Mesa 26.0-rc1 released with major RADV advancements including ray-tracing on Radeon GPUs, performance optimizations, new Vulkan extensions, and improvements to Intel ANV/Iris, NVK (NVIDIA), Qualcomm Adreno, PowerVR drivers; stable version expected in February.

Valve contractor has posted a new patch series that improves power management in the AMDGPU driver for older GCN 1.0 and 1.1 "Southern Islands" GPUs, addressing issues like unnecessary power limit recalculations and TDP constraints on specific cards such as the Radeon R5 430

AMD GPU Linux kernel driver add support for HDMI Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode, enhancing gaming performance on HDMI outputs through public knowledge and trial-and-error despite HDMI Forum restrictions

Adobe Photoshop 2025 Installer Now Working On Linux With Patched Wine

Orion Browser Releases Its First Linux Alpha - OMG! Ubuntu

Orion Browser, a privacy-focused Webkit-based browser from Kagi, has released its first Linux alpha version for paid subscribers. This alpha release offers a native experience using GTK4/libadwaita and WebkitGTK, with plans for a beta release in February. Early impressions are positive, though the browser is still in its early stages with some issues present. Orion aims to provide zero telemetry, built-in blocking, speed, and native integration, offering an alternative to Chromium clones and a privacy-focused option for Linux users.

Ubuntu 26.04 Aims To Deliver Better NVIDIA Wayland Performance Atop GNOME

I spent a year on Linux and forgot to miss Windows | The Verge

This article from The Verge recounts the author's experience of spending a year on Linux, detailing the challenges and benefits of switching from Windows. Despite initial difficulties, the author found Linux to be customizable, supportive of troubleshooting, and capable of meeting various needs from gaming to coding. While acknowledging some limitations, the author concludes that Linux offers a unique freedom and control over one's computing experience.

D7VK 1.2 has been released, enhancing Direct3D 6 and 7 support over Vulkan for running legacy Windows games on Linux, with improved D3D6 front-end stability enabling more titles like Tomb Raider: Chronicles to work and delivering superior performance over WineD3D in benchmarks

This GitHub release page announces version 1.2 of d7vk, a Vulkan-based implementation for D3D7, 6, and 5 on Linux/Wine. The update enhances D3D6 support, fixes issues, and adds features to the D3D7 implementation. Notable improvements include a rewritten DDraw logic for better memory management, compatibility fixes for specific games, and an alternative deployment option for Wine/Linux. The release also mentions that the project has reached its final stopping point regarding D3D support.

Fedora Games Lab is approved for a 2026 overhaul, switching from Xfce to KDE Plasma 6 in Fedora 44 to enhance Wayland support and better showcase Linux gaming features and open-source tools

New owner of GOG, harshly criticized Windows as "such poor-quality software" that he's shocked it has dominated the market for so long, revealing he has switched to macOS personally while GOG explores expanded Linux support due to user demand and Windows' shortcomings

GOG's new owner, Michał Kiciński, expresses strong dissatisfaction with Windows, calling it poor-quality software. GOG is considering increasing its Linux support in response to user interest.

GOG's new owner says Steam is winning due to ease of use, not quality, while criticizing the platform for releasing hundreds of games daily that are "not super high quality"

GOG's new owner, Michał Kiciński, believes Steam's dominance in the PC gaming market is due to its ease of use rather than game quality. He criticizes Steam for releasing hundreds of games daily, many of which he deems not super high quality. Kiciński plans for GOG to compete by focusing on a curated library of classic and modern titles, emphasizing quality over quantity.

Canonical has released an ARM64 Steam Snap package for Ubuntu that bundles the FEX emulator, enabling x86_64 Linux and Windows games to run on ARM hardware with decent performance in early testing

Microsoft says Windows 11 is leveling up agentic development

Microsoft is pushing developers to create next-gen AI agents for Windows 11, emphasizing the need for more than just Copilot. The company highlighted native support for Model Context Protocol and a new agent workspace, aiming to enable secure and auditable AI experiences. Microsoft acknowledges that it needs third-party apps with unique agentic experiences to transform Windows 11 into an agentic OS.

Box64 v0.4.0 has been released, bringing full Steam, Proton, and Wine support to ARM64, RISC-V, and Loongarch architectures with major enhancements including NTSync for up to 80% FPS gains in heavy games, improved dynarec performance, memory optimizations...

Box86 has released a new version of Box64, v0.4.0, featuring enhanced stability and compatibility across multiple architectures, including ARM64, RISC-V, and Loongarch. This update includes significant improvements to Steam and Battle.net support, with ongoing efforts to optimize memory usage and performance. Capture card integration for video capture has also been addressed, with adjustments made to reduce compression artifacts. The release notes highlight new opcode handling, refactoring for easier maintenance, and ongoing work to improve synchronization mechanisms for better gaming experiences.

PC Gamer: "I'm brave enough to say it: Linux is good now, and if you want to feel like you actually own your PC, make 2026 the year of Linux on (your) desktop"

This article argues that Linux is now a viable option for desktop users, citing its growing user base and improvements in usability. The author shares their positive experiences with Linux, particularly with gaming and media server setups, and encourages readers to consider making 2026 the year they try Linux on their desktop.

Lenovo is reportedly planning to release a SteamOS variant of the Legion Go 2 at CES 2026

Lenovo is launching a SteamOS-powered Legion Go Gen 2 at CES 2026, featuring the same powerful hardware as its Windows 11 counterpart, aiming to provide a better handheld gaming experience.

KOMODO's Steam Deck store is renaming to KOMODO STATION - perhaps ahead of the Steam Frame

KOMODO, the official distributor of the Steam Deck for Asian markets, is renaming its store to KOMODO STATION on November 13, 2025, sparking speculation about an upcoming Valve announcement, possibly related to a new VR kit or the Steam Frame.

72% of devs believe Steam has a monopoly on PC games, according to study

A study by Rokky reveals that 72% of developers believe Steam has a monopoly on PC games, with 75% of studios' revenue coming from Steam. Despite this, developers are increasingly using other platforms like Epic Games Store and Xbox PC Games Store, with 80% expecting to use alternative channels within five years.