Good news for those with Nvidia still on the fence about Linux

[LucShep]

This is interesting to me and, I presume, also for some of you who do not want to migrate by force to Windows 11 (Windows 10 is now over EOL).

There's a lot of (justified) kerfuffle about the way Microsoft Windows (11 and upcoming 12) has been heading to, which only makes Linux developments more relevant than ever.

Linux OS distros (or versions of it, for the layman) like Bazzite and Pop!_OS, among other distros, have been getting big momentum - user numbers are increasing every day - and will propagate Linux usage in coming months and years.
More over, there's a massive support and push from Valve (Steam) towards Linux, now having its own SteamOS distro.
I'm only presuming now - more hardware and software developers will start looking that way.

In the next coming months there'll be changes on Linux, which involve Vulkan, Nvidia and VK3D, which should (finally) boost Nvidia to work as good there as it does in Windows (if not better, considering its other advantages).

So, and just a FYI:

 

Edited 2 hours ago by LucShep

[Aviators]

My dream? 100% compatible DCS on Linux.

[Wostg]

the real test will be DCS + the 50 accompanying programs in the background 

[MAXsenna]

21 minutes ago, Wostg said:

the real test will be DCS + the 50 accompanying programs in the background 

And all my gadgets. I have my doubts it will ever happen.  

[speed-of-heat]

35 minutes ago, Wostg said:

the real test will be DCS + the 50 accompanying programs in the background 

 

12 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

And all my gadgets. I have my doubts it will ever happen.  

This oh and VR 

[SharpeXB]

Unless the cost of porting to Linux was zero it would never be worthwhile for any dev to spent money to get an extra 2-3% of the market. Simple math. Gamers won’t use Linux because there aren’t enough games and devs won’t use Linux because there aren’t enough customers.

[Hiob]

Considering the massive support and push from Steam towards Linux, who for sure have more insight and data on that then you (we), I think you‘re wrong.

Tides are shifting. Admittedly slowly, but they are. The downfall of AAA is also in favour of the shift.

[Dragon1-1]

This is mostly a result of large multiplatform engines that allow games to be developed without worrying about the particulars of running on Linux or Mac. Devs that don't use one of these would still have to code specifically for each platform. Linux is not going to take over the gaming market anytime soon, and given all the associated utilities, I especially wouldn't expect DCS to run on it outside Proton. 

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

If Microsoft pushes Window 12 in the direction some people seem to think it does, there's going to be an even larger push for Linux in the not-too-distant future.
I for one would love to make the switch too, but there are so many other variables than simply 'will my games run at decent framerates' so there's a lot of work to be done to make that a reality.

[Dangerzone]

How does Vulkan fit into this? Is Vulkan going to give DCS better capabilities for Linux support?

1 hour ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

If Microsoft pushes Window 12 in the direction some people seem to think it does, there's going to be an even larger push for Linux in the not-too-distant future.

This is my concern too. Microsoft has over the past few years has indicated to me it no longer releases updates that benefit the user, but benefit them at the determent of the user- while continuing to remove features from Windows. WMR was one of the more recent examples of this, and if it wasn't for one very gifted person who has provided a workaround for this, a lot of headsets would be paperweights now. I have no trust in Microsoft's future, and expect more things to be 'taken away' as they move forward into their new vision and have slowly been migrating to applications that are multi-platform. DCS is the only reason I still have a Windows PC at home. 

I made the switch early away from Adobe, and while it was painful at the time, no where near as painful as people who stayed onboard, and then switched later. I'm wanting to do the same thing and get away from Microsoft earlier while it will be less painful. 

Edited 15 hours ago by Dangerzone

[LucShep]

11 hours ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

If Microsoft pushes Window 12 in the direction some people seem to think it does, there's going to be an even larger push for Linux in the not-too-distant future.
I for one would love to make the switch too, but there are so many other variables than simply 'will my games run at decent framerates' so there's a lot of work to be done to make that a reality.

Yep, agreed.

I've been looking into this for quite a while now and I'm getting closer and closer to making the jump... but not yet.  

While I think most regular/casual users can already do that jump (i.e, full migration) from Windows to Linux without any issues, the more "specialized" users including those into niche gaming cases such as simulators (like with DCS, with a gazillion of different peripherals and into VR) should definitely wait a bit more, because it's not there yet.

The thing is, it's now just a matter of "when" and no longer a matter of "if" - it's happening folks, tides are shifting.

Yes, some adaptation after decades of WinOS is a reality, but no different than changing your mobile phone from Apple to Android (or vice-versa) - within a few days you're at it.
Yes, perhaps reading or consulting on forums may be required for some use case aspects but, really, already "out of the box" some Linux distros work absolutely phenomenal.

If curious about it and just want to "experiment", I'd suggest getting an empty drive (SSD or HDD) that you can boot from and try either Bazzite or Pop!_OS (they're free).
I'm amazed how good these work for general use (really, I'd argue better than any Windows to date), and how much you can actually make work without any fuss.
 

