Here's why I won't use anythign but Steam for PC gaming

Steam is the most popular online storefront for gaming. Think of it like an electronic version of GameStop or an Amazon dedicated to software and entertainment. You'll always find some enticing deals, it's incredibly easy to get your favorite games up and running, communicate with friends and family, and even stream games to another device. There's one feature that keeps me using Steam, however, and it's not the summer sale.

My journey with Steam

It's a place to call home

I started using Steam in 2011 and was rather late to the platform. My first purchase was the Stronghold Collection on April 4, followed by Terraria a month later. I purchased Skyrim as soon as it was available on PC. I have more than 5,000 hours clocked between Skyrim and Terraria, much of the latter is in multiplayer instances with friends. My library is fairly extensive, but by no means large compared to many, holding just north of 300 games.

The issue is I've not played them all, and many have been sitting dormant in my library for years. It's a humorous problem we all have, and is frequently used as a meme to describe Steam accounts. Most of these games simply wouldn't run on Linux without much pain and suffering. Windows was the obvious choice and was my go-to operating system since it was what I used for downtime.

Epic Games Store came and went, and I've still not created an account, let alone picked up any PC games from the storefront. This is largely because I'm not a fan of how Epic entered the market, continues to do business, and handled the demise of Unreal Tournament. It's a sore subject, for sure. GOG holds a place in my heart for its ambitious goal of keeping classic titles still alive and kicking, though Linux support is lacking.

I believe you've noticed a trend already.

I primarily game on Linux

Proton is the best thing since sliced bread

Windows was my go-to operating system for many years, mostly running in a dual-boot configuration with some flavor of Linux. This was primarily down to what I used a PC for. Most of my spare time was playing games, which were all developed for Microsoft's OS, aside from the web-browser MMORPG hit RuneScape. I spent countless hours playing with friends in Unreal Tournament 2004, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Guild Wars 2, and Path of Exile.

Most of these hours were spent on Windows, but thanks to the launch and continued development of Proton, I'm about to play most of my entire Steam catalog on Linux. This was a daunting prospect back in the day, as Wine was a scary tool to use, having to build out a Windows directory structure and manually make each game work. Some would flat out refuse to play, others would ruin your entire Wine setup. It was a mess.

I love Wine and think it to be an invaluable tool for those looking to run software not developed for Linux without having to run a virtual machine. Valve took what made Wine impressive to use and made it vastly easier to get games running without doing anything other than pressing play. Now, I can fire up Steam, install most games without much trouble, and play them on demand. We've covered the marvel that is Proton and how it has progressed gaming on Linux, but it's not easy to convey it into words or video — you need to experience it.

The development of Proton came about because Valve needed a way to play Windows games on the Steam Deck, which doesn't run Microsoft's OS. Unlike other gaming handhelds, Valve went its own way and created Steam OS, using Arch Linux as the foundation. The offshoot of this is increased support for gaming on Linux as a whole, since all distros share the same underpinnings and can leverage the work Proton developers pour into the project.

Valve offers much more than Steam

It's no secret that Valve does much more for the gaming community than offer a convenient method of discovering, purchasing, and playing PC games. Heard of Portal? Developed by Valve. Love MOBAs? Valve helped pioneer the genre with DOTA 2. It's aptly named as a sequel to a community-made mod developed for Warcraft III, transforming this simple yet incredibly enjoyable concept into a full-fledged game.

The company has funneled money into some incredible projects, including DXVK, KDE, and Vulkan. Steam also transformed the way indie developers can get exposure to the masses, with access to billions of gamers. Half-Life was a marvel, Team Fortress 2 helped pave the way for team shooters, and while Valve hasn't changed the way games are made, the company definitely had a hand in improving the way we play, especially on Linux.

Supporting open platforms such as Linux and the plethora of distros is important as it prevents Apple and Microsoft from completely cutting off access to favor their own stores. This wouldn't likely occur, but it's still a remote possibility. I'm planning to stick to Steam for some time, until I am met with a reason to make the switch. And for now, millions of people are currently online with the same mindset.