Should Linux Users Play Only Open Source Games?

infoivonblog.nkfjt@aleeas.com (Ivon Huang) — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0800

If You Pursue Free Software on Linux, Should You Also Insist on Playing Open Source Games? Sharing a List of Open Source Games

Should you stick to playing free and open source games instead of proprietary ones when using free software on Linux？

Once upon a very long time ago, you owned the game, and the game owned you.

But now it is no longer like that.

In the past, I once published a hot take: you should not play Minecraft, because it is proprietary software and Microsoft has ruined it, especially Bedrock Edition, which added a pile of mobile-game monetization elements. After founder Notch left, Mojang had already lost its way!

You should switch to Luanti, a truly free block sandbox game (the point is freedom, not zero price!) It is cross-platform, written in C++, and is a Minecraft alternative. Inside it there is a subgame called VoxeLibre that can reproduce 99% of classic Minecraft gameplay, along with more mods than you can ever finish installing, plus built-in shader effects.

They are both about building houses, but playing Luanti makes my conscience feel better, ha! This is quite close to the level of madness of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). As a 10-year Minecraft PE veteran, switching to Luanti feels liberating!

If you use GNU/Linux, this free system, yet still install proprietary software, then impurities have mixed in and must be filtered out! As the saying goes, my Way is unified by one principle; software should all use free solutions!

“As long as you let one evil flower bloom… in the end, all of Gensokyo will be polluted. The fairies living inside the flowers will also be replaced, won’t they?” (Source)

But is this really good? What exactly are we pursuing?

1. Definition of Free Software Games
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My own definition of free software games/open source games:

So-called games that pursue free software generally mean the code must be open source, use an open source license, and conform to the four freedoms advocated by the Free Software Foundation. The game itself must also be completely free, not controlled by DRM or restrictions on players’ rights.

The assets inside the game should use Creative Commons licenses and allow free reuse.

If a game allows players to install mods but the base game is still released as closed source, it still does not count as a free game. Examples include The Elder Scrolls, Hearts of Iron, Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, Quake, Red Alert, and so on.

Even if you use an open source console emulator to play a game, if the ROM itself is still closed source, it still does not count as a free game. For example, playing Nintendo 64 games through RetroArch.

Games developed with closed source game engines should not be considered free software games, such as those using Unreal Engine. There are many open source game engines, such as Godot and Irrlicht.

Luanti on Ivon's Blog

Should Linux Users Play Only Open Source Games?

1. Definition of Free Software Games #

1. Definition of Free Software Games
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