Best Linux Distros for Gaming (2021)

Not that many people associate Linux with gaming, but the times are changing and big dogs in the industry are coming up with clever ways to make games tick on the platforms. Wine is compatible with more games than ever these days, and Valve may be on the verge of a Linux gaming revolution with Proton – which lets you run native Windows games in Linux via Steam.

The only thing that can hamper the experience is the Linux distro itself. While technically any Linux distro may be used for gaming, there are some distros specifically optimized for gaming.

Script by John Wachira

[huge_balls]

I love this video format. Easy to follow and straight to the point.

[hungariancuman]

I game on Manjaro Linux and its even better than win 10 for me...win 10 kept crashing on me but since I made the switch it works fine and some games even faster.

[TOKYEO]

i would put links in the description but nice video

[TheWalkingPotato]

Will buy a new desktop next month, i will install manjaro, it will be my first time using a native linux distro, not the best choice for a beginner, but i will learn the hard way.

[liomurasaki]

TLDR: If you are new on Linux, Pop! OS Drauger OS

[anssilehtimaki]

I might switch to Solus at some point but still on Linux Mint

[JoeX]

well between these ones, I'm now deciding between Drauger OS and Solus...

[abaneyone]

I had problems downloading Drauger OS. I'm currently using Debian 11 without any problems after traveling all around the world hopping from distrio to distro. The only one in your list that I haven't tried is Drauger.

[bwbccreativepromotions]

mx linux now has KDE and fluxbox desktop enviroments so the shortcomings dont highlight this fact, Long time user of this and I have never found it bloated and use it on very an old 12 year old laptop for 3d printing and watching movies and streaming with only 2gb of ram .... thats very good

[Trialwolf]

Garuda Linux is another good Linux OS for gaming, it comes with all the main programs needed for Linux gaming and allows you to select which additional features and programs at install which really helps save time on hunting them down later.

[renierfourie]

Why steamos? OK I have tested it about a year ago and I was definitely not impressed. It was difficult to set up and it didn't even come with steam pre-installed. Up untill now, I have been using arch. But now I'm looking for a new os. One preferably Debian based.