In regard to question one: it depends. Pretty much everything without a shitty, Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat (my autocorrect corrected to antichrist — for good reason!) will run either by default on steam or with something known as Proton. But you still may run into occasional difficulties.

For example, if you play Counter Strike 2: up until January this year, playing on Linux meant ≈20% less performance (CS2 is unoptimized for Linux and Vulkan unfortunately); this number has changed since the last few updates and since the new Nvidia driver, so I need to re-run the benchmarks. Your going to occasionally experience things like that, where performance isn’t on par. In the case of CS2, the devs love Linux, so they will optimize for it in the future. It’s just going to take a while.

Another example: I had to use Proton on a game that supposedly was native to Linux. Native implementations may sometimes suck; the good news though, is that you can easily use Proton, both inside and outside of steam. Seriously, I freaking love Valve for Proton, it’s a fantastic tool.

This is all to say, that while gaming is absolutely possible nowadays, you will occasionally need add some flag, or familiarize yourself with proton, etc.

The exception, of course, being Kernel antichrists. Goddamn them. I can’t play LoL anymore because of it. Well, I hate Riot so much now anyway, I’m not sure I’d want to anymore.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

It depends a lot on the game, but in my experience not always. Running games straight from steam works really well with a small number of exceptions, but a lot of the sometimes weird tools for patching exe:s and so on that some games use can sometimes be a pain to get running. Not necessarily impossible but yeah this is a reason for why I still keep around my windows installation for dual booting.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Depends on what you play. As a general rule I would say that unless you like competitive multiplayer games you’re probably going to be fine. That being said the vast majority of games don’t support Linux natively so you need to use workarounds. Steam has a workaround built-in, so if most of your gaming is through Steam it should be an almost seamless transition (all you need to do is enable a checkbook in the settings). But like I said, it depends on what you play, I recommend you check out https://www.protondb.com/ and look for the games you play to see how they run on Linux.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Same answer as before, if the game runs okay then modding it would also work okay, but if not it might worsen an already bad situation. Also be very careful here, because when you run Windows games on Steam they’re sort of sandboxed, i.e. they’re running isolated from other stuff, so installing mods is not as straightforward as it would be on windows where binaries are installed globally. It’s not a big deal, but just the other day someone was complaining that they installed a launcher needed for a game and the game wasn’t finding it and this was the reason.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

As a general rune there’s a workaround, it’s called WINE (which is an acronym for WINE Is Not an Emulator) which is an “emulator” for Windows (except it’s not really an Emulator as the name implies). Then there are some apps built on top of that like Proton (which is what Steam has embebed) that include other libraries and fixes to help. It’s not perfect, but unless the program is actively trying to detect it or uses very obscure features on Windows it should work.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes, you can use WINE like mentioned above to run Windows binaries that use .NET, but also .NET core is available for Linux.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Oh boy, this is the big one, this is the Major difference for m Windows to Linux. Linux has a thing called a package manager, ideally everything you install gets installed via that package manager. This means that everything gets updated together. And here’s the thing, we’re not talking OS only stuff, new version of the kernel (Linux)? New version of the drivers? New version of Firefox? New version of Spotify? All gets updated together when you update your system. This is crucial to the way Linux works, since it allows Linux to have only one copy of each library. For example, if you have 5 different programs that use the same library, in Windows you’ll have 5 copies of that same library, because each program needs their own in the specific version, but in Linux since they will all update together it’s easier to have just one library that gets updated together with the programs. This makes maintaining Linux a piece of pie in comparison, just one command or one click of a button and you’re all up to date with everything you have installed.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

As a general rule open source programs are more secure than their counterparts. Closed source programs always remind me of Burns going through several security measures, that sort of thing is imposible in open source because if everyone can see all of the security measures, so someone would notice the gaping hole in the back, whereas in closed source only attackers might have found it. Like cyber security experts say: Security by obscurity is not security. As for Antivirus you don’t need to worry, Linux is inherently more secure than Windows, and also has a small enough user base (most of whom are security experts) so the number of virus written for Linux is extremely small. Also because you should install stuff through a package manager it’s very difficult to get someone to download a bad binary since there’s lots of security in the package manager to prevent this sort of thing. In short almost every antivirus program for Linux checks your computer for Windows viruses to avoid being used to store or transmit viruses to Windows computers, so it’s completely pointless in your home machine (it’s used for example in email servers).

