With the advent of time gaming on Linux has become quite popular. In recent years, many new Linux distros have hit the market that is specially meant for gaming. Apart from the already well-known distros like Ubuntu, users have started using distros like Steam OS for a better gaming experience.
It is true that any Linux distro can be used by gamers. It is all a matter of personal liking which distro you are going to use for gaming. To make sure about your liking use some live CD and see how it feels even without installing.
Moreover, there is one more thing that has to be kept in mind while choosing the Linux Distro. It is the support for drivers. You can actually find and install the driver yourself on any distro. Moreover, you also need to check how frequent the updates of the distros are. If it is a point release distro, then the updates will be large and better constructed, however, if it is a rolling release distro, then the updates will be quite frequent but the updates may have glitches and would not be very well constructed.
Below we have collected the best gaming Linux distros that you need to use in 2018:
Steam OS
Steam is an online game distribution platform and has above 1000 games in their collection. SteamOS was developed by Valve. This distro comes with special modifications in the Linux kernel to improve the gaming experience of the user. It is primarily based on Debian and is without much confusion the best Linux gaming distro that is available in the market. Steam Store is a place that has games that are chiefly dedicated to being played on SteamOS. Equipped with the GNOME desktop environment, it mainly specializes in gameplay and web browsing. Moreover, SteamOS is open source however, the Steam gaming client is closed source and supports various peripherals like the GPU and the gamepads.
To summarize the best features of SteamOS, we can say that SteamOS is built for lightweight jobs and is meant to mainly support high-end games. It has a large collection of games and is easily compatible with gaming peripherals.
Ubuntu Gamepack
Ubuntu has always produced specialized versions for specialized users and jobs. The Ubuntu Gamepack focuses on becoming a great Linux for playing games. Ubuntu Gamepack comes with Lutris and Steam to enable the easy availability of games. The developers of Ubuntu Gamepack believes that they have created a platform for more than 100s of games. The Ubuntu Gamepack is also equipped with PlayOnLinux and Wine pre-installed. Therefore, installing the window games becomes easy and because of pre-installed java and flash, playing online games because as easy as cake.
To summarize the best features of the Ubuntu Gamepack, we can say it gives the familiar Unity environment with pre-loaded Steam, Lutris, Wine, PlayOnLinux, Flash, and java.
Game Drift Linux
Third on our list of best gaming distro is Game Drift Linux. It is an open source distro derived from Ubuntu and is meant specifically for gamers. Credits can be given to its Game Store and CrossOver Games as it lets you access more than 1500 windows games.
Game Drift Linux comes in the lightweight MATE desktop environment letting you access the menu and use applications from the taskbar just like windows. Overall, game Drift Linux will familiar to windows and comes with its own game store with a fast and simple Linux environment and can as well be installed from external storage.
SparkyLinux
SparkyLinux is the father of special editions. It has three special edition Linux called GameOver, Rescue and Multimedia. When we are trying to list the best Linux gaming Distros, we will try to keep the focus on GameOver. This release is comparatively new and features the LXDE desktop environment. Already installed with a large number of games, the APTus Gmaer feature lets you easily connect with various gaming peripherals easily. Moreover, beside the everyday usable features of an OS, the user also gets Steam, Wine, PlayOnLinux and Itch client for Linux. To summarize, this is an excellent gaming distro that you can run as an operating system. Also, this distro can be run from an external storage.
Fedora Games
The specialized distros from Fedora are called Fedora spins. Fedora Games will surely be one of the best Linux gaming distros for CentOS/Fedora Linux users. It is already loaded with 1000 of Linux games. However, Fedora games do not come preinstalled with Steam client. To summarize the features of Fedora Games, we can say that Fedora games is a blessing for users familiar with Fedora. It has lots of pre-loaded games and it is lighter than the Fedora Workstation.
Lakka Linux
This gaming platform is for arcade gamers. Built on an openELEC Linux distro. Lakka Linux is different from the normal Linux distros. Lakka linux is specially known for the hardware support that it provides. It supports PC, HummingBoard, Banana Pie etc. it also supports auto gamepad configurations. Added with features like the multiplayer shader, netplay, and rewind, this Linux gaming distro will surely win you over. This distro is easy to use and handle and provides a special lightweight experience.
Solus
Recently Solus has reached a whole new level of popularity because of the developments that it has recently undergone. Solus is user-friendly and the user interface is one of a kind. Since Slous is a rolling distro, you are sure to get all the top edge updates at a frequent rate. Steam integration is important for hassle-free gameplay and Slouys comes equipped with thefeature. It is worthy to say that Solus comes with a number of choice like Budgie, MATE and GNOME editions. To enable better integration and efficiency, Solus turns off Steams runtime and uses its own Runtime. To summarize, we can say that Solus has a very appealing user interface and comes in a variety of desktop options. Moreover, being a rolling distro, the updates are frequent and easily available.
Linux Console
This distro has been developed by modern Linux Distributions and it is loaded with tons of software. Besides loading it on the computer, gamers can enjoy the live CD mode as well.it has various daily use software and also comes loaded with games like the SuperTux, Torcs, etc. to reasons to choose Linux console would be easy installation, good hardware support and lots of pre-installed games.
Manjaro Game
This is not an official manjaro spins but is really useful to gamers who are trying to explore the world of Linux gaming. It is a rolling distro and comes with pre-installed software like Steam and PlayOnLinux. Initially, it started as Manjaro Gaming and it is soon going to take over the market quite easily. It is powered by XFCE environment and has a less storage occupying software for doing everything an OS should be able to do. It is a rolling distro and therefore, it is expected to be up to date all the time.
SuperGamer
The main focus of this distro is to run as a live DVD. With the claim of being the world first Dual Layer Live DVD, it ships to a number of sharing platforms. The user if required can also download and install the software on their hard drive. SuperGamer has a lot of pre-loaded games and has access to Ubuntu repositories.
With this we come to the end of our list of best gaming Linux distros. It is not important which Linux distro is the best, what is important is which Linux distros suits us. The distros are built for different purposes. It may be very true that tha distro we found best may not seem as effective to you as expected. Therefore, we request you not to go for the ranking but check every distro and find out the distro that’s best for you.