Steam + FOSS-alternative programs for Linux gamers

A list of alternative programs (and OS) to what you would usually get on (and from) Windows.

  • Linux Mint for being one of the best alternatives to Windows with having a similar taskbar and start menu, such as what you would see from Windows 7.
  • GameHub being the Linux alternative of GOG Galaxy 2.0
  • Lutris for using WINE and playing Windows-only digital game distribution platforms and games on Linux.
  • Proton for playing Windows-only games directly and supported by Steam and Valve itself.
  • OpenRGB to being the alternative for official RGB software on Windows (many of which are considered bloatware).
  • MangoHUD being the alternative to MSI Afterburner in terms of monitoring statistics, but without the overclocking feature.
  • WattmanGTK and Corectl being alternatives to MSI Afterburner, AMD Wattman, and EVGA Precision X1 for AMD graphics cards.
  • DXVK and vkBasalt for playing games that use DirectX/Direct3D through translation layers.
M. Gonzalez
M. GonzalezList by M. Gonzalez, last updated 
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  1. Desktop-focused Linux system offering custom menus, multimedia codecs, browser plugins, native DVD playback, and integrated software manager with user-friendly tools.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Linux Mint 22.2 "Zara"
    Linux Mint screenshot 1
    Linux Mint screenshot 2
    +4
    Linux Mint screenshot 3
  2. Steam icon
     Like

    Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications platform developed by Valve Corporation. It is used to distribute a wide range of games and related media entirely over the internet, stretching from one-man independent efforts to some of...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • Windows Phone
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • SteamOS
    Steam Store
    Steam Community
    Library
    +1
    Big Picture Mode
  3. itch.io icon
     Like

    Indie-focused digital marketplace and community platform offering customizable pricing, game hosting, stats tracking, asset sales, and manageable app downloads.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Epic Games Store
    itch.io screenshot 1
    itch.io screenshot 1
  4. Lutris icon
     Like

    Lutris is an open source gaming platform for GNU/Linux. It allows you to gather and manage (install, configure and launch) all your games acquired from any source, in a single interface.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Flathub
    Lutris screenshot 1
    Lutris' main window
  5. Wine icon
     Like

    A free, open-source compatibility layer allowing Windows applications to run on Linux and other systems, offering configuration and community support.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    Wine screenshot 1
    Wine screenshot 1
    Wine screenshot 2
    +1
    Wine screenshot 3
  6. Proton icon
     Like

    Proton is a tool for use with the Steam icon Steam client which allows games which are exclusive to Windows to run on Linux kernel icon Linux kernel operating system. It uses Wine icon Wine to facilitate this.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Steam
    Proton screenshot 1
    Proton screenshot 1
  7.  Like

    A Vulkan-based translation layer for D3D9, D3D10 and D3D11, which can be used on Linux with Wine.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Wine
  8.  Like

    vkBasalt is a Vulkan post processing layer to enhance the visual graphics of games.

    Currently, the build in effects are:

    Contrast Adaptive Sharpening Denoised Luma Sharpening Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing Enhanced Subpixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing 3D color LookUp Table

    It is also possible to use Reshade Fx shaders.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Comparison of the Contrast Adaptive Sharpening effect in vkBasalt. Image credit: https://www.gamingonlinux.com
  9. CoreCtrl icon
     Like

    CoreCtrl is a Free and Open Source GNU/Linux application that allows you to control with ease your computer hardware using application profiles.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    CoreCtrl screenshot 1
  10. A Wattman-like GTK3+ GUI. Contribute to BoukeHaarsma23/WattmanGTK development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    WattmanGTK screenshot 1
    WattmanGTK screenshot 1
  11. OpenRGB icon
     Like

    Open source RGB lighting control that doesn't depend on manufacturer software. For Windows, Linux, MacOS.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    OpenRGB screenshot 1

Comments

tvgoing1
2

wouldent trust steam because it has a lot of tracking, something many in the linux community do not want in their computers.

Gu