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Yes… But actually no. It depends, if you have a relatively modern AMD GPU (as in last 10 years) the answer is a resounding YES, AMD currently has wonderful Linux support and their cards work excellently with drivers being fully open source and integrated into the Linux Kernel. For Nvidia the story is unfortunately not as nice. Essentially there are 2 drivers available, nouveau (open source driver written by the community and purposefully hampered by Nvidia) and nvidia (closed source driver written by Nvidia that has gaping incompatibilities with Linux). Since you game your only option is nvidia, while nouveau is great for several reasons it can’t match the performance of the nvidia driver. For 99% of stuff the nvidia driver should work fine, but I haven’t had good luck with getting Wayland to run on it, which means you’re probably stuck in X11 (I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but in short it means that you’re somewhat limited in your choice for graphical interface and have to use stuff that people are trying to deprecate but can’t because of Nvidia)

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Technically yes, so can Windows by that matter. But realistically no, unless you’re writing your own kernel drivers you won’t be in any position to cause hardware damage.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I would probably go with Mint, it’s beginner friendly and I’ve been recommending it for decades. One thing to bear in mind is that in your knowledge level the distro you choose won’t make that big of a difference, try to pick something beginner friendly and you should be fine, no need to overthink this.

PS: some extra notes that you didn’t asked but I think are good to know:

• Any Linux can look like any other, it’s just a matter of installing the right packages
• You should keep your / and /home in separate partitions, this makes it possible for you to reinstall (or even change distros entirely) without losing your files and configuration. This is due to how Linux manages partitions, which in short is not like on Windows where you have a C and D drives but instead any folder can be a different partition or disk.
• You can dual boot, i.e. have 2 OS and choose which one to use every time you turn on your computer.
• You should probably install Linux on a virtual machine first to check it out safely. And do a backup before installing it on your computer just in case you make a mistake.

Just as a note, NVIDIA on Linux is not bad, BUT IS REALLY ANNOYING because you will get some random bugs that are only exclusive to NVIDIA cards. Like this one: https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/non-existent-shared-vram-on-nvidia-linux-drivers/260304

If you have a low VRAM NVIDIA GPU and you want to play a modern game, you will have a bad time. (However, AMD and Intel should work just fine lolol)

I have used Windows all my life, and I have some questions

This is a great place to ask

But all I know about Linux is 1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that’s apparently not true any more?

Yes and no, the primary skill that you will be tested when using Linux is the ability to learn new things and adapt to changes. People misinterpret this as being complicated when in many cases its simpler but different.

I’m pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don’t do much more than play games. So I wrote down some questions I had about Linux.Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Depends, if you mostly play single player games then most likley not. If you play online games than maybe not also maybe not.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Depends on the game, for something like Minecraft or Doom youll be fine but games with less support may not have good Linux support.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes, Wine has alternative frameworks and libraries

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

OS updates can either be done through the package manager or your distributions GUI software center

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

On the surface it may seem so because more CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exploits) are found on Linux but they’re also patched faster than Windows and mostly before they find their way into the wild. In addition Linux is designed more securely such as, using repos (so software can be verified as legitimate), not allowing user mode software to run in kernel mode (so no anticheat), and having more eyes on the code.

Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Not really and nobody uses it, it’s like MacOS in that regard

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

For the most part yes but keep in mind there are new drivers that arent ready to be used, as long as you stay on stable drivers you’ll be fine. Also hardware damage will most likley only occur if you do heavy overclocking and. Ignore temps.

And also, what distro might be best for me? Pop_OS

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Isn’t .NET open source and cross platform now? Isn’t there an official Linux runtime? Or is it just the most basic subset of .NET without any of the GUI libraries or other things Windows .NET apps routinely depend on?

just get an extra ssd, install mint or pop (or both on separate partitions) and try

there is a learning curve, and there’s always new stuff, more depth, but imo the above two are fairly easy to understand. pop is more osx-like both in looks but also, it’s somewhat locked down, which can feel limiting but it keeps things simple. i’ve been using it in the last few years daily. i was using mint before that, i started daily driving linux with it, but i managed to mess it up enough that every game was struggling to run lol, but i played hl:alyx on there without an issue for example

nvidia doesn’t make the best linux drivers, but some think they are completely unusable but actually it just means that there are some games that are glitchy or slow, for instance forza horizon runs better on my steam deck than my rtx 2080. although recently it went from 20-30 fps to 30-40, so it will get better at some point
edit: actually, the above was last week, there were some updates and it’s a sputtery 60 fps now

next build will have an amd card for sure, but nvidia is mostly usable too. the “anti-cheat” blockade is more frustrating imo

First off, welcome to the light side.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

It will be affected, but not significantly. Almost every Windows game works well on Linux. The notable exceptions are games that use anticheat software. They can detect that they are running in Linux and generally disallow it.

