Last updated on 2021/10/02
Before writing any words on this piece, let me state that I am fully aware of how polarizing Fortnite can be.
It may be that the whole premise is flawed. Fortnite is so yesterday. Fortnite is so teenage. Nobody plays it anymore.
So let’s just get it out in the open.
Fortnite is holding gaming on Linux back.
Now with that out of the way, let’s step back and please put your personal vitriol on hold for a second.
This isn’t about Fortnite.
Well, it kind of is because I keep mentioning it. What it really is about are games like Fortnite.
Big ticket games. Big ticket, very ubiquitous, common, and prevalent games.
And even more than that. Support, easy installs, and having someone else do the work for you.
Before you mount your high horse here, please hear me out for a second.
Linux is here. Linux isn’t going anywhere. Linux is more secure. Linux is the future.
This mantra has been said by many over and over again. I heard it myself from people commenting on an article I wrote about Microsoft wanting to kill off custom gaming PCs with Windows 11.
Sure – I am not arguing that. What I am arguing is this:
Linux isn’t mainstream.
That is why I keep bringing up Fortnite.
If you are upset at these words then you are probably the type of person who is already either playing around with Linux or using a variant as a daily driver. You are comfortable with it. You know how to squash the major annoyances and live with the minor ones.
You can do it. I am even considering taking the plunge. All it takes is the ability to google and apply solutions.
Yet, until a big name player steps up and tries to make it easy for the average gamer and 99.9% of all games that they might want to play are available to install and play like they are on Windows right now, there won’t be enough adoption to really get the ball rolling.
There are a few reasons for this.
First, changing human behavior is hard to do. People carry a sense of momentum. It often seems that there are physical laws for human behavior.
A person at rest tends to stay at rest.
A person using one software, OS, or process tends to keep using that same software, OS, or process.
Sure – some people will always want to be on the front of the curve. They will want privacy. They will want security.
But what are the tradeoffs?
I am sitting here writing this right now with the idea in my head of converting my new gaming PC from a Windows 10 system to a linux-based system.
This gaming PC doesn’t have any of my work tools on it. It doesn’t have photoshop. It doesn’t have any spreadsheet apps installed.
There are 3 main programs installed on it right now.
The Steam Store + games.
The Epic Store + games.
Minecraft.
Maybe I am just crazy. Maybe the hesitancy here is no different than the range anxiety that I feel when thinking about an electric car.
Yes – I would really like to have an electric car. However, living in the rural midwest USA I know that there aren’t a lot of charging stations in my area. There will be challenges which make me pause.
The same thing goes with switching to linux.
Steam has already addressed issues around most if not all games on that platform. Minecraft is easy. Epic? Not 100% because of the Fortnite problem.
So why hesitate here?
First there is a learning curve. Ok, I can overcome that. It wasn’t too hard to figure out how to run Minecraft servers in Docker containers over a weekend. I have used linux before for work and way back when in school.
Second is a (probably irrational) fear that I will need to spend more time troubleshooting, updating, and fixing than I will in playing games.
Is this warranted? Logically, no. There is enough information out there to debunk this the same way that there is information about reducing range anxiety in electric cars, even for the rural midwest.
Is that fear still there? Yup.
It is possibly the anticipation of future headaches that is the biggest roadblock here. The funny thing is – I know 110% logically that I already deal with these headaches within Windows. Windows Updates. Accounts logging out. Game files not synchronizing.
Third is that it requires a change. Before Windows 11 announced a requirement for a TPM module there was no external force pushing anyone in that direction.
There are plenty of internal forces at work for anyone that has made this switch. Microsoft sucks. Lack of privacy. Lots of security holes. I wanted to try it.
However, there was nothing in Windows 10 or earlier versions where you homebuilt gaming rig just wouldn’t work with either Windows or Linux.
Now there is.
The point here isn’t me and wanting to try out Linux.
The point also isn’t you thinking I am stupid for writing all of these words and that I should just shut up and go start installing some variant and try it out.
The point here is that there isn’t an easy button alternative to Windows. Period.
Those of us on the leading edge of technology adoption will always have options. Those options will always have a few gotchas and annoyances to deal with because, in most cases, things aren’t natively built for things other than windows.
The people who would benefit from this include the less technically inclined and the kids who have already become the next generation of gamers.
You know, the people that play Fortnite. There is no mainstream solution for games like this, and until one exists, Windows will remain the dominant and prevalent force for operating systems on computers.
The blueprints for this exist right in front of us. Unfortunately, it is a top-down situation.
The blueprints are simple.
Make it free. Easy. Anyone can fork an existing Linux variant.
Make the drivers work as well as they do on Windows. Not just anyone can do this. Until this is equivalent support from the big two (Nvidia and AMD) for Linux drivers, this will be an uphill battle. Remember that this is a top-down problem?
Make it easy. The games need to be as easy to install and play as they are on Windows. The drivers need frequent updates. Also – be able to support all of the tentpoles out there. Without the ease of use and installation and support across the board this begins to break down. It will be hard enough to get people to change. If that change also requires dual booting or simply missing out on some of the biggest games then this battle is lost before it even can begin.
Make it open. If one company starts this, bring others along with you. In this way, both Valve and Epic any any others would benefit by having their stores on this platform. Cut out the middleman of Microsoft.
The best company in a position to try this is none other than Valve.
The problem here is that they already tried, and seem to have given up. A few years back they attempted to do all of what is being talked about here. They created a Linux variant called SteamOS. They even took it one step further and engaged with various computer vendors to try and create product lines with the OS pre-installed on gaming systems.
It didn’t go very well at the time.
Although the announcements back in 2015 made a splash, by 2018 Valve had dropped all of the hardware from the Steam store. SteamOS stuck around but seems to have nearly been abandoned. As of the beginning of July 2021, wikipedia reports that the latest SteamOS release is nearly 2 years old having occurred on July 18, 2019.
So what is next?
Well, Microsoft is making it harder for custom systems to run newer versions of Windows by requiring TPM modules and online activation and installations. Valve seems to have dropped support for a potential alternative to WIndows. In the mean time, life goes on in the rest of the world.
Will we all be stuck with Windows and forced to jump through whatever hoops they dream up? I sure hope not, but am unfortunately resigned to this fate.
Help us Obi-Gabe-Ke-Newell, you are our only hope!
Thanks for reading!
PS – This post was written and completed days before a surprise July 15 by none other than Valve about a very interesting device named the Steam Deck running none other than SteamOS 3.0!! Therefore, stay tuned for part 2 where we take a look at whether there is a possible light at the end of this dark tunnel (with no Windows)!
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