In the last two years, Linux has become a much better gaming platform than it has ever been. But it’s still not even close to Windows… or so you might think. While it’s true that Windows still has a better selection of games, there are plenty of “AAA” titles (the really big hits) that are already available under Linux.
Don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at the top 5 “AAA” titles under Linux.
Sid Meyer’s Civilization V is a strategy game where you have to start with a very small civilization and make it grow. The game is won whenever you defeat all the other civilizations in military battles, or by being the first civilization to reach space. During this journey, you’ll have to protect yourself from other civilizations by conducting diplomacy or waging war, as well as discover new technologies on your way to space exploration or rather deadly war weapons.
Once you have the game, don’t forget to check out six awesome mods for Civilization V!
The game costs $39.99 from Steam.
Wargame: Red Dragon is a real-time strategy game from the Wargame series. In it, you have to fight with Cold War-era Eastern and Western militaries using a large range of units, including command tanks, planes, helicopters, warships, and amphibious units.
The game costs $49.99 from Steam.
Garry’s Mod is, in simple terms, just one big physics sandbox. You can load objects into the game and interact with them, but that’s just the very basics. With enough effort you can build together all sorts of things and then interact with your creations however you want. You can even create your own game with it, essentially, like in the video above.
The game costs $14.99 from Steam.
Rust is a new game in which the only aim is to survive. To do so, you’ll need to overcome hunger, thirst, and cold. You’ll also need to protect yourself from others or try to make alliances with them. The game is currently in alpha, but it’s already a pretty popular choice among Linux users, so it’s worth mentioning in this list.
The game costs $24.99 from Steam.
Left 4 Dead 2 is a co-op action horror first-person shooter set in a zombie apocalypse. You’ll also have access to all sorts of gruesome weapons, including chainsaws, axes, and frying pans. There’s even a new multiplayer mode so you get to play with your friends.
The game costs $24.99 from Steam.
Half-Life 2 is a continuation from the original Half-Life game released back in 1998. You are a research scientist who has to save the world from an alien infestation that you had released yourself a while back. With this release, however, “Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player’s presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies.”
The game costs $14.99 from Steam.
Team Fortress 2 lets you wage battle against an opposing team in various modes of gameplay. Despite the cartoonish look of the game, it’s a lot of fun that still offers the right amount of violence. It’s easy to play multiplayer games in Team Fortress 2, and is still actively played by many despite the game’s age. We reviewed Team Fortress 2 a while back and loved it.
The game is free from Steam.
Football Manager 2014 is a game where you can manage your own football (or soccer, if you prefer) team and make all sorts of managerial decisions to get the best team, the most wins, and the most profit. While it hasn’t historically been available for Linux, the latest release made its Linux debut.
The game costs $59.99 from Steam.
While I have already listed eight different games, there’s still one potential one I’d like to point out: Battlefield 4. Although the uber-popular game currently isn’t available on Linux, and it hasn’t been officially announced that it’s headed to Linux, there are major signs pointing to the fact that it’s possible. The director of Battlefield 4 has already said that he believes that Linux just needs one huge game to explode as a gaming platform, and it believes that Battlefield 4 could be that game. For now, rumors just say that DICE and AMD are working together to bring the Mantle API to Linux and that DICE is porting the Frostbite 3 engine. Once Mantle arrives, it would make things much easier for the DICE developers because then they won’t have to write an OpenGL extension to their engine in addition to the DirectX and Mantle ones.
With these eight games in hand, and the knowledge that more are on the way, it’s pretty easy to see that Linux gaming is blooming. Anyone who’s curious should take a closer look as Linux (or SteamOS, the specialized distribution from Valve) could very well be their next gaming platform.
What other great games on Linux do you think I should have included? Which titles would you like to see on Linux next? Let us know in the comments!
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