Gaming on Linux

Leah Rowe

August 2025

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Article published by: Leah Rowe

Date of publication: August 2025

Someone should write this book!

Draft design for the front cover of a book titled It's the Games, Stupid, centering around the concept of playing video games on Linux. A giant game controller is depicted, with two people holding it up from a cliff edge. Another person, and also a turtle, is sitting on top of the controller. In the background is the sea, the sky and some clouds. There is also a crab.

Thanks to Steam, and especially the Steam Deck video gaming consoles which all run on Linux, the number of Linux users worldwide has sky rocketed in recent years.

Of course, we should absolutely teach people about Free Software as a matter of ideological import. Mere exposure to Linux will still lead many people to read about it anyway; even if we do not emphasise this ideology, it’s still better that people game on Linux/BSD, as opposed to Microsoft or Apple operating systems.

Gaming is serious business. It is my wish that Linux will become the number one choice for gamers in the future. It’s certainly better than Windows or Mac, since Linux distros typically do not contain tracking/telemetry or spyware, and the probability of malware is indeed very low.

We have better graphics drivers in Linux these days, and the vendors are starting to care a lot more about free software as a result; their motivation isn’t software freedom, but it’s nice nonetheless.

Steam Deck consoles offer a pleasant alternative compared to the likes of Microsoft, Sony or Neintendo, so I’m all for it. I did briefly play on a Steam Deck once, when I met a friend who had one. She had DOOM II on it, which was the first game I played.

Of course, these games on Steam are proprietary software, and sometimes contain anti-cheat which prevents Linux to work; Brodie Robertson did an excellent video on the subject here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KYQRk_SIB8 - he does a number of interesting videos in general, about Free Software, but also games.











This Libreboob comic is also a parody of the front cover for the book titled It’s the Economy, Stupid, by authors by Vicky Pryce, Andy Ross and Peter Urwin. You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Its-Economy-Stupid-Economics-Voters/dp/1849547459

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