Linux finally gets the Opera GX Gaming Browser – Windows slowly losing its grip on gaming

Okay, so it’s probably not quite as dramatic as the headline, but there can be no doubt that over the past couple of years more and more people have been able to separate their gaming habits from the bloated adware-fest that modern Windows PCs have become.

I don’t want CoPilot. I don’t even want Windows Media Player. Guilty pleasure = I don’t mind Edge. There, I said it. But, over the last decade Windows has been more of a necessary evil than a “ooh can’t wait for the next version.”

Running alongside that has been a gradual shift in the Linux user base from those who live in the CLI to those who can run a distro without ever seeing a terminal.

Don’t get me wrong, probably 99% of Windows users would find swapping their OS to a friendly Linux setup daunting and beyond them, but it’s getting easier. Steam Decks and Bazzite have shown the way forward and it will be interesting to see how this continues in the years to come.

If you are one of the people who have taken the leap though, you can now add in one of the best gaming browsers with native Linux support, as Opera GX, with all its privacy controls built in has come to join you.

Now we have a browser that we can customize that aligns with Linux’s privacy-first idealism. There are quite a lot of higher-ups that won’t like that.

Secret Squirrel

The Linux version of GX doesn’t scoop up your location, browsing history, page content, search queries, or anything you’re typing into forms. It sticks to the same data model used across its other browsers, which it says keeps things firmly on the “we’re not watching everything you do” side of the fence.

On top of that, you’re getting built-in ad, tracker, and even cryptojacking protection, plus an optional VPN that runs on a zero-log policy and has been independently audited. The whole thing is developed out of Europe, with teams in Norway and Poland, and operates under GDPR rules, with infrastructure hosted in European data centres, including Iceland.

“PC gaming has long been associated with a single dominant platform, but that’s changing. Bringing GX to Linux users – who are renowned for the control they like to exert over their tools – means gamers and developers can manage browser resources, customize their setup, and keep their system performing exactly the way they want,” said Maciej Kocemba, Product Director, Opera GX.

Opera GX was actually born back in 2019. It was the first browser to allow users to fully customize its appearance, color themes, sound effects and audio effects, Opera GX also optimizes the computer’s resources for gaming through CPU, RAM and Network Bandwidth limiters that make the browser less resource-hungry.