I play a lot of games over steam, and I am coming from windows.
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I would say SteamOS if you can run it. Otherwise, CachyOS.
Thank you
Worth noting if you take this advice: SteamOS (and Bazzite, recommended elsewhere) are immutable distros, which, to over-simplify it to an extreme degree, limits your ability to install things that modify the system directly. This can be a good thing, but it can also make it difficult to install certain things that you might want. There are workarounds, but you might find this frustrating at first.
If you primarily game, this is probably not an issue for you except that some non-Steam games may require some extra work to run (particularly ones that, for example, require you to install .NET Framework or specific Java versions.)
Not trying to discourage you from these - they’re great OSes and the ‘downside’ of immutable distros can actually be beneficial when new to linux, as they prevent you from breaking things through inexperience, but it’s something you should be aware of up front. (FWIW I use Bazzite as my daily driver for everything, and it works fine.)
After distro hopping for decades, I’ve ended up just running Mint for almost all desktop use cases. This includes gaming via steam.
I don’t think you can install Linux on a cat. Please do not the cat
PLEASE DO NOT THE CAT
Doesn’t matter. You can install it on any other hardware because Linux includes ‘cat’ already. You will not need the old one anymore.
A lot of these new distros people mention and threads like this look really sleek and fancy. I’m still using Arch Linux with i3 instead of a desktop environment, and can play whatever games. It’s all the same shit under the hood once you’ve installed what you need.
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I recently made the switch to Kubuntu. I wanted KDE and Wayland all setup for me after arch issues a couple years ago.
Another big reason is that I can install the discord .deb files easily without thinking much, cause discord has an update like every other day.
I might switch one day but it should be easy cause my OS drive doesn’t have any games on it
Your new phone and GameNative. If you insist on a PC- Bazzite have a cool idea where they use Fedora atomic, the downside is that it’s Fedora. If you feel like you can get alone with Arch try CachyOS. I use Nobara but I’m not quite happy with in because I’ve had so many issues with updates, and stuff not working properly and in the past was very confusing what you should’ve to install programs. I’m not sure if there’s a reason to use Nobara now when they use the kernel patches from CachyOS and removed all patches for specific vendors (like Asus and Lenovo) except for Surface laptops. The initial setup is great. If you have legacy or in the short future legacy Nvidia GPU don’t go with Nobara. If you want to set it up yourself like you want check out openSUSE. I didn’t mentioned Debian and Debian-based because Steam is recommended to be installed as system app and Debian have very old packages. Debian unstable or maybe better PikaOS can work for that.
I don’t recommend anything Ubuntu related for newcommers, it’s full of weird stuff that is hard to debug when it breaks. But other than that anything will do really. And even Ubuntu is passable to be honest
Fedora KDE.
Looks similar-esque to Windows, Steam and most/all your games will run great on it.
Packages and kernel are kept current and it’s stable.
It has an App Store called Discover for finding most anything you will need out of the gate.
You’ll probably want to switch off it one day, but when I first got into Linux I used Ubuntu and everything just worked. Even when I had a laptop with a touchscreen, the touchscreen worked no problem. Its a great place to start imo, but not a great place to stay as when you become more proficient with Linux you’ll start to see the distro’s limitations.
Fedora KDE Plasma is what I use. It’s solid.
Fedora’s solid for me. I left Ubuntu distros because they’re always out of date with the latest desktop environment updates.
I was in the same situation a few months ago. I wanted to try Linux but had no real experience with it. To experiment safely, I built a computer from old parts and installed Linux Mint. I then swapped it with my Windows machine and committed to using Mint exclusively for a month. That hands-on approach helped far more than reading guides. I now use Mint on my primary system.
Here is what I learned along the way. Mint has excellent documentation because it is one of the most popular Linux distributions. When I ran into problems, I could generally find reliable answers through the official forums, community wikis, or by asking ChatGPT for step-by-step instructions. So far, there has not been a single issue I could not eventually fix with some experimentation.
If you are coming from Windows and want to game, there are several points worth knowing upfront:
1. Steam on Linux is straightforward
Steam has a native Linux client. Most Windows games work through Proton, which Steam handles automatically. For many titles, you simply install the game and press play. Performance can be very close to Windows.
2. Expect some trial and error
Although many games work out of the box, some require you to switch Proton versions or install small compatibility tools. It is usually not difficult, but it is different enough from Windows that patience helps.
3. Modding takes more effort
My most recent challenge involved getting game mods working. Tools like Proton, Wine, and mod installers sometimes interact in unexpected ways. It took me a few hours of reading and experimenting, but I eventually got everything running. Once you understand where games store their files and how Proton prefixes work, modding becomes much more manageable.
4. Linux teaches you how your system works
If you are willing to tinker, Linux rewards you. You learn how your files are organized, how applications install dependencies, and how to fix problems yourself. That knowledge makes troubleshooting less intimidating over time.
5. You can always dual-boot
If you are nervous about switching completely, you can dual-boot Windows and Mint. That way you can learn Linux without losing access to anything critical.
If you are starting from zero, the biggest advantage is the size and friendliness of the Linux Mint community. You do not have to figure everything out alone. With a bit of persistence, you can build a fully functional gaming setup that performs well and is easier to maintain than you might expect.
Great guide!
I would add that searching for a “SteamDeck” guide for a mod set tends to find a more complete guide for running that mod on Linux.
Not who you were replying to, but thanks for this. I’m hoping to give Linux a go this year, on an old laptop that isn’t needed anymore, and this makes me feel more confident about it!
You will feel at home with anything kde
