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I still see a surprising amount of confusion from people on what Steam games work on Linux. Hopefully this will help clear it all up.
The problem is, Valve originally used the Linux "Tux" icon to show Linux compatibility:
They then replaced that with the SteamOS logo, which is basically the Steam logo in a coloured circle.
Steam Play is not Linux
If it doesn't have that little SteamOS icon at the end, it usually means it does not support Linux/SteamOS.
You see this all the time, but Steam Play does not mean it supports Linux & SteamOS. Steam Play means you buy it once, and it will only work on the platforms that the game supports directly. If a game is not Steam Play, you would need to re-buy it on each platform.
Here's one that only supports Windows & Mac for example:
Thoughts on it
I do think Valve need to do something to address this, I'm sure they know it's a little confusing, but it's possible they haven't even looked into it yet. It could also be possible that they simply don't care, but I would certainly hope they do.
Even moving the "STEAMPLAY" text to the start instead of at the end would help somewhat, as it would clearly show the SteamOS icon by itself then.
It frustrates me to see the confusion from users across the internet on what game supports Linux, as it shouldn't be this difficult, but Valve have made it difficult for people by not fully thinking this through.
One thing to remember: Not everyone has been around Linux as long as we have to understand the distinction between the icons. Remember the confusion isn't the fault of the user, this is a poor design choice from Valve. We have to remember this when seeing confused users. Help them, don't put them down.
It certainly doesn't help that Valve removed the SteamOS icon for a number of games as they work on Linux, but not SteamOS directly. Games like Starbound work fine on Ubuntu, but it has no SteamOS icon. There are further issues like Dying Light not having a SteamOS icon, due to some packaging issues, but it works "fine" (In quotes, as that's debatable) on Linux & SteamOS.
What do you think Valve could do to help the situation for people?
Also, an honourable mention to the SteamDB Linux list. Human-confirmed Steam games that work on Linux, and games that have hints about coming to Linux on the other tab. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
The problem is, Valve originally used the Linux "Tux" icon to show Linux compatibility:
They then replaced that with the SteamOS logo, which is basically the Steam logo in a coloured circle.
Steam Play is not Linux
If it doesn't have that little SteamOS icon at the end, it usually means it does not support Linux/SteamOS.
You see this all the time, but Steam Play does not mean it supports Linux & SteamOS. Steam Play means you buy it once, and it will only work on the platforms that the game supports directly. If a game is not Steam Play, you would need to re-buy it on each platform.
Here's one that only supports Windows & Mac for example:
Thoughts on it
I do think Valve need to do something to address this, I'm sure they know it's a little confusing, but it's possible they haven't even looked into it yet. It could also be possible that they simply don't care, but I would certainly hope they do.
Even moving the "STEAMPLAY" text to the start instead of at the end would help somewhat, as it would clearly show the SteamOS icon by itself then.
It frustrates me to see the confusion from users across the internet on what game supports Linux, as it shouldn't be this difficult, but Valve have made it difficult for people by not fully thinking this through.
One thing to remember: Not everyone has been around Linux as long as we have to understand the distinction between the icons. Remember the confusion isn't the fault of the user, this is a poor design choice from Valve. We have to remember this when seeing confused users. Help them, don't put them down.
It certainly doesn't help that Valve removed the SteamOS icon for a number of games as they work on Linux, but not SteamOS directly. Games like Starbound work fine on Ubuntu, but it has no SteamOS icon. There are further issues like Dying Light not having a SteamOS icon, due to some packaging issues, but it works "fine" (In quotes, as that's debatable) on Linux & SteamOS.
What do you think Valve could do to help the situation for people?
Also, an honourable mention to the SteamDB Linux list. Human-confirmed Steam games that work on Linux, and games that have hints about coming to Linux on the other tab. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I'm pretty sure Valve put some thoughts into this at the time when they're changed the icon, most likely at some point they draw the line between supporting Linux gaming in general and (their own) Steamos gaming which they need to promote.Well, two different icons describing basically the same thing, now that's confusing.It’s not the same thing. What’s confusing is games that run on linux even though they don’t have the steamos icon (dying light), and games that don’t even though they have it (most recent unity games).
