Gaming On Linux

If you like the sound of mixing together cue sports like pool with Balatro's popularized mechanics of challenging rounds - Ultrapool is one for you. Seemingly not part of Steam Next Fest, it does have a sweet demo available that I took for a spin after finding it in the GamingOnLinux inbox recently. The basic idea of Ultrapool is the same as normal pool - try and pot the balls.

Crusader Kings III from Paradox Interactive is set to get even bigger, with the By God Alone expansion coming September 30th bringing new ways to play. This is still one of the best reviewed games from Paradox, and one of their most-played (although Hearts of Iron IV seems to hold their crown right now). It's coming as part of the Crusader Kings III: Chapter V pass, or standalone at around $19.99 / £16.99 / €19.99 if you prefer. What's in it?

868-BACK is a computer-hacking strategy roguelike with a surprising amount of depth to it, and it's one fans of the genre are going to need to check out. Note: a key was provided to GamingOnLinux by the publisher. This one was funded on BackerKit back in 2024. Coming from Michael Brough, a name you might recognise from older games like Vertex Dispenser and 868-HACK. This is sort of a follow-up sequel to 868-HACK for a slightly more modern audience.

19 Jun 2026 at 10:10 am UTC | Last updated: 19 Jun 2026 at 10:36 am UTC By Liam Squires-Hand With a demo available in Steam Next Fest that's incredibly promising, space combat bullet heaven roguelike Sublight hooked me right in. I'm a sucker for spaceships, action and bullet heavens - so this was pretty much made for me. The demo has a Native Linux version built with Unity, and worked great on my Fedora KDE 44 system.

While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on: Reward Tiers: Patreon . Plain Donations: PayPal . This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue! You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!

19 Jun 2026 at 9:36 am UTC | Last updated: 19 Jun 2026 at 9:39 am UTC By Liam Squires-Hand With Steam Next Fest June 2026 in full-swing, these are currently the most-played demos from the event. So if you're stuck for something to play, perhaps these might tickle your fancy. Valve sent word to GamingOnLinux via email about this and they said the most-played list goes from the morning of June 15th through the morning of June 18th.

The Godot team have released Godot Engine 4.7, the latest major update for the free and open source cross-platform game engine and there's lots new. Continuing to impress with the staggering amount of improvements that come with it. There's something for every kind of developer here - including support for Valve's new Steam Frame and Android XR. Pictured - Godot Engine 4.7 - competitive scoring platformer template project Some quick highlights: The brand new Asset Store has launched.

Hoping to get the new Steam Controller soon? Good luck, demand appears to be still quite high and seems far more than Valve can currently make. Valve have now announced an update on the reservation system - to give a bit more detail on when you can expect to receive one if you make a reservation. The good news is that Valve said very clearly "We have no plans to stop making Steam Controller" but due to demand they're trying to manage expectations.

No real points for originality here but if you're wanting something resembling the online play of Titanfall, then you may want to look at EMPULSE. There's a demo live on Steam right now for Steam Next Fest with the Early Access release due June 24th. It does have their own RedKard anti-cheat, which appears to work fine during the demo and also worked fine for their previous games Splitgate and SPLITGATE: Arena Reloaded.

Like chilled-out games? How about incrementals where you keep upgrading through a vast tech-tree and get to clean up various location? Sludgineers is for you. There's a demo available with Linux support for Steam Next Fest and it is really weirdly satisfying. It has a very simple idea - you go through various locations on your map, to suck up all the sludge using your ridiculously long vacuum.