this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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How do you know if someone owns a Steam Deck? Don't worry, they'll tell you.
So anyway, a couple years ago I bought a Steam Deck. And since I bought it, virtually all of my gaming is on the Deck. Prior to that, virtually all of my game time was on a Windows PC. So, for me personally, there's been a big shift towards Linux for gaming.
The other big change that's coming for a lot of people I know: end of Windows 10 support. Honestly, the majority of people I know who still have a traditional Windows PC are using machines that can't be upgraded to Windows 11. These computers are perfectly functional and do everything the users need them to do, and they have no inclination to go out and buy a new computer just because. Especially in this economy. Additionally, there are quite a few people with computers that are capable of running Windows 11, but they have no desire to upgrade to a worse experience and an experience that is randomly different in a myriad different ways for no good reason. Both groups are ripe for the picking in terms of a switch to Linux. No, the year of the Linux desktop is not here, but the conditions for such a change are building. And this Steam data may present a picture of the larger trend. Who knows?
The average person just simply won't upgrade. These are the people who find regular updates or shutting of their PC already a pain, what makes you think they would switch to a completely different OS?
They all can upgrade to win 11. Nothing is stopping them. But you have to do a couple of steps.
Either way, Linux is better and Microsoft is playing stupid games.
Unless their hardware doesn't support it. A lot of people are going to be tossing out perfectly good systems because they don't have a TPM.
You can bypass that requirement. The hardware is fine you just have to tell windows to ignore it.
2 registry keys if I remember correctly.
Windows also said they don't support it and may stop it from working at any time. I have already had a problem because Windows System Image tried to restore something as UEFI when I only had BIOS so forcing my BIOS system to something that technically only supports UEFI seems like an awful idea.
Windows says lots of things. It is surprising how conflicting they are internally.
The thing is, there are a lot of ways to install windows 11. You have a lot of versions to choose from and more options than you think.
Anyways, I think it is all beating a dead horse, although you can get around windows requirements the best thing to do is not play the game.
Switch to Linux and be done with the bullshit.
Not in all cases. My desktop PC came with windows professional (10), back in 2021. Upgrading to windows 11 is not included for free (not even to windows 11 "basic"), I need to pay a new license.
You still can upgrade for free and use a registry setting to take off the nag screen.
But I really was commenting on people who think they can't. You can too by buying windows11.
Well, windows didn't allow me to do that, so I might have to do a manual process maybe.
Anyway, I am not interested in upgrading, I am just saying that I can't upgrade (click button, couple of steps), without buying a new copy. We can argue about the semantics of what "upgrading" means, but effectively there are going to be plenty of people in my situations, which is why I brought it up.