Ah, nice, have many games on steam so will check this out.

The barriers to using both is really only a question of disk space. Dual booting isn't difficult (just install Windows first).

I have little time to play games these days, but I do that. Have two machines, both always on, one of them a windows one for games, the other runs linux for everything else. I use a usb switch to, on-the-fly, change all the relevant devices (mouse, keyboard, headphone dac/amp, etc) and adjust the monitor input to use one or the other. It works extremely well, and takes ~1-2 seconds to switch.

Yeah I do have a laptop for work only, however the gaming desktop is always that much more powerful and some things are tempting to do there (not to mention better display). Windows now has embedded Linux, so I can see maybe a setup that uses the same files from Windows by launching some Linux environment when I need to work. I just hope that because of this Linux/Windows integration, some of the reverse can happen and Linux can get DirectX support for current version.

...

It's a multi-billion dollar industry, is this a real question?

For some, yes.

Unfortunately, only platform for hardcore PC games that major titles support, at least first. PC has always been at the cutting edge of gaming, however for some reason still DirectX which is owned by MS, is the preferred tech for most major game companies that target PC.

From my personal experience, there is a large overlap between people who like to play PC games and people who are interested in and curious about computing technology, and would otherwise be inclined to use Linux.

Although the trend appears to be changing with the likes of Proton, the lack of Linux compatibility for games keeps these people tied to Windows, and keeps them from adopting Linux.