Linux isn’t a strong gaming platform either. If you’re not messing around getting single player games to work.
You’re locked out of most bit multiplayer games due to incompatible anti cheat.
Linux Wine/Proton is more evolved plus Valve, Easy and BattlEye Anti-Cheats are supported compared to Crossover/Parallels.
Linux
+ No Crossover subscription needed since Wine/Proton are free
+ No Parallels subscription needed
+ VAC, EAC and BattlEye anti-cheats supported
+ DirectX 11 and 12 translations supported
+ Native Vulkan support
+ Better game compatibility
+ Comparable and sometimes better frame rate and frame time performance than Windows
MacOS
- Needs Crossover subscription
- Needs Parallels subscription
- No current anti-cheat support AFAIK
- Only DirectX 11 translation but not DirectX 12
- Questionable Vulkan support with many games not working
- Limited game compatbility
- Lower frame rate performance and more jank
Such ancient games it brings back memories. They're so old even games like Borderlands 2, Half-life 2, Portal, etc. were playable on 2014 Nvidia Shield android tablet.
Several games on the same ”
Best of Steam 2021” list are ”ancient” which shows that age is just a number and doesn’t affect the quality or popularity of a game.
2007 Team Fortress
2010 Civilization V
2012 CSGO, Eurotruck Sim
2013 DOTA 2, War Thunder, Path of Exile, ARMA 3, Payday 2, Company of Heroes 2
2014 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
2015 GTA, Rainbow Six Siege, Fallout 4, CoD Black OPS 3, Cities Skylines, The Witcher 3, Dying Light
It remains to see if Proton increases Linux market share. Won’t be easy when it has less than half the Mac market share. It can also have the opposite effect and be a disadvantage for native ports to Linux. People use the same argument against Mac and say using Crossover makes the developers think there is no need to port Windows games to Mac. The same can be said about Proton and Linux.
Since Codeweavers make both Proton and Crossover you can be sure that Proton’s features will come to Mac too. They’ve been committed to Mac for a long time. DX 12 support is planned for Crossover 23 next year. Epic’s Easy Anti-Cheat already
works on Mac.
Of course Linux has its advantages in specific areas but as a whole it still isn’t a strong gaming platform compared to Mac as Lihp8270 said. We were talking about gaming natively on Mac vs Linux. You’re talking about Windows gaming on Mac/Linux. While Proton is more evolved Linux gamers are still only a small and specific group that can take advantage of those benefits. None of the games orionquest mentioned as examples against AAA gaming on Mac exists on Linux either, except Black Mesa.
One of the main arguments here and in similar threads against gaming on Mac and porting games is the small market share and profit margins. Gaming is a consumer driven market. There are no Linux computers in the retail stores sold to daily users but you can find Macs everywhere. There are far more Mac adopters than Linux. Since market share and profit margins are the main factor Macs have a clear advantage there:
- User base on Steam: Mac 2.55%, Linux 1.14%.
- Number of current games: Mac 34272, Linux 22175
- Number of upcoming games: Mac 1453, Linux 1033
With its many distros and steeper learning curve Linux is not as user friendly as Mac OS. Linux users have to have more technical knowledge about their system to be able to manage it. Linux gamers have to often build their own systems and tweak them for gaming. Many games are often ported first to Mac then to Linux, if at all (Yes, I know some games are ported to Linux but not to Mac).
According to this
article there are 5 Linux distros recommended for gaming. With Mac you have one OS. The article says ”You’ll have to consider many factors to choose the best Linux distros for gaming for yourself. You’ll want to check if the distro supports gaming platforms, like Steam or GameHub. If you prefer using controllers for your sessions, make sure the distro supports controllers, like the Xbox or PlayStation controllers. It also won’t hurt to check if the distro comes with other regular desktop apps.”
The article also says ”One thing most might be thinking about PC gaming on Linux is that there will be a lot of necessary tinkering. It’s no different here.” You also have to use different tools like Lutris and Feral Gamemode to get the best performance.
In contrary to what you say the writer says "Because a lot of the games being played on Linux aren’t native, there will usually be a performance difference to Windows. Running through compatibility layers just isn’t the same as running a game natively, so it’s to be expected. As good as Proton is, it’s still a fix. And some games just won’t run at all, in many cases because of anti-cheat software baked in. Destiny 2, for example, flat out won’t start because of its anti-cheat system which just isn’t supported on Linux. If you like to tinker with things, you should try Linux. I’m not here to say you should ditch Windows 10 immediately, but I am here to tell you not to be afraid to try it. I wanted to learn how to use it, and while I’ve barely scratched the surface, I do get an immense feeling of satisfaction making tweaks and seeing the results. Right after the rage because, as a beginner, I broke something."
Again Linux can be a good gaming platform for hardcore gamers who know what they are doing but as a whole is not a strong platform with its small market share.