With the widespread support for Steam/Valve on this forum because of their contributions to making Linux gaming easier, I’m now confused as to why people here are using Linux in the first place.
I personally do so out of support for FOSS software, the customizability, and actual ownership of software, which I thought were most people’s primary reasons for using any Linux distro. Steam seems antithetical to all of these. The software in the first place became popular as a form of DRM, and it gets publishers to use it for the allowance of DRM on the platform. The Steam client has the absolute minimum customizability. Your account can be banned at any point and you can lose access to many of the games you have downloaded.
Whenever I game on Linux I just use folders to sort my game library and purchase any games I want to play on itch.io or GoG. On my Linux PC I stay away from clients like Steam because I want a PC that works offline, and will work if all of my accounts were banned. It’s more of a backup PC.
Since Steam has every characteristic of Windows, 0 customizability, DRM, plenty of games that are spyware, I see no reason to really not use Windows instead for the much easier time I can have playing games.
Yes, I prefer many of the features of Linux distros, but using a client like Steam defeats the purpose of them. Ridiculous storage requirements due to unoptimized dependencies, having to have a background client running for some games and wasting resources on doing so.
So, why use Linux and support Steam, or use Linux and use Steam?
I swapped because I did not like the direction that Microsoft is taking Windows. It felt like just more tracking, more ads, and less control with each iteration. I always felt like Linux was better, but did not meet my need for gaming. The steam deck came out just a few months before I switched, giving me the confidence that I would still be able to play the games that I enjoy.
Steam is made by Valve, and Valve, dispite their many failings, have shown a very strong commitment to FOSS.
Their contributions to Proton have played a massive part in making Linux a viable platform for gaming. Without them, Linux gaming would be stuck back 10 years at least. Back to the dark days of naked Wine and fighting with configs for hours just to hope to launch a single non-native game.
Valve has also locked themselves in with the Steam Deck. By creating a fresh hardware platform based almost completely on a FOSS software stack and by making it open, moddable, repairable, and upgradeable, they have made it very tough for themselves to break away to a proprietary solution further down the line.
All these things cause me to trust them quite a bit. Make no mistake, I'm committed to FOSS first. If and when Valve goes down the enshitification path, (once Gabe dies, sells out, or otherwise passes the torch), I will move off of the platform and only use FOSS games/software and resources like Lutris, Bottles, GoG, etc.
But until that dark day, I will support Valve at least passively. because by committing to so much development towards FOSS platforms, they are locking themselves into it and proving to us that they aren't just giving lip service to the FOSS community.
I wish Steam was FOSS, I wish Steam wasnt DRM itself, but in a world where things are mostly grey, I personally feel comfortable currently supporting them with my money.
Many steam games don't even have DRM and most games only require Steam to be present and not necessarily online.
The company as a whole is very stable and doesn't perform any overly wild anti user behaviour. And they're big supporters and developers of Linux.
If you want to install games that are spyware that's totally up to you. And I suppose that's really the point.
Instead of turning into hyper capitalist assholes like every other company, steam just leaves us the fuck alone while providing great great games at great prices. Also no sexual harrassment coverups or buyouts.
Steam just leaves us the fuck alone and let's you focus purely on the game.
Many steam games don't even have DRM and most games only require Steam to be present and not necessarily online.
Even then there are Steam emulators. If OP really wanted to they could just download the games from Steam and use that.
It's kind of like using a Games For Windows Live fix or a no CD crack in Lutris for older games.
And they’re big supporters and developers of Linux
Not looking to disagree, but do you have a source on the “developers” part?
They fund the development of:
- DXVK (D3D9-11 wrapper)
- Wine/Proton (Codeweavers and independent contractors). Proton is open source even if it’s mostly Steam specific.
- Mesa RADV (Vulkan AMD driver)
- The Linux kernel
- KDE Plasma
- gamescope
- HDR/colour management
That’s just off the top of my head. I’ll admit that some of this work comes from 1 or 2 single paid developers that have their hands in many things, but that’s not a bad thing.
Windows bad, apple bad, Google bad
I think a better title for your post would be, "Why do you use Steam?"
