XDA Developers

Windows maintains a clear lead over Linux for PC gaming across four key areas: native DirectX 12 Ultimate support without translation overhead, frictionless multi-launcher compatibility (Epic, EA, Ubisoft, GOG, Xbox App), kernel-level anti-cheat compatibility for competitive titles like Valorant, and plug-and-play peripheral software support. While Linux gaming has made impressive strides with Proton, Wine 11, and new kernel drivers, these structural gaps mean most gamers will still find Windows the more practical choice in 2026.

Windows is still the best OS for gaming, and these 4 things prove it

DirectX 12 Ultimate and its native integration

This article should really be titled: “Windows is still better for gaming when anti-cheat is required.” The cracks in Windows being the “ultimate gaming OS” are starting to show.
<ol>
<li>DirectX 12 Ultimate
Honestly, I still play most games at 1080p, and I rarely touch 1440p or 4K. Ray tracing also isn’t a huge concern for me, especially since I play a lot of 2D titles. For competitive gaming, higher FPS matters way more than ultra-realistic graphics unless it somehow improves field of view. For that kind of gaming, Linux is perfectly fine.</li>
<li>Game launchers
Game launchers suck in general, especially now that every publisher wants their own. But considering the major ones — Steam, Epic, and GOG — most issues that pop up tend to get fixed pretty quickly. If you’re already invested in the Steam ecosystem, like most PC gamers are, this probably isn’t as big of a problem as the article makes it out to be.</li>
<li>Anti-cheat
This goes back to my first point. Windows is still the better choice for competitive gaming strictly because of how anti-cheat systems work. That may change in the future, but for now, sure — point goes to Windows.</li>
<li>Controllers
Just get an XInput controller from 8BitDo or a regular Xbox controller and you’re good. The author really had to reach for the low-hanging fruit by bringing up $100+ “pro” controllers with specialized software. It’s not that serious — plug in a controller and play. I also wouldn’t treat this as some massive Windows advantage considering plenty of those controller apps have broken from updates before, whether from the manufacturer or Windows itself.</li>
</ol>
Overall, I think articles like this are useful for understanding the current gaming landscape, but the reality is pretty simple: Linux is absolutely viable for gaming now, especially with SteamOS and similar distros. If you mainly play competitive games with aggressive anti-cheat, stay on Windows. Otherwise, pick whatever you want — the nice thing now is that PC gamers actually have choices.

I find it very difficult to take an article seriously that has a spelling mistake within the first three words 🙃

LoL it’s becoming a trend: XDA articles being Windows-biased, and quite wrong.
Here’s the drill down on the 4 things that “prove” Windows is still the best gaming OS:
<ol>
<li>DX12 support and performance</li>
</ol>
Granted, DX12 (made by Microsoft) and any subsequent version should by design be most compatible with Windows. But in terms of performance, even boot times, Linux leaves Windows in the dust. Gaming is so fast and agile in Linux, I have games where I can’t even read the splash screen between missions because the transition happens so fast. On the same hardware. That’s beside booting/closing times for the games, and the actual gaming performance.
<ol>
<li>Frictionless multilauncher support</li>
</ol>
Again, good point on the surface. However, call me old-school, but what serious gamer still wants to shell out several subscriptions (specially to Ubisoft 😅 ). Steam is where it’s at (Better discounts, largest ecosystem, etc…).
<ol>
<li>Competitive gaming just works</li>
</ol>
Aaannnd that’s the only serious point, and it’s weak. Kernel-level Anti-Cheat. Do people realize that such “protection” software is a Trojan in disguise? Thank you but NO thank you, I don’t want a gaming company (nowadays notorious for blurting out poorly written code for games and the like) be in TOTAL control of my machine, let alone scour its content, invade my privacy and other bad shenanigans!! It’s the age old adage (ahem ahem) “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”. I will not trade off the safety of my system (specially to weak developers) because a game developer doesn’t want to invest in proper code security. Cheating is prevalent because developers are lazy. Kernel-level Anticheat is a bandaid bandage, McGyver-duct-tape it type of solution.
<ol>
<li>Peripheral support you can rely on</li>
</ol>
I couldn’t disagree more. YES, most (if not all) peripherals are manufactured and their drivers developed exclusively for Windows. But NO, they do not work as smoothly as with Linux, where you have a hit-or-miss type of situation: if it works, it’s amazing, if it doesn’t, it’s not gonna work 😅 . Take the Xbox controller. It works smoother on Linux than on Windows (both systems fully up-to-date).
I’ll add a bonus point: has anyone noticed Graphics drivers are getting bloated and always increase in size, at the same time with a new game release?
Another blatant evidence of developers laziness: they’re producing workaround patches to make games work… Fix and optimize your code, or we will end up needing much more compute power than actually needed. Go check some older games with decent graphics: they run much better than the uglier, but newer games!

never even thought about gaming on windows after switching to Linux
Edit: Even for newer titles like Cyberpunk or Baldurs Gate.

“Best OS For gaming” -&gt; It’s not the best at all… it is just the only one that work at the moment (due to anticheats mostly).
Everyone knows that the best os is NIXOS :D