Many games perform better in Linux. A few perform worse. The vast majority perform exactly the same.

If you run games through Steam, everything should just work. You might need to enable the option “Enable Steam Play for all titles” in the settings. Honestly, if a game has a Linux version, I usually set the compatibility option in Steam to use Proton instead, because it just works, really well.

If you run other games, I recommend using Heroic Launcher for the game stores it supports, and Lutris for anything else. (Oh, and Prism Launcher if you play Minecraft.)

Something to note is that Windows games run through a compatibility layer called Proton, which is based on Wine. You can kind of use the terms Proton and Wine interchangeably, because Proton is just Wine + some enhancements for games. To the game’s perspective, it’s just running in Windows and making Windows system calls. Proton translates those calls to Linux system calls. It doesn’t emulate anything though, it just provides a Windows compatible API.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Maybe. Probably. If it’s running in Proton, then mods should work fine. You may need to add some launch parameters in Steam to load the mods first. You’ll also need to figure out the “Wine prefix” of the game to install the mod. The prefix is just the directory that Proton presents to the game as the C: drive, so it’s like having a specific drive for each game.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

This depends. Most programs will run through Wine. You can use Lutris to install them. I do this to run WinSCP on Linux. Some programs (notably, Adobe Creative Suite) don’t work with Wine. It’s usually better to find a Linux native alternative instead, but this isn’t always an option, so it’s nice to have some Wine once in a while. ;)

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes. Steam, Heroic, and Lutris will automatically install them for you.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

OS upgrades are a lot easier in Linux. There’s one program that updates all your system software and apps at once. On Gnome, it’s Gnome Software, and on KDE, it’s Discover. This is also where you go to install apps. Don’t ever download anything from a website to install it (with the exception of Windows installers that you will be installing with Wine), just find it in these apps. It’s safer.

System software is installed through the package manager. Apps can be installed through Flatpak to make it easier.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Security is generally better than Windows. Most Linux users don’t bother with antivirus for two reasons, viruses are really uncommon in Linux, and software isn’t installed from random websites, but package managers instead. A lot of things in Linux, like Flatpaks, are run in a sandbox too, so access controls are granular and permission based.

That being said, if you’re installing Windows software with Wine, then you’re at risk of installing a Windows virus on your Linux machine. Just like most Windows programs work well in Linux through Wine, most Windows viruses work well in Linux through Wine.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Very. If you’re using an Nvidia GPU, install the Nvidia driver through your package manager. If you’re using anything else, they’re already installed.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Probably not. Technically, yes, but it’s extremely unlikely and isn’t something you should worry about. Windows can too, btw.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Fedora, Mint, or Pop OS should be your starting points. Steer clear of Ubuntu. Ubuntu used to be very user friendly, but lately it’s been atrocious. Fedora has always been awesome, and it’s very user friendly. Same with Mint.

More importantly, what desktop environment should you use. Fedora Workstation offers both Gnome and KDE, the two big ones. Either one will work great for you, but KDE is more similar to a Windows layout by default. Mint uses Cinnamon, which is very user friendly and similar to a Windows layout. Pop OS uses Cosmic, which is new, and in development. It’s promising though.

Some final thoughts I want to share with you:

Linux uses a Unix like file structure, so you don’t have drive letters. Instead, you have a root file system, and other file systems are mounted within it. Your root file system is just a slash /. It’s like your C: drive. Directories are separated by forward slashes, not backslashes. Not something you should worry about, just something to know.

Linux is a diverse field of operating systems, and some work very differently than others. They range from super easy and approachable, to wildly difficult to learn. Some are specialized for gaming, like Bazzite, while others are general purpose, like the ones I mentioned above. Technically, “Linux” is just the kernel, like “NT” on Windows, but most people mean a complete operating system when they say Linux.

You should learn about the difference between Wayland and X11. Just some basic overview of them. You don’t really need to know, but it might be worth it. Basically, Wayland is new and more secure, X11 is old and less secure. Wayland can run X11 apps just fine, so it really shouldn’t matter to you. Wayland is also the default nowadays.

You probably won’t need to use the terminal, but if you do, don’t be scared of it. It’s just a way to launch programs that generally don’t have a UI.

