Would installing an OS on an external ssd and booting into that to run pirated software while blocking access to other drives in your system or physically unplugging them be one way?
Or are there better ways to isolate the software you run and use as much as possible?
I exclusively run games in a windows VM. I haven’t compared performance outside the VM as it would also be comparing Linux gaming vs windows gaming+VM gaming which would just muddy the data. It runs more than fine for me