Linux Exceeds 3% Marketshare on Steam Hardware Survey for First Time
- Thread starter The Mad Draklor
- Start date
coffinbirth
Member
People say this, but at least on Steam Deck, I can't imagine people actually wanting to play Rocket League or Fortnite or ANYTHING competitive like that over Wifi on a handheld with translation layers.
I tried Rocket League on Steam Deck with Heroic launcher and it was basically unplayable, with really bad input lag, fps issues, stuttering, etc. Not dissimilar from attempting to play Rocket League on a Switch, actually.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
I really wish all the major distros could settle on a common packaging method they all could support at least as a secondary option.
That would make software distribution a lot less hassle free.
Magic Carpet
Gold Member
I've never actually tried to play multiplayer anything on my Steamdeck. I did not know it introduced so much Lag.
Guilty_AI
Member
Hard to do since one of the major aspects of FOSS is the idea different users can use whatever they prefer. One of the reasons many want a desktop SteamOS is precisely because it'd inspire a standard for gaming-focused distros, but the fundamental issue would remain.
An advantage of wine is that it ends up serving as a standardized compatibility layer that is portable across different distros, even if at times it may require some configuring.
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coffinbirth
Member
To be fair, it's the only one I've tried. It didn't inspire enough confidence to go through the hassle of trying something else.I've never actually tried to play multiplayer anything on my Steamdeck. I did not know it introduced so much Lag.
Buggy Loop
Gold Member
Had no idea. That's pretty bad then. It's a major hurdle for expanding that market share. There will always be tinkerers around not minding it but yea...
At least if Steam makes a "console" or steam deck 2 it must be one of those distros that make sense for devs to support at the least. Someone toying with arch or some obscure distro probably wants to tinker anyway.
Guilty_AI
Member
It's a major hurdle that has already been solved (mostly). Majority of games on Steam Deck or linux in general utilize a translation layer (proton/wine) to run Windows versions on Linux.
This layer has become reliable enough that it often runs the game with minimal peformance loss (5-10% usually) or in a few cases even better than windows. There are multiple cases where running the windows version through it works out of the box while the native doesn't.
The major hurdle right now is games that use kernel level software like anti-cheats, multiplayer basically.
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JohnnyFootball
GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
AMD and the HDMI Forum have to solve the HDMI 2.1 issue. No HDMI 2.1 is a deal breaker unless TVs start getting Displayport 2.1 added to them.
Buggy Loop
Gold Member
Proton translation layer taking windows version being better than native linux was not on my bingo card for all the discussion of linux gaming to be honest.
The more you know
I think next step for a steam "console" like is to find a way to unify all the damn upscalers to one solution automatically. They have to remove tinkering as much as possible. Leave the option to tinker, but otherwise it should be as seamless as can be for the user who doesn't want to.
Guilty_AI
Member
Also worth mentioning even for native versions, steam itself or programs like Lutris are designed to deal with enviromental variables that arise from using different distros. And the times translation layers do run better is more often than not cases where the dev just doesn't know how to make a linux port (which admittedly is pretty often).Proton translation layer taking windows version being better than native linux was not on my bingo card for all the discussion of linux gaming to be honest.
The more you know
Kind of hard since this would be heavily reliant on individual devs implementations. Unless they implement some type of universal scaler that works on any game, but it'd probably be a very basic one.
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Buggy Loop
Gold Member
Isn't optiscaler almost it? It replaces upscalers in games that has DLSS2+, FSR2+, XeSS. They would just need to make it automatic. Probably a few asterisks here and there for compatibility of course but Valve certainly can do it better than a fan project.
Guilty_AI
Member
I think Lutris comes with upscaling options or allows extensions with more diverse options. I rarely use upscaling so i don't know much.
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
Steam On Linux Gaming Finally Cracks 3% For October 2025 - Phoronix
www.phoronix.com
For the first time ever, Linux surpassed 3% marketshare on the Steam Hardware Survey at a 3.05% clip. At the same point last year, Linux was at 2% marketshare and the year before that, at 1.39%. If you are to look at marketshare among English language users only, Linux makes up 6.61%, also an all-time high.
When analyzing the Linux-specific data, SteamOS makes up 27.18% of all installs which was down by 0.47 points from the previous month. This would mean while the Steam Deck is helping Linux grow, the traditional Linux desktop is also pulling its weight.
There is still a long ways to before Linux becomes "too big to ignore". Multiplayer games will forever be a nagging issue because that's up to the developers to enable anti-cheat for Linux. The Nvidia GPU experience on Linux is still far from hassle-free, but the NVK driver is making progress such as enabling DLSS support.
.Still, thanks Proton!
Melon Husk
Member
In my experience 4% or 5% adoption is when people really start to care.
Nice to see Linux getting more attention, hopefully this will translate to native ports for the OS that use Linux.
They did that around 10 years ago, granted that was before Proton was fully released. I think Value could have done a much better job with the original incarnation of the Steam Box. Problem is, how do you beat Sony and Microsoft on pricing?
BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
That was before Proton existed at all. And they were also not made by Valve.
kruis
Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
I wish that all the minor distros would call it a day and stop their work. The fragmentation of Linux is not a strength, it's a huge problem. There's no need for 600 actively maintained Linux distros.