Even being on Linux isn't enough for Linux users, now. Gotta have every piece of software they approve of and none of the ones they don't. On top of it you have to use it for the same reasons, too.
Fucking Christ, you guys make me want to never mention that I use Linux.
Are you really curious or do you just want to hate on steam for paragraphs? Because I love FOSS too but I find your tone and post in general to be annoying and obtuse.
I'm genuinely curious about why someone would use/support Linux and then use/support Steam, and how people manage to conflate the two. I've already posted other paragraphs in other places complaining about Steam over the course of years so I'm alr.
I don't see how it's contradictory in any way
Liking FOSS and the ethos behind it doesn't at all mean you are required to be a zealot who only accepts that. Further, your claim that gaming on Linux without proton is easy is just flat out wrong.
Made the switch way before any kind of support from steam, had several games from aspyr and feral, bought a codeweavers license and all that. For me at keast it's about the lack of interruptions and actually enjoying the workflow on gnome. I also love the idea of fetting in touch directly with the people making the programs I enjoy and not a random support rep on the other side of the world.
On the other hand, you should probably take a deeper look at steam. There are a ton of extra modifications you can do to the client, all of them unofficial and some straight up illegal, from changing the theme to injecting enhancements on the store (e.g. displaying protondb score on store pages) to aome shady shit like unlocking DLC. Steam is DRM but it's not denuvo or something like that. It's easily circumventable to the point I feel safe buying games on it, knowing if they ever go for a rug pull, I could keep most if not all my stuff regardless of the platform itself.
Steam will let you play pirated games through their Proton and compatibility framework. What kind of DRM is it truly if it helps you pirate?
Windows 10 shit the bed and needed a reinstall so I went through all the steps needed to get it just right again in my head. I realized it's gonna take me most of the day and I installed pop OS instead, that was like 2 years ago and I haven't looked back.
• 1) I'm disillusioned with and sick of Windows. I've been in there since the days of XP and 7, back then those systems could take a crapload of abuse from my young clueless arse prone to downloading hundreds of malware, yet still be functioning largely flawlessy. Hell, even Vista and 8 were still quite resilient, and I say this as someone who used Vista for 2 years. Meanwhile, Windows 10 completely falls apart if I so much as look at it wrong, and I never had a W10 installation last longer than 6 months without falling apart with bizarre bug after bizarre bug (such as leaving me completely unable to open any image files) - and this is without my past proneness to getting malware. I don't have the patience for that anymore, and then 11 comes in adding ads to the start menu and I just can't anymore.
• 2) I've come to appreciate how Linux handles some things better - mostly with regards to Flatpaks and their self-containment making it less risky to run some things and easier to keep track of what I have installed. I find it's also easier to deal with backups on Linux than Windows, especially with Kinoite (and I heard Tumbleweed also does a good job at it with snapper, too). In general I feel safer when using Linux, but on Windows I'm always paranoid about downloading a virus again - and with how brittle 10 is…
• 3) I don't really like monopolies and don't like the idea of Microsoft becoming basically synonymous with computers (and Apple isn't any better).
It's not perfect, mind you, and I do still feel many frustrations with Linux (I had to deal with Steam stopping working for no reason lately, but at least I could rollback to an earlier version), but I've genuinely not had much better luck with 10 at this point.
I'd use something else if it were better, but there isn't.
I started using Linux at tge end of last year when I built myself a new gaming PC. Had enough of Windows telemetry and wanted to start taking small steps to improve my digital privacy. Ditching Windows for Linux is the easy part.
Valve has fone wonders in making gaming on linux relatively frictionless all things considered and for that, I (and i believe a lot of people) am grateful. It gives us a choice in OS. Yes, Steam can be considered "DRM" but at least it's better than Denuvo or EAC. Steam works on Linux without having to jump through hoops.
Also, Steam family sharing is awesome. I can let my partner / family play my games when I am working and they are not.
Steam is not mutually exclusive with denuvo or eac.
That's true. I guess the more accurate comprison would be Steam VS Epic games store since they are storefronts as well as drm.
Because it's easier to use/troubleshoot and fix problems. "Oh something broke on an update" revert to the last update. "I have an issue and it outputs an error code in the terminal" copy paste into Google/chatGPT and find the solution.