Lastly, Linux is free and easy to install, so don’t be afraid to try out a bunch of different distros and desktop environments and see which works best for you. Once you find one you like, you can always switch to something else in the future if it stops working for what you need. Also, backup early and often. I use Pika Backup. It’ll help if you forget to grab something before you reformat your drive.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Package managers. Linux had this before Windows. Granted, Linux needed package managers, because of the myriad and complex dependency trees that software can have. I prefer to install software through a package manager because it not only takes care of dependencies for me, it will take care of updates, too. I will only install something downloaded from a website as an absolute last resort. (And then, of course, making sure it’s a trustworthy source.)

How does digital security work on Linux?

It’s rather complex, but you probably won’t have to deal with it unless you have to do some kind of systems administration. On a day-to-day basis, the OS might ask you to enter your password to install software or make an update, and that’s the extent of it.

Basically, every file has 3 categories of permissions: user, group, and others, and each category has 3 permissions: read, write, and execute. This is transparently handled by the system for you, though, and I can’t even remember the last time I had to change permissions on a file. It’s a good thing to be aware of if you have to do troubleshooting, though.

Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

Just the opposite. Vulnerabilities get spotted sooner because there’s more eyes on the code, and they’re often patched quicker because anybody can submit a patch to an open-source project.

Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

I’ve never heard of any distro shipping with antivirus software, but I’ve also never heard of a Linux virus. Of course, I’m sure they exist, but I’ve just never heard of one. I’ve been using Linux for over two decades, and I’ve never used an antivirus or gotten a virus in all that time, and I’ve never even heard of a Linux user getting a virus. Part of that is due to Linux being more secure and part of that is due to Linux being less popular. If you’re writing a virus, you aren’t going to try to jump through the insane hoops of Linux security when you could target Windows which is A) less secure and B) has a fuckton more users.

Obviously, use common sense, don’t install from untrusted sources, etc. etc., but viruses aren’t the omnipresent threat on Linux like they are on Windows.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

That will depend on the games you play, and what platform you use. If you are using Steam, you can enable the proton layer have more access to games, but if the game in question uses any type of kernel level anti cheat chances are it’s not going to work.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Depends on what you are used to, if you are using mod managers and which ones.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

A lot of work has been done with WINE, games on Linux, and Proton. You’ll need to do a little bit of reading to see if it can work on Linux, but the community can often be awesome and already have found a solution. There are also a lot of great alternatives to Windows/Mac only software you can try.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Depends on your distro but most can install .net, you’ll need to do a bit of reading.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Yes, there are package managers that you can use to install and update software, some distro’s even have a shop like interface.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

I’ve only ever had to use a virus scanner twice in my Linux journey and both of those times it was on a server. Because Linux is open source everybody can see what is going on in the code and this way bugs or security issues can be found and patched quicker.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Depends, if you are using AMD you should be fine, Nvidia has functioning drivers as well, I can’t speak for Intel ARC support because I’ve never used it…

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

I’ve never broken my hardware, but I’ve broken my system a few times by ignoring the warnings the system gave me, always got it to work again.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Linux Mint might be a good one, the Cinnamon is great for beginners, but there are many flavors you can choose from. Start with a live system which will not require you to install anything just yet, but you’ll get a feeling for how everything works. After trying it out live you can decide if you would like to install it. But remember that when trying it live you are limited in what you can do.

Hello there 1- It really depends on your build, distro and drivers being used. Some benchmarks show Ray tracing causes performance drop compared to Windows.

2- There are mod managers here and there but, honestly I don’t mod so I don’t know anything about it.

3- If a program doesn’t have Linux version, there might be Linux alternative. Those alternatives sometimes might not be on par with their counterparts though. Adobe products are one bit example.

4- Applications developed with .NET may be built on Linux through Mono framework, as long as they are developed as portable. For native Windows programs, there is a compatibility layer named WINE, but it won’t guarantee that every program will work. It may support games as well, but for games Proton is more preferred. Proton is Valve’s official tool anyway.

5- Distributions’ package managers will manage updates, either application updates or system updates. Most distros will also notify users about updates, however installing them is up to user’s decision. Universal package managers like Flatpak are responsible their own updates.

6- Linux is way more secure than Windows for being what it is. Being an open source does not inherently mean that it’s secure. But open source softwares are generally peer reviewed by public and they are often recommended fixes thus if there is any vulnerability, it’s fixed more quickly. Antiviruses are not needed, not because there is not Linux viruses though. There is ClamAV anti-virus, also there are proprietary AV applications, if you still need. AV’s are mostly ineffective in today’s technology.

7- AMD drivers, for example way more reliable than their Windows ones. Nvidia also made a lot of progress in recent years, so yes. There might be still some issues, lack of features.

