Linux is my platform of choice for not only daily computing, but also gaming. And I am happy to say I enjoy it quite a lot.

Steam

I might not be able to play all the latest AAA games, but I still have more games to play than I have time. Since I stopped using Windows, I’ve also made a point to only buy games that support Linux.

There are currently 416 games in my Steam library. 242 of those are on Linux; that’s 58%.

Steam currently has 19,380 games with 2654 of those being Linux, or 14%. That might not seem like a lot, but contrast that to the fact that out of the 100 top Steam games by player count, 44% of them are Linux compatible.

The PC vs Console Debate

Just like I’m a proponent of Linux over Windows, I’m a proponent of PC gaming over consoles.

Just like a Windows gamer firmly believes that PC gaming is the objectively better choice despite the fact they can’t play the latest console exclusives; I firmly believe Linux is the objectively better choice, even if I can’t play the latest Windows exclusives.

One belief that PC gamers hold is that the number of exclusive games you have doesn’t necessarily make your platform better (especially when console gamers try to make the false claim that they have more exclusives than PC).

I think that Windows gamers tend to forget about this in the context of gaming on Linux. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with using Windows to play a select few games. Just like there’s nothing wrong with a PC gamer owning and playing on a console. I myself own a 3DS.

Linux vs Consoles — The Numbers

Let’s deviate from ‘Linux vs Windows’ or ‘PC vs Console’ and focus on ‘Linux vs Console’.

Below is a table of the consoles from 7th and 8th generation with their respective number of exclusives and total number of games.

Console	Exclusives	Total
PS3	317	1438
Xbox 360	107	1232
Wii	351	1528
PS4	127	1721
Xbox One	30	747
Wii U	253	747

The consoles above have a combined Total of 1185 Exclusives. Comparing that to the above figure of 2654, Linux has more games than the consoles have exclusives combined. Then if we take how many games each of those consoles have individually, Linux more games than each.

Having more games doesn’t automatically make Linux better, but it certainly cancels out the argument that “Linux has no games”.

Emulation

Linux, just like the PC platform as a whole, has access to all kinds of console emulators. This opens the door to hundreds, and even thousands, of games to play.

Whether for nostalgia or experiencing classics that you never got to play growing up, emulation lets us breath new life into retro games.

Conclusion

Linux has come a long way in the last few years as a gaming platform and will continue to grow and improve. One thing for certain is that Linux is a competent platform to game on, and I will continue having fun doing so.