUSE Tumbleweed and that one stuck. Been using it for several weeks now and I love it.
I'm also using openSUSE for about a year now. I came frome Ubuntu -> Manjaro -> Fedora -> openSUSE I love it so far.
If you want pure gaming, one-click, steam deck like experience try Bazzite or you could also try Nobara.
There is no wrong answer when it comes to sticking with popular and well loved distros.
The real question should be what desktop environment you want, Linux distros aren't very different for an average user, it usually boils down to what's included by default, what the package manager is, and what the desktop environment is. Someone said Nobara, which is a good choice. Use the KDE Plasma version tho
Fedora , but you can't go wrong with any major distro honestly.
I'm not a Linux guru by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm a pretty big gamer and I daily drove Linux as a sort of experiment for a few months a last year. I went with Manjaro and had a pretty enjoyable experience.
My desktop is amd 2700 cpu and nvidia 3080. I have been on Linux for at least a year now. Nobara was okay but borked itself from an update. Bazzite is my current os and it’s been rock solid for gaming. Just use protondb to make sure individual games work right.
Nobara works well.
Anything that does not use completely outdated kernel versions (if you're using AMD) should be fine for that, since Steam packages most of the other relevant dependencies already. I personally don't recommend Gnome as a DE and also think KDE or Cinnamon are easier to get into coming from Windows but other than that I'd just try the popular options and see what you'll like most.
Bazzite with steam deck option enabled