Edited 4 hours ago by LucShep

[QuiGon]

The only thing that is preventing me from switching to Linux on my Desktop machine is the lack of driver support for sim peripherals like HOTAS, Track-IR or racing wheels that I need for my sim games. If that wouldn't be an issue I would have already switched over to Linux. My notebook, which I also use for some gaming, is already running on Linux.

 

13 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

Unless the cost of porting to Linux was zero it would never be worthwhile for any dev to spent money to get an extra 2-3% of the market. Simple math. Gamers won’t use Linux because there aren’t enough games and devs won’t use Linux because there aren’t enough customers.

You seem to have missed the past few years of Linux developments, because Valve has set a huge change in motion that allows games to be played on Linux without any kind of additional work needed by the game devs. It's called Proton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_(software)
This has caused a massive push for gaming under Linux.
 

11 hours ago, Dragon1-1 said:

This is mostly a result of large multiplatform engines that allow games to be developed without worrying about the particulars of running on Linux or Mac. Devs that don't use one of these would still have to code specifically for each platform. Linux is not going to take over the gaming market anytime soon, and given all the associated utilities, I especially wouldn't expect DCS to run on it outside Proton. 

Even games that are not made specifically for Linux do now run under Linux thanks to Valve and their Proton tech (see above) that is also driving the Steam Deck handheld. This is the single biggest factor why Gaming under Linux is now quickly becoming much more popular! Because of that you can even play DCS under Linux already!
But yeah, there are of course other factors that add to that, like Vulcan that (unlike DirectX) runs natively under Linux.

Edited 5 hours ago by QuiGon

[Dogmanbird]

The only thing that is preventing me from switching to Linux

I've been saying this for 20 years

[speed-of-heat]

so as of September 2025 according to steam Linux makes up 2.7% (2.69) of the gaming population across all their users:

this is a pretty constant acceleration (0.9% per year since release of steam deck) overtime despite it being an "all-time high", it would still take of the order of 14 *YEARS* for Linux to represent 50% of the gaming market... allowing for some exponential growth 

Proton/Steam Deck has made a tremendous leap forward for Linux as a gaming platform but they aren't all equal, and they are not all trouble free, alas. The price point is compelling for hand held gaming as an atomic eco system it makes sense, buy from steam choke steams throat, the argument is less clear today in the PC market place, with multiple distro's for gaming with varying levels of complexity to the end user, which is confusing for a lot of people, which is itself an inhibitor to buying.

• SteamOS Holo 64 bit 30.95% -2.83%
• Arch Linux 64 bit 10.09% +0.64%
• Linux Mint 22.1 64 bit 7.76% +1.56%
• Freedesktop SDK 24.08 (Flatpak runtime) 64 bit 7.42% +1.01%
• Ubuntu Core 22 64 bit 4.63% +0.01%
• Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS 64 bit 4.30% -0.14%
• CachyOS 64 bit 2.54% +2.54%
• EndeavourOS Linux 64 bit 2.44% -0.02%
• Manjaro Linux 64 bit 2.43% -0.18%
• Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS 64 bit 2.17% -0.06%
• Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) 64 bit 1.99% -0.28%
• Other 23.27% -2.27%

Is the current breakdown on steam.

I'm not saying this won't happen, but i so think the pace of change is going to be much longer than people are anticipating. My own prediction is that this will only accelerate faster if there is some significant market consolidation, across the market, and or if SteamOS is released outside of SteamDeck for generic computing.

Information and Image source Gaming on Linux is no joke: it just hit a record high on Steam, and it's not just SteamOS doing all the legwork

Edited 4 hours ago by speed-of-heat

[LucShep]

No one

1 hour ago, speed-of-heat said:

so as of September 2025 according to steam Linux makes up 2.7% (2.69) of the gaming population across all their users:

this is a pretty constant acceleration (0.9% per year since release of steam deck) overtime despite it being an "all-time high", it would still take of the order of 14 *YEARS* for Linux to represent 50% of the gaming market... allowing for some exponential growth 

I'm not saying this won't happen, but i so think the pace of change is going to be much longer than people are anticipating. My own prediction is that this will only accelerate faster if there is some significant market consolidation, across the market, and or if SteamOS is released outside of SteamDeck for generic computing.

Information and Image source Gaming on Linux is no joke: it just hit a record high on Steam, and it's not just SteamOS doing all the legwork

Context is everything. 
What was before is not same as it is now, or how it will be.

Before Win11 got out, you had those who, when Win7 reached EOL, didn't want to migrate to Win10 and went to Linux, and are still firmly there - that time Linux had a boost.
Same will happen again with Win10 now over EOL, but likely at bigger levels now - less and less people are willing to give into Microsoft's BS, and that will eventually hit rock bottom (Win12 release?). If an alternative is at reach, and it works....

