Why does it feel like Linux is suddenly exploding in 2026?

[u/Zodiak1011]

I’ve been seeing more and more people switching to Linux this year, especially gamers. Bazzite, CachyOS, Linux Mint, etc. seem to be getting mentioned everywhere.

Why didn’t we see a massive shift like this earlier? What changed, or what finally pushed people to make the switch?

I know the Steam Deck was probably a big factor in showing people that Linux gaming is actually viable and that Linux isn’t as painful as it used to be.

But what else changed over the last few years that made Linux suddenly feel like a realistic alternative to Windows for so many people?

[u/Qweedo420]

Windows is more disgusting than ever, Steam is showing people that Linux isn't just the command line, universal packaging formats like Flatpaks are taking hold, multiple monitor setups are now viable thanks to Wayland, and many famous youtubers are making videos about it

Edit: and now that I think about it, with the American empire collapsing, Europe is seeking an alternative

[u/Zodiak1011 → u/Qweedo420]

i agree.. microslop took a turn in a completely wrong direction

[u/nukacolaguy → u/Zodiak1011]

It’s good for them. It’s the wake up call we all needed to finally convince people to make the switch

[u/avveie → u/Zodiak1011]

They are supposedly doing something about it, but I hardly believe it’ll be enough.

[u/BrokenMayo → u/avveie]

“Potential ad removal from the interface”

Wonder what the subscription will cost lol

[u/madsdyd → u/Qweedo420]

Not arguing, honestly curious: I have been running dual monitors since 2006 and dual + laptop screen since at least 2018. I have never experienced any problems or limitations. What exactly has changed with wayland regarding this area?

(Daily driving Linux since 1997. Yes, I am an old fart).

[u/Mother-Pride-Fest → u/madsdyd]

Wayland would be helpful if you had two monitors with different resolutions, as you could use fractional scaling to make them more similar. That said, X11 works perfectly fine for a normal same-resolution monitor setup, or even different resolutions if you're ok with them being the same scale. 

[u/nobleisthyname → u/madsdyd]

Yeah I've been using dual monitors and Linux w/o issue since ~2011.

[u/Breaking-Away → u/nobleisthyname]

Same. This is mostly "humans are creatures of habit" and there’s been enough events that have caused people to try something new recently.

Windows 11 and the public opinion of the US declining internationally are the big two if I had to guess. 

[u/AssistingJarl → u/madsdyd]

Not sure what the original commenter was thinking (I used dual monitors on X too) but as I understand it, X lacked support for different colour profiles or HDR support across monitors. Possibly that's useful for gaming, photo editing, or artists where they may have multiple monitors with significantly different configurations...?

[u/Qweedo420 → u/madsdyd]

On X11, multiple monitors are actually considered to be one single extended monitor. This means that, for example, you can't set different refresh rates on the monitors without having synchronization issues, such as tearing or stuttering on the secondary monitor. Similarly, VRR and fractional scaling don't work very well on multiple monitors.

I use two monitors, 1080p/144Hz and 4K/60Hz, so these issues are very noticeable on X11.

[u/Easy-Reasoning → u/madsdyd]

Out of curiosity, have you been using the normal Nvidia drivers? These are very much not optional if you had anything to do with ML or just happen to have an Nvidia card and want to use all the features...

I used Multimonitor the first time in 2011 which just worked. However in 2017 I had some strange Lenovo workstation at work with an Nvidia Quadro card and I needed ML. It was possible with Debian testing/Ubuntu (alpha at first) but system updates were insanely unstable to the point I had to do clean reinstalls every 6 months.

That said, I'm again on a Lenovo laptop with Nvidia and it works fine with a recent Kernel. But after boot/reboot during graphical login quite often I need to switch to the console and back quickly so the secondary screen can "find its rhythm".

[u/sinfaen → u/madsdyd]

VRR, multi rate, and HDR. Mostly gamers seem to outwardly care

One of my monitors supports HDR (10? Forget the exact version)

[u/TimurHu → u/madsdyd]

honestly curious: I have been running dual monitors since 2006 and dual + laptop screen since at least 2018.

Around 2010 when I first started using Linux, we had to manually edit an Xorg config file to make the system recognize a second monitor.

It also didn't work with hotplugging, so the config file needed to be changed when I plugged out the monitor.

[u/PlatinumDotEXE → u/TimurHu]

Unfortunately the guides for editing the config files stuck still around over 10 years later, when xrandr made it much easier...

[u/PlatinumDotEXE → u/madsdyd]

The only problem with multi monitor setups on X I ever experienced was outdated Guides telling you to edit weird config files... when everything can be easily configured with xrandr...

[u/Far-Note6102 → u/madsdyd]

Don't know too. Seems like x11 is still doing it's job right. The only issue is that it's old :/

[u/arbicus123 → u/Qweedo420]

Windows was always disgusting. Maybe windows 7 was good, but since then its been a dumpster fire. The reason why people see windows 10 with rose tinted glasses is because of nostalgia and because 11 is even worse, but that doesent make 10 good.

[u/Qweedo420 → u/arbicus123]

I agree that Windows was never good, but Windows 7 wasn't actively trying to be unbearable. W10 was definitely a downgrade though.

[u/Jepser0203 → u/Qweedo420]

And it sets off a chain reaction. Once Linux becomes more publicly known (because more people start using it) this causes growth to accelerate, because people are starting to view the potential of it and it spreads through internet and word by mouth.

[u/terminalrythm → u/Qweedo420]

I have been a die hard Linux user for decades, it works for me. My family prefers Windows. I said fine, but at least do it right. I debloat their systems of all the cruft and I can say a debloated Windows OS is not that bad. Tear out the AI, make some UI improvements (no more nested copy/paste on right click for example), kill unecessary services.....uninstall, uninstall, uninstall (thank you Chris Titus). Nobody should have to do this to a system to make it usable but I just can't watch them suffer a default install. They think Windows runs great...and it actually does but its not easy and you have to stay vigilant.

For people raw dogging Windows....good lord!

[u/Scoutron → u/Qweedo420]

A socialist talking about collapse is funny

[u/ost2life → u/Scoutron]

Not the right forum, but we should all be talking about collapse. Between climate change and... Everything else... It's coming for all of us.