Linux Gaming

I also have a dual-boot, with fresh install of Windows I debloated as much as possible, that I use for games that I can't get to run even after trying protondb.com. However, it has only happened one or two times since I switched more than half a year ago, and I usually just give up on and refund games that I can't get to work on Steam. I have a lot of other things to play, and usually I wasn't that much dead set on playing that particular one. I do make sure to post on the forums of the game when that happens, though.

I've also recently stumbled upon https://windowsxlite.com/24H2ProV2/, which should be a debloated and minimized Windows (4Gb installed size is mindblowing, considering that all my Windows VMs have like 40Gb freshly installed). The site looks shady, but it was recommended to me by my coleague who works in cybersecurity, so I hope he knows what he's doing. I haven't got the time to test it yet, but it does mention that it should work for games, so who knows.

Dualbooting is the easiest, IMO.

I had a shrunk down windows partition and a tiny portion of HDD space to install the couple games that only worked on windows.

I've since nuked both partitions, as some of the games now do work on Linux, and the rest were no longer enough to actually make be boot into windows to play.

I have a Windows dual boot for the (nowadays rather rare) cases where a game won't run in Linux.

Interestingly, I spent a while trying to get League of Legends working with their new rootkit requirements... But my Windows-using friends weren't comfortable playing the game any more.

I dual boot anyway to use some features on my scanner, so I might as well use that in case something doesn't run. So far I've been able to move all games I play to Linux. Older games tend to run better than on Windows, in my experience.

Before going with dual boot I was considering running a VM, which seems way cooler but also very tricky to set up properly with passthrough and all that.

I use Proton Experimental to play my games and they all work without exception. I'm in my late 30s, so I no longer play competitive games that have a kernel rootkit, I mean kernel anti-cheat.

Basically, Linux gaming is like this: If you want to play competitive games with anti-cheat, stay or play in Windows. For all other games, play in Linux.

I still have some games that I can only run on my PS3, but I don't really use it much.

Dual boot, although I usually prefer to drop it rather than go to the trouble.

I wouldn't recommend virtualization, not only do you lose performance when you need it most, but (depending on the devices and system) setting everything up properly can be very tedious.

this rarely happens, but when i run into a game that doesn't work i - check protondb.com to see if someone else has already found a solution. trying different proton versions can sometimes help as well

Nowadays I just play something else, so many games out there that work flawlessly (thanks to wine/proton). I also did virtualization successfully for some time but it can take a while to get it right. The best and simplest solution is to get a separate SSD just for windows and dual boot.

I don't buy games that won't run on linux.