8- No, it cannot.

9- For a beginner, Linux Mint is and always has been best choice for start, in my opinion.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

No. Thanks to Steam Deck, most popular windows games also work on Linux. See https://www.protondb.com/ for a complete list of 18,000 titles… Someone already mentioned that kernel level anti-cheat is the big, obvious blocker.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Im guessing that most moders target Windows users therefore, don’t think mods would be AS easy. Not saying modding wouldn’t exist or work at all. Edit: see sp3ctr4l’s reply to this comment. They know more than me

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

There are workarounds. Linux has some great alternative software to popular paid stuff. See LibreOffice or Krita.

There are also more advanced options to run Windows apps under Linux, see Wine or Virtual Machines

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes. Similar to the above answer/ similar to aforementioned Proton. For .NET specifically, there is a Linux runtime.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

This can depend a lot on what distribution you’re running, but definitely, there are ones with easy buttons for whole-system updates.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

It’s different and probably overall better than windows. Most distros are much better out of the box than windows.

Open source is ususually a security advantage because (long story short) security mistakes can be caught by more people.

I don’t have a good answer for you on anti virus. I am very privacy and security conscious and I dont use one on linux. My personal opinion is that you don’t need one and shouldn’t need one if you’re not downloading sketch stuff.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Totally. GPU drivers are much, much better than they used to be.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Theoretically. You would have to try really hard, but for normal use, no. More likely, you could lose data or access to the system if you misconfigure stuff (just like with Windows)

Distro recommendations. My personal opinions, don’t flame me.

• Bazzite. hard to mess up, gamer focused, super simple updates, and targeted support for gamer hardware. Feels like a cross between steam deck and windows. Less support for tinkering but if you never want to touch the terminal, this is my choice.

• Pop!OS. Simplified Linux with great driver and steam support with easy updates. More tinkering support than Bazzite

• Linux Mint. Easy to start on but more traditional back-end. Much more support (forum posts) than the previous two. A lot of what works on Debian or Ubuntu works the same on Mint, so you’ll be able to do all kinds of fiddling

It’s literally be just as simple as choosing a distro, preferably a just works one or something thats piss easy to install like Linux Mint, Fedora or OpenSuse.

Then you choose your Desktop Environment, from which you can choose either KDE Plasma, XFCE, GNOME or the new COSMIC desktop environment (still currently in beta so not recommended js yet) which you can choose when installing your distro or while choosing your distro. You can always change it once you’ve chosen.

KDE Plasma’s infinitely customisable, yet also really user friendly, with a lot of incredible software included by default, including phone compatibility software similar to what you’ll find in apple’s ecosystem. XFCE’s really lightweight and power efficient. GNOME’s very macOS like by default, being a lot less customisable than KDE but really user friendly. They each have their own versions of software.

You should know what your distro’s package manager is and how to use it, which is basically what you use to install updates and install and uninstall software. That’s literally the only thing you’ll need to use your terminal for, it’s basically just a text based file manager which can run programs/software. That’s basically it, just make sure to frequently update your system, they are voluntary unlike Windows updates and don’t require reboots or crash your system, and you should be good.

All your concerns are valid and Linux handles all these well except:

If you play competitive games with kernel anti cheat it will simply not work on Linux courtesy of the game developers.

Linux is fully capable of running the game and the anti cheat but the game developers restrict it. Notable games are cod, fortnite, apex legends.

A notable competitive game that works on Linux is cs2 although you won’t be able to run 3rd party anti cheat like FACEIT as far as I know.

You can use the proton site to tell you how many of your games on your steam library are playable on Linux.

I’m on my 8th month or so using Linux to game and I’ve had no issues, most popular games will work. Most niche games use very simple tech like SDL and will just work.

Wine essentially creates a fake windows environment and handles a lot of internal API calls by kind of redirecting them to existing Linux services, so a lot of windows stuff will just work.

As for security. You realize most of the Internet runs on Linux ? Practically the majority of the internet is hosted on Linux machines.

As for a distrto there is no optimal choice you can make.

You can pick Ubuntu, Debian or Mint and find yourself disappointed in how restricting the power user experience is.

You can pick arch or cachy for the latest wine improvements but find yourself lost in how to handle the OS in case something goes wrong.

I personally think cachy (rolling release) is the best for gaming but you could encounter issues (skill issues really) that might frustrate you. These issues would lead to growth and improvement in your understanding of Linux but if all you want to do is game and you don’t care about understanding computers then it might not be for you.