OceanGaming
Member
Where is the SOURCE for that? I provided you with a source about 4 million SteamDeck quote. I don't care about AI response, give me the source.
Magic Carpet
Gold Member
Looks like Google AI summary is the wave of the future. Info with a Sorce is old school old way of thinking. That takes work and dedication. Work and dedication is something the old folks did.
But today, Weeeeeee everythings fun.
MidGenRefresh
*Refreshes biennially
Can someone please share a comprehensive guide on how to install Linux and which version to choose? Thanks.
GHG
Gold Member
CachyOS or Bazzite.
Bazzite if you only want to game on the machine and have an AMD gpu, CachyOS for all other hardware and if you want more flexibility.
Crayon
Member
Tons and tons on YouTube. Especially recently.
Mostly though, get one of those programs that will make a bootable USB for you. Download the cachy iso from their site and burn that on the stick. Try booting from it and see if it starts up.
Check to make sure your Internet works while it's running off the USB stick. If so, you're in business. Click install and should be done in 10 minutes or so.
Avoid partitioning a single drive to dual boot. Windows and Linux might fight over the bootloader and it's obnoxious. See if you got a second drive around if you want to dual boot.
pudel
Gold Member
Just try CachyOS. There are tons of install guides out there. This here is just one:
Freelance Yakuza
Member
In my opinion, Microsoft is more afraid of Windows ceasing to be the mandatory platform for PC gaming than it is of shutting down the Xbox division. I also think Phil's mission has become helping to prevent SteamOS from becoming a real threat.
The problem is that Microsoft simply doesn't have the competence to make an operating system that doesn't drain resources, so it will always have worse performance.
The problem is that Microsoft simply doesn't have the competence to make an operating system that doesn't drain resources, so it will always have worse performance.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Do they install it by default through? If a newbie Linux user installs whatever is the gaming distro of the month or Mint or whatnot, is Flatpack going to be present?
Because if your average user needs to go to terminal, it's not going to happen.
BeardSpike
Gold Member
I've been using CachyOS daily for over a year.
First on RX 6700XT, now RX 9070XT.
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nowhat
Member
I have no idea. But as it is available from the official repos, it's just a matter of installing it via $GUI_FRONTEND_TO_PACKAGE_MANAGER of the distribution of your choice, if the terminal is too scary. Having said that, as Flatpak (no "c" in there, just "pak", don't ask me why) is becoming more prevalent, I'd assume it will be installed by default in many desktop-oriented distros.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Some sort of commonality certainly be good. That would make it much easier for devs to distribute.
Are flatpak software (iOS insists its lack
) repos available from major distros or would users need to add some random ones? I really just need to throw this into Gemini or something, lol. Always only worked with RedHat, Ubuntu and its ilk due to work and flatpak or even GUI was not part of it
.
nowhat
Member
Uhm, it's a bit different, and Gemini sure will be able to describe it better, but think of it this way: instead of a repo or few, that provide both the application and dependencies, there's a single file to download/install from wherever. That also includes all the required libraries and such. Think downloading a .exe for software distribution.Are flatpak software (iOS insists its lack
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Oh, I understand how flatpaks work and used them. I meant are reputable download repositories / stores for flatpak included with user friendly repos like say Mint and so on.
Or I guess can Steam games native Linux versions get pushed through Flatpaks.
Downloading random packaged software from some sketchy repo is not a great idea
.Bazzite comes with the 'Bazaar' Flathub installed which is a Flatpak app store and I expect other distros have something similar. You could spend all day browsing the apps in there.Some sort of commonality certainly be good. That would make it much easier for devs to distribute.
Are flatpak software (iOS insists its lack
I really just need to throw this into Gemini or something, lol. Always only worked with RedHat, Ubuntu and its ilk due to work and flatpak or even GUI was not part of it
nowhat
Member
Oh sure, just that it's what ultimately Flatpak allows. Software installation as easy as with Windows.Downloading random packaged software from some sketchy repo is not a great idea
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Wonder (again, should just throw into AI) if that introduces confusion if users say pull an app from flatpak and another version is installed through different package manager.
pudel
Gold Member
In Mint's package manager I can often times choose between a flatpak version and a native one. And yeah, its a bit confusing...especially when certain flatpak apps just working with other flatpak apps and vice versa. It seems ideally to me to just stick to one method. (?)
SilentSpecter
Member
Yeah, sure... call me when Game Pass actually works on Linux. Then I might consider switching.
Bernkastel
Ask me about my fanboy energy!
RCX
Member
About to do the exact same thing this week. Windows 11 is breaking something on me with every update on my gaming rig and as a longtime Mint user on my work machine I'm interested to see what Cachy can do
crackajack
Member
3% is still abysmal, but at least it is going upwards for some time now. Without Valve Linux would still be irrelevant in the gaming space, despite lame efforts for decades. Good job Gabe. It might force MS to wake up. Also since Apple and their M series is quite capable in gaming now too. The alternatives were ultra niche for a long time and just no real option. That might change finally.
The_Mike
I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Got my steam deck during the saleI sure hope those are all SteamDecks, because using Linux for gaming outside of that is…
…absolutely bananas.
Loving it so far!