Now, more than a year into the SteamOS era (measuring from that beta launch), the nascent Linux gaming community is cautiously optimistic about the promise of a viable PC gaming market that doesn’t rely on a Microsoft OS. Despite technical and business problems that continue to get in the way, Valve has already transformed gaming on Linux from “practically nothing” to “definitely something” and could be on the verge of making it much more than that.
Progress has been amazing, and once Valve gets its SteamOS and Steam Machines, things should pick up even more.
Looks like Valve is working on their own VR stuff as well. I’m hoping finally VR becomes a viable option. Considering the fact that Atari were working on VR back in the 70s, it’s amazing how long it’s taken for it to become something worth while.
Unless someone really solves the sickness problem I believe it is going to be hard sell. Seems people are working on it though:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality_sickness#Newest_techno…
Maybe creating something like a heads-up-display like Hololens is a much more likely candidate ?
VR will never take off, just like 3d flopped. Too many people have vision problems that make it a difficult sell. Right now there is only 1 3D movie playing.
I really hope glnext will deal a serious blow to MS DirecX lock-in.
You are forgetting Metal, Mantle, LibGCM, DX, GX2, …
As a Linux enthusiast myself, I’m very glad with the changes in Linux game availability that Valve has pushed for.
But SteamOS and the push for Linux support happened when Microsoft with Windows 8 (and particularly the boot locked RT tablets) and Apple with OS X were trying to push the closed App Store distribution model to the desktop.
Steam would have no space in an App Store-only Windows, and that was what pushed Valve to ensure they had a platform of their own.
It looks like the new Microsoft have backed out in their attempts at locking everything out, so it’s pretty likely that the most involved lines of work with regards to creating their own platform have been de-prioritized at Valve.
I’ll happily play my Linux Steam games, though, and hope more of them will come. Thank you, Valve! And thank you a little bit too, Microsoft, for providing the business reason!
Edit: typo
Edited 2015-02-27 08:10 UTC
Yes, it’s amazing how much my Linux Steam library has grown in the past year. I occasionally reboot to Windows to play some AAA shooter but I’m very happy that most games I really enjoy are available on Linux as well.
What about Xbox on Windows 10?
But yeah. I’ve always shared your view of the “why?” and not because “OMG LINUX? AWESOME!”
Vast majority of AAA titles aren’t there. Sure, you can play Left 4 Dead and Half Life 2 but what if you want to play WOW, Rift, Battlefield 4, Grand Theft Auto, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham Knight, Madmax, Total War and so on?
Some AAA titles are there, and considering that the steam machines are not even out yet, i have high hopes. As for Skyrim, WoW and GTA there are plenty of videos on how to get them to work on wine as a stopgap until they get ported (if they get ported that is) and the benchmarks of those games in wine on some machines even outperforms running them on windows. Check youtube for videos of wine in action for the particular game and see recommendations in winehq database for how to set up an environment for that particular game so that it works as intended.
Wine is very unpredictable however. I’ve tried it numerous times, even with PlayOnLinux. It just crashes too often and I spend more time figuring out what went wrong and trying to work around it than enjoying the games. And even when it does work, there’s always the fear in the back of my mind that it might lock up all of a sudden.
Edited 2015-02-27 13:32 UTC
Personally, I think SteamOS as hardware platform will join Ouya.
And it remains to be seen how long Valve will keep the the store going as well.
Edited 2015-02-27 14:53 UTC
Valve will no shut down the store anytime soon. They have too much money in it. I think it will eventually be a standard console platform, smaller that xbox, playstation, and nintendo, but long lasting.