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Comment by dleslie | Hacker News Reader

> What we need is for some of the big game developing companies to release some of their biggest names on Linux only, with absolutely no support for Windows. This will help break the monopoly and make gamers want to migrate to Linux for PC gaming.

And why would they do that? Make a solid business case for it.

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Going hypothetical for a moment, if Windows finally pulls the trigger on the app store only model or get too close to doing it, I could see Valve pulling out one of their big name series and going Linux only with it.

Pretty much the only situation I see this happening in, aside from some company deciding they just want to try breaking Windows down, come hell or high water.

Not everything is about business. Steam's heavy investment in various SteamOSes, Proton and co could be defended from a business perspective ( they don't want to be fully reliant on Microsoft's whims regarding an app store), but it's also quite easy to argue against such an operation on purely business terms - it's a monumental undertaking with an unclear chance of success. However, it's absolutely a wonderful thing to do for everyone, and everyone benefits but Microsoft.

I don't know about no support but there is probably some benefit to weakening Microsoft's stranglehold on this market. Spolsky wrote an interesting article on this:

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2002/06/12/strategy-letter-v/

Steam Deck exclusives?

Valve is going to pull the gaming industry, kicking and screaming, towards Linux. At the end of the day they are here for profits but, unlike almost everyone else, they understand that doing good by your customers is a great way to do that.

Are publishers seriously going to turn down the best of consoles (the Switch) combined with PC? Exclusives aren't even needed. While I broadly agree with the article, I consider building a bridge to Linux (Proton) pure egoistic altruism.

Have you seen the actual market share? Linux is a fraction of a percentage point.

There is no way this is happening anytime ever since quake iii drummed up zero support.

A hardware platform like the steam deck is the only hope. And I wonder how many will be running windows within a year of launch

It’ll always be an option to install Windows, but Valve has been trying to get away from Windows dominance for years now.

SteamDeck is a Trojan horse in disguise, designed to get their gaming platform off the dominance of Windows.

It might be Trojan horse but it is defensive one - if Microsoft makes Windows iOS/Android/console-style walled garden and starts extracting 30 % from every game, Valve needs a way out.

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