As such, if a game runs on SteamOS it will get an SteamOS icon and support, if not, it gets nothing.
1 Likes, Who?
I'm pretty sure Valve put some thoughts into this at the time when they're changed the icon, most likely at some point they draw the line between supporting Linux gaming in general and (their own) Steamos gaming which they need to promote.Yes… But as a Linux user who will most likely never use SteamOS, it is not making me very happy.
As such, if a game runs on SteamOS it will get an SteamOS icon and support, if not, it gets nothing.
Indeed, it wasn't a popular decision, we all love Tux and the Tux icon was ideal. I remember seeing it for the first time on Steam, got me very happy.
But from their (Valve) point of view it makes sense, and I'm sure they didn't took this decision lightly. They have a specific platform to support and promote, and if that platform gets successful, Linux gaming gets successful too.
1 Likes, Who?
Mountain Man 10 Apr 2016
I thought the Tux icon was perfect, but I understand that Valve has a vested interest in pushing their own branded Linux distro, and I don't have a problem with that. However, they really need to brand their OS with something more distinctive than the generic Steam logo. Something like this:
 or 
Last edited by Mountain Man on 10 Apr 2016 at 4:52 pm UTC
 or 
Last edited by Mountain Man on 10 Apr 2016 at 4:52 pm UTC
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they should only add this Steamplay icon if the game supports all platforms steam supports.No, that's not what Steam Play is for, as already explained.
1 Likes, Who?
ElectricPrism 10 Apr 2016
I think Linux users generally tend to be towards the top of the chart when it comes to being smart.
That said, I think most Linux users using Steam are aware of SteamOS and associate the SteamOS icon with Linux fairly quickly.
I actually prefer that it stay the way it is as it would be more proper to use distribution logos like Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, OpenSUSE, etc... (than a Tux icon as Linux is a kernel and comes in many shapes and sizes similar to how PC means Linux, Mac, Windows, FreeBSD, etc...)
However, having a myriad of kinds of Linux logos would be silly and turn off developers rather quickly. So 1 Commercial Linux spearheading the conversion to me seems like excellent business logic to me to say to developers - hey just support this 1 Linux and it'll most likely run on the other 200 Linux distributions.
How annoying would it be to see a OpenSUSE or Arch logo only to find that the game only runs on Debian or Ubuntu. Obviously Linux distrubtions are more alike now in 2016 than in the past but I think that's a fair scenario.
The dumb masses don't even know that Android is Linux, or Mercedes or a billion other things they use every day - efforts to educate them about how cool we are will most certainly fail as they are defective.
Last edited by ElectricPrism on 10 Apr 2016 at 7:01 pm UTC
That said, I think most Linux users using Steam are aware of SteamOS and associate the SteamOS icon with Linux fairly quickly.
I actually prefer that it stay the way it is as it would be more proper to use distribution logos like Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, OpenSUSE, etc... (than a Tux icon as Linux is a kernel and comes in many shapes and sizes similar to how PC means Linux, Mac, Windows, FreeBSD, etc...)
However, having a myriad of kinds of Linux logos would be silly and turn off developers rather quickly. So 1 Commercial Linux spearheading the conversion to me seems like excellent business logic to me to say to developers - hey just support this 1 Linux and it'll most likely run on the other 200 Linux distributions.
How annoying would it be to see a OpenSUSE or Arch logo only to find that the game only runs on Debian or Ubuntu. Obviously Linux distrubtions are more alike now in 2016 than in the past but I think that's a fair scenario.
The dumb masses don't even know that Android is Linux, or Mercedes or a billion other things they use every day - efforts to educate them about how cool we are will most certainly fail as they are defective.
