DirectX for starters.

NVidia and AMD usually design their GPUs together with Microsoft, OpenGL and Vulkan then play catchup with extension spaghetti until some subset of it gets available as standard feature.

Is this totally true? Vulkan supposedly derives from AMD’s Mantle API. Yes Vulkan and OpenGL have extensions in between major releases, but is that worse?

Yes, coding against extensions means multiple code paths, hardly any different than using multiple APIs when the semantics from multiple vendors don't match 1:1.

https://vulkan.gpuinfo.org/listextensions.php

https://opengl.gpuinfo.org/listextensions.php

At least with Vulkan they learned why proprietary APIs have profiles.

DirectX isn't much better with regard to the extension spaghetti. At the very least when you see a OpenGL or Vulkan version you can be assured that w/e that version includes is supported. With DX you can have something claim DX12 support but in reality it only actually supports some variation of DX10 or 11 through the feature level nonsense.

It is such a nonsense that Khronos finally learned its value, and Vulkan now has profiles.

OpenGL has profiles as well. The Core and Compatibility profile.

Didn't know Vulkan had them too. TIL.

pretty much all peripheral software (RGB control, anything customization) is Windows-first or Windows-only

Graphics drivers

What about them? Just select Linux from the OS dropdown.

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Installing Nvidia linux drivers directly from their website is a very bad idea im almost all cases

In addition to graphics libraries, a lot of anti-cheat is still windows only. Many gamers hate anti-cheat, but by popularity many top games require it.

Microsoft is likely to tie future games in to being Games Pass exclusives, as well as using Microsoft Pluton and TPM chips to use remote attestation in DRM and anti-cheat - so you can't replace your OS or bootloader and still play, etc. (like anti-jailbreak checks on phones).

Most computer games only have native first-class Windows support from the developer. OS X if youre lucky. Linux basically never (not worth it).

This can be explained in a single URL:

https://www.protondb.com/explore

This is a list of games (by default sorted by popularity) and their compatibility with Linux. Some games work great, but there are major games like PUBG and Destiny 2 that don't work at all. Some major games like Apex Legends require tweaking to work.

If you're a hardcore gamer, then you need Windows because the games need Windows.

Though this may slowly change over time since Valve put out the Steam Deck which runs Linux.

To echo a comment I made elsewhere in the thread, one thing that's worth considering is that WHAT TYPE of games you play makes a big difference.

Most single player games work well, most multiplayer games don't.

Both are very valid ways to play games, but it can give different gamers very different experiences with what's supported.

No, only if you play those specific, multiplayer only games.

You can be a hardcore gamer and not play any of those.

There are very different type of gamers out there, don't forget about us, people who play single players!