It's true. Since the popularization of Steam deck, much has changed in the panorama Gaming. More and more of us are playing on Linux, a trend that has been expanded thanks to the Valve's Handheld PC. It wasn't long before comparisons began to appear, and many Windows games have been shown to run better on Linux than on Windows. So, Does it make sense to create games for Linux?
The answer is little or nothingSome developers have stopped developing the Linux version because the Windows version works better. After listening to the community and returning support for Linux, they've continued to recommend the Windows version because it still offers superior performance. All of this is being handled by Valve and CodeWeavers, as well as WineHQ, since Wine has a significant say in all of this.
Steam + Proton: Does Linux Gaming Make Sense in 2025?
The fact is that creating an application for an operating system is quite simple. Although it is not only that, it is almost enough to compile it from the target operating system. For example, if we go to the FreeTube page on GitHub, we see a section with downloads for different operating systems. Let's imagine there's nothing for Linux and we want to use it on a system with the kernel. Simply compile it from a Linux-based system and we'd get a package that would depend on the configuration, but could be an AppImage. Then, all that's left to do is grant execution permissions and launch the package we just created.
One might think the same could be done for games, but no. The game itself might not change, but there are graphics stacks and a lot of software to consider. In short, there's a lot of work to be done, and the fact is that those of us who play on Linux don't even make up 3%. What's more, that percentage represents the total number of gamers on Linux, including those who run Proton. Still, developers will increasingly say, "Why?" and rightly so.
Watch out, the new ones
This only applies to new games. If we look at some recent ones, such as Stellar Blade, Black Myth o Doom: Dark Ages, we'll see that the first two have Platinum status, while the third has Gold status. And why isn't the latest Doom Platinum? Because, at least right now, Denuvo is having problems, and they won't give it Platinum status if it doesn't work perfectly. Someone must be thinking, "Aha! Then they really need to build for Linux!, and no, that's not the case. Problems with this type of software will always be present in Linux because of how operating systems based on this work.
As for older games, we can only look at them to get a complete picture, but it doesn't make much sense to talk about "creating" when something has already been created. This part of the picture is a little different. What has been done at some point recently is like a clean slate: everything that comes out from that point on works fine on Linux, but what came before isn't guaranteed.
To give some examples, Devil May Cry HD collection, where the 1, 2 and 3 are remastered, can be played, but the sound of the cinematics is bad. It is solved with a modification that basically involves using other videosAnother is Darksiders, which even in the remastered version you can see moments with colors adjustment letter type and in the cinematics you only hear dialogues - without background sound -, that is when you don't skip them.
Is this good or bad for Linux users?
This Steam + Proton thing is good for Linux users. Previously, there was a small percentage for us, but all games are compatible with Windows. This doesn't mean everything on Steam will run perfectly on Linux, but it does mean most can be played without any major issues. We're winning in terms of quantity, and in many cases, quality. We'd prefer things to be different, but in this case, we're not going to complain too much.