Linux has been evolving, exponentially.
Having so many distros may look as apparently "fracturing" Linux into factions and weakening it (not having everyone focusing on one single major distro, to become "mainstream"). But what happens is that all of them evolve together, knowledge and solutions are shared, while keeping that variety (with different versions/distros of Linux) for different type of users.
I've mentioned Bazzite and Pop!_OS only because those two seem (to me) as the ones with better chances - at least at this date - to become the most widely adopted by Windows users if migrating.

Nvidia never ever ran well on Linux.
Apparently it finally will in next coming months, and this may be the big disruptor - remember, Nvidia absolutely dominates the GPU market (92% at end of Q1 2025!).
So, if that problem is finally solved, and with disgruntled Windows users having access to free Linux distros working great without fuss, the user numbers are expected to gradually boost to unseen figures.

It's not just your regular user in this, developers (hobbyists and professionals) are in this as well.
And if it involves more users and indirectly more money, then my guess is that all of this will push more and more development for all the other things on Linux, to ease adoption; such as wider support of whatever peripherals and software currently unsupported.
It won't happen overnight, but is already happening.
 

Edited 3 hours ago by LucShep

[Hiob]

Nvidia is past its prime as well if you ask me (from a consumer/gamer point of view). Yes, in absolute terms they still have the crown for peak performance. But all things consideres the leap from 4090 to 5090 is pretty weak (all things mean, next to performance, price, driver quality, features, efficiency).

More and more people are fed up with this BS and are eying towards AMD (and maybe even Intel in the future). Diametrically to Nvidia they improved their drivers instead of breaking them.

Nvidia made it more than clear, that gaming, even though it made them what they are, is merely an afterthought by now. And users took note and didn't like it.

[speed-of-heat]

@LucShepI dont disagree with your analysis that things don't have to be the same in the future, I just think they need to change in order for Linux as a replacement for windows for the majority of gaming users and the majority of them can't spell Bazzite let alone understand the differences between one distro and the next or understand why game X works on their friends distro but doesn't on their own. 

Even if the 43% of windows 10 users convert over the next year to a version of Linux (and i honestly don't think they will) which would be pretty shocking it still would not equate to more than 50% of the market...   
 

or rather it's relevance... It needs to be the regular user because they contrary to belief make up the vast majority of gamers, hobbyist are a  tiny fraction and as for professionals, whilst they are more likely to change, only if they have the IT support to make it happen and corporate change happens slowly. Also it's not a single issue problem space, albeit nVidia drivers are/were a biggie ... 

I think these changes take more time and more consolidation ...  I'm sure we will look back on this conversation historically and go "I was stupid" ... but that's the only we are going to "know" ... right now we have difference of opinion; and i am happily grounded in my space as you are in yours.... 

But i fundamentally disagree with your statement

25 minutes ago, LucShep said:

It's not just your regular user in this, developers (hobbyists or professionals) are in this as well.

As i said agree to disagree.

Edited 3 hours ago by speed-of-heat

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

They can’t keep prices as ridiculous as they are and keep getting away with it. Here in Europe, a 5090 costs (converted to USD) $2900-3500.

A 9070XT cost about half as much as a 5080 and has very similar levels of performance. If my Aero didn’t require nvidia, I’d be using one of those.

Bazzite is the one I’ve been keeping an eye on, and I really hope it will become a valid alternative.

[LucShep]

15 minutes ago, speed-of-heat said:

I dont disagree with your analysis that things don't have to be the same in the future, I just think they need to change in order for Linux as a replacement for windows for the majority of gaming users and the majority of them can't spell Bazzite let alone understand the differences between one distro and the next or understand why game X works on their friends distro but doesn't on their own. 

Even if the 43% of windows 10 users convert over the next year to a version of Linux (and i honestly don't think they will) which would be pretty shocking it still would not equate to more than 50% of the market...   
 

It's only a matter of having it finally adopted by famous people in the medium - say, a "Jayz2Cents" or some famous streamers on Twitch adopting it and showing how it works, and that it does work, with major AAA titles - the "gamers" crowd who can't spell the name of Linux distros let alone understand them, will migrate by the hundreds on each single view, along with their friends, mom, sister, dog and cat....

 

Edited 3 hours ago by LucShep

[MAXsenna]

It's only a matter of having it finally adopted by famous people in the medium - say, a "Jayz2Cents" or some famous streamers on Twitch adopting it and showing how it works, and that it does work - the "gamers" crowd who can't spell the name of Linux distros let alone understand them, will migrate by the hundreds on each single view, along with their friends, mom, sister, dog and cat....
 

Jay's already on his way, and has made a video about it. Basically how easy it was and that not all Steam games work. But Rocket League did IIRC.

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[LucShep]

2 hours ago, MAXsenna said:

Jay's already on his way, and has made a video about it. Basically how easy it was and that not all Steam games work. But Rocket League did IIRC.

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk
 

I was generalizing, but yes seen his video - was a poor showcase for gaming test, it needs to be with AAA game titles, otherwise the big crowds close it and zap to the next video or stream. 
I mean a big name really adopting it, and showing it how it is. Then others will follow suit.

Regardless, things are changing.

 

Edited 34 minutes ago by LucShep