The Linux operating system provides security and stability that Windows cannot provide to some extent. However, most players deviate from Windows due to a misconception that Linux cannot support Windows games. Users who want to play games rarely choose Linux, and users who are comfortable working with Linux rarely switch to Windows.
The most common question you are asked as a Linux user is how do you play games? As for games, we know that Windows is somewhat ahead of Linux. This does not mean that we will never be able to play our favorite Windows games again.
This is simply a misconception that Ubuntu does not support Windows gameplay. People usually don’t know that game developers are increasingly taking advantage of the growing Linux market.
How To Play Game On Linux For Gamers
Not only companies that make Linux-based games, but companies like Valve or Steam are trying to develop tools that can support Windows games on your Linux system, not just Ubuntu, but Linux in general.
The big advantage of using Linux over any other gaming platform is the stability that it has to offer. Other systems are usually loaded with errors or problems with freezing. Gamers can easily be disappointed in premature breaks during the execution of their missions. To save you this problem, Linux will provide you with the best gaming stability.
So, now on to the juicy part of our topic, how exactly can you play Windows games on Linux? Below are the tools that support your favorite Windows games on Linux.
The most common way to support games for Windows is to install Wine on your system. When WineHQ released its first stable version 1.0. It already supported the 200 most popular Windows games.
The latest version of Wine also offers game ratings that help determine the number of configurations required. If you see a platinum rating, this means that the game has a 99% chance of working. A gold rating means you need to tweak them a bit, but in the end, they will work fine.
They are labeled as gold because they were not integrated with the latest version of the wine. Silver and bronze labels mean that the game may have some problems. Of course, if a game shows garbage ranking, the chances of it working will be as rare as if it saw a penguin talk. Check out their huge database before installing it.
Steam play this year, a new beta version of Steam was released. A method that allows users to access Steam versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. They already had over 3,000 games for Linux users, and they added more every day. To increase compatibility with games for Windows, they decided to include a beta version of Steam Play, which includes a modified Wine, Proton.
Their official website lists some of the benefits of the new version:
Games for Windows without current versions of Linux can be installed and run directly from the Linux Steam client.
It will include full built-in support for Steamworks and OpenVR.
Improved game compatibility and reduced performance impact with
DirectX 11 and 12
Games recognize all controllers automatically.
Multithreaded games will have improved performance over vanilla wine.
Check out the list of games that the new Steam Beta supports.
PlayOnLinux (POL)
It not only provides an interactive and convenient interface, but also includes a number of ready-made scripts that help users quickly install some games. This is an effective and more convenient interface to the Wine emulator, allowing you to configure it and access it outside the command line. The advantage that you have is that if you cannot find your game on the list in PlayOnLinux or if the script does not work.
You can simply go into the Wine Application database and enter the game you need in the search field. POL’s disadvantages are that Wine is determined by the hardware, which means that its performance will depend on the type of equipment you use, and, unfortunately, POL cannot work without Wine.