Windows Boosters Try GNU/Linux for Games, Rootkit ('Anti-Cheat') as Barrier, and "Linux Benchmarking Transformed!"

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jan 21, 2026

• Windows Central ☛ What is Bazzite, and is it better than Windows for PC gaming? I installed this trending Linux distribution to see for myself

  Is Windows or Linux better for PC gaming? Not a question I'd expect to have answered a few years ago, as the latter was barely brought up in conversation among your usual players. That's different now, especially since Valve's Steam Deck changed the conversation by introducing SteamOS and Proton, a double-edged sword of a Linux distribution and a Windows code compatibility layer.

  The short answer is that Bazzite is Linux. Specifically, it's an open-source distro based on Fedora, rather than Arch, which is the basis for SteamOS. If, like me, you never strayed from Windows for the majority of your life, then a bunch of those terms will sound like complete nonsense jargon — and I agree.

  There are pros and cons to choosing Linux over Windows, and I'll go into the details of each. For the most part, you'll find they are extremely similar for the purpose of PC gaming, especially if you ever used a Steam Deck or Steam's Big Picture Mode on a desktop PC or laptop. I've been dual-booting Windows 11 and Fedora KDE Linux for a while now, but Bazzite is seriously tempting me.

• Marathon Anti-Cheat All But Rules Out Linux Gamers for Upcoming Shooter

  Anti-cheat has become a hot-button topic since the launch of Valve's Steam Deck, with many developers now moving to add Linux support to their games to cater to users of Valve's Linux-powered gaming handheld. That said, there are still a handful of large game studios that refuse to accommodate Linux gamers with their multiplayer game launches. With the game's March launch rapidly approaching, the Steam page has officially gone live, revealing that Marathon will use BattlEye kernel-level anti-cheat, which will seemingly rule out compatibility with the Valve Steam Deck and other Linux distributions.

• Marathon Has Anti-Cheat… RIP Linux Players I Guess

  Bungie has finally pulled back the curtain on the technical requirements for its upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon. While the studio recently confirmed a 5 March 2026 release date, the finer details regarding its security measures have surfaced, and it is a bitter pill to swallow for those of us who have ditched Windows in favour of Linux or the Steam Deck.

  In a move that mirrors the controversial stance taken with Destiny 2, Bungie has confirmed that Marathon will utilise BattlEye kernel-level anti-cheat. While robust security is sometimes a necessity for any high-stakes extraction shooter to protect the in-game economy and player experience, the implementation chosen here essentially slams the door shut on Linux users.

• Linux Benchmarking Transformed! – CapFrameX is coming to Linux

  CapFrameX, the popular PC game benchmarking tool, is coming to Linux. Currently, the benchmarking tool is only available on Windows PCs, but this should change later this year.

  With the growing popularity of SteamOS, Bazzite, and other Linux distributions amongst gamers, there is growing interest in dedicated Linux benchmarking. With CapFrameX, PC enthusiasts will soon have a dedicated benchmarking tool that supports both Windows and Linux.