Digital games are a bit different, since you're actually downloading the game files. Games can always be modded to remove DRM, or the systems they run on can be modded. See the 3DS as a good example of the latter.
The best equivalent is game streaming. You never have the game's data in your possession, and a game can be pulled off the platform at any time. Even then though, you're usually paying for the service, not individual games.
A Surface might be an alright option. Last time I checked, the i5 and below models were fanless. With a good case it should be relatively rugged. Linux on Surfaces is fairly decent; I put Zorin on a Surface Go 2, and everything seems to work apart from the IR for face recognition. Battery life has been much better than in Windows, which is a plus.