Hi, I am considering switching to NixOS and I was wondering what level of hassle I should expect for gaming.
I have been using linux for about 10 months so I don’t know a lot yet. I am wondering if it is worth it to try gaming on Nix or if it is going to be way too much of a headache considering my limited knowledge.
I’ve had wildly different experiences trying gaming on different distros, and very differently from what I expected. It went from fine for a weird niche distro (antiX), to really awful for a distro supposedly “easy” and “good for gaming” (Manjaro 😑), to absolutely amazing gaming distro (Nobara), and finally to surprisingly good for a “don’t try unless you are a Level 99 Tech Wizard dual-classed Zen Master you idiot” distro (Arch). So I really have no clue what to expect from Nix.
I really like Arch but my main issue is that I keep forgetting what I have already configured and how and with which settings, or I leave stuff partially configured because adhd then I forget it wasn’t finished and where I was at, so using config files instead sound insanely more convenient and I’ve been wanting to try Nix for a while.
I’d be really glad for anyone willing to share their experience of gaming on Nix 🙂
In my case, it just worked, on two machines. Just added steam and lutris into the config along with two other options recommended for gaming and it worked.
Specifically programs.steam.enable = true sets up the direct rendering and 32-bit libraries that you generally need.
I was confused at first about how to install wine runners in Lutris or in Bottles. It turns out you do it the same way as in any other distro, through the app.
This video should answer a few of your questions
He has been summoned
Wait how did I watch so many videos of this channel in preparation for switching to Nix but miss this one ? 😂 (Thanks !)
Once you installed steam you should be fine to go for the most part. Installation is however more like an enable in the configuration.nix
I recommend protontricks and protonupQ.
Then most should work. If you have a Linux game that you don’t want to run through steam you can use the steamRun command in nixos if it has issues finding libs.
I haven’t tested lutris and the hero launcher though.
However running epicgames through steam works fine.
(This experience isn’t via NixOS)
If you get Heroic or Lutris, don’t even need to bother with launching Epic or Gog through Steam. In my experience, they link up just fine, and Heroic even has a built-in menu option to add games to Steam.
The advantage of running the ugly epic games launcher is saved games over different machines.
Heroic launcher seems not to save those.
I haven’t tried it out yet for some reason, but I’d start here https://youtu.be/qlfm3MEbqYA
Search the manual for support32Bit configuration options, like hardware.opengl.support32Bit, hardware.pulseaudio.support32Bit, or services.pipewire.alsa.support32Bit. Any 32-bit games, as well as Steam itself, will need these to get their GL and PA/ALSA libraries set up properly.
You may also want to look up what programs.nix-ld.enable does, although I hear that there’s a better harness builtin as of NixOS 24.05.
All that said, everything Just Worked when I last tried. I haven’t run Steam in a while, though. I do use Retroarch and OBS without problems, though, streaming PS4 speedruns to Youtube or Peertube, and that all works out-of-box.