Last edited by ElectricPrism on 10 Apr 2016 at 7:01 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
I thought the Tux icon was perfect, but I understand that Valve has a vested interest in pushing their own branded Linux distro, and I don't have a problem with that. However, they really need to brand their OS with something more distinctive than the generic Steam logo. Something like this:
 or 
I like these,
but I like even more Valve betting it's Corporate Identity on
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Steam Play does not mean it supports Linux & SteamOS. Steam Play means you buy it once, and it will only work on the platforms that the game supports directly.I still don't get it, sorry. Could you please explain to a non-Steam user* what Steam Play means? I mean, obviously a game can only run on the platforms that it supports (at least if you don't use things like wine). Where does Steam Play come in?
* Never bought a single game on Steam, but got some as a present.
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If a game supports steamplay, then if you buy it for example on linux.
You can play it on mac, without repurchasing it. Or Windows for that matter. If these platforms are supported.
You can play it on mac, without repurchasing it. Or Windows for that matter. If these platforms are supported.
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1mHfoksd1Z 11 Apr 2016
To be honest, the Tux logo was a much better one that the SteamOS logo... i mean, we have an icon for Windows, one for Mac, so why not one for Linux too?
We see Steam logos everywhere on the Steam website... putting one in the supported platforms is very confusing...
I think they did it because they want it to be easier for newcomers who don't necessarily know anything about Linux or even that SteamOS is based on Linux... but it isn't...
In my opinion the "SteamPlay" label is not useful at all... maybe it should be replaced with a "Steam Machine" one that will be displayed on all titles that fully support Linux *and* controllers, and the Tux logo for every title that supports Linux. Basically we should have a logo for each OS, plus the "Steam Machine" label for the ones that work nicely with the Steam Machines (because yeah, SM users do have to know which one do and which don't)... pretty straightforward in my opinion.
It's a much better solution, IMO, than replacing Tux with the SteamOS logo which looks identical to Steam client's logo and most people don't know what it means.
EDIT: Oh, and if they do bring Tux back, they should make a new Tux icon, more minimalistic variation, because the old one was pretty ugly and inconsistent with the others.
Last edited by 1mHfoksd1Z on 11 Apr 2016 at 6:02 am UTC
We see Steam logos everywhere on the Steam website... putting one in the supported platforms is very confusing...
I think they did it because they want it to be easier for newcomers who don't necessarily know anything about Linux or even that SteamOS is based on Linux... but it isn't...
In my opinion the "SteamPlay" label is not useful at all... maybe it should be replaced with a "Steam Machine" one that will be displayed on all titles that fully support Linux *and* controllers, and the Tux logo for every title that supports Linux. Basically we should have a logo for each OS, plus the "Steam Machine" label for the ones that work nicely with the Steam Machines (because yeah, SM users do have to know which one do and which don't)... pretty straightforward in my opinion.
It's a much better solution, IMO, than replacing Tux with the SteamOS logo which looks identical to Steam client's logo and most people don't know what it means.
EDIT: Oh, and if they do bring Tux back, they should make a new Tux icon, more minimalistic variation, because the old one was pretty ugly and inconsistent with the others.
Last edited by 1mHfoksd1Z on 11 Apr 2016 at 6:02 am UTC
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1mHfoksd1Z 11 Apr 2016
If a game supports steamplay, then if you buy it for example on linux.So it's a redundant waste of space... We can already find what other platforms are supported without a repurchase simply by looking a few pixels to the left of that label :D
You can play it on mac, without repurchasing it. Or Windows for that matter. If these platforms are supported.
My above-stated point still stands.
I've been using Steam for a few years know and I didn't know what SteamPlay meant until now... I bet that most of the other users don't either, the masses...
Last edited by 1mHfoksd1Z on 11 Apr 2016 at 6:07 am UTC
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So it's a redundant waste of space... We can already find what other platforms are supported without a repurchase simply by looking a few pixels to the left of that label :D
Erm... no. SteamPlay does not tell you which platforms are supported. It only implies that it will be at least two, beecause otherwise, SteamPlay would make no sense. SteamPlay means that you can buy once and play on all supported platforms without rebuying, that's it, no more, no less.
AFAIR there is at least one game on several platforms that supports several platforms (Win and Mac?) but does not support SteamPlay, but I cannot find it ATM.
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Crazy Penguin 11 Apr 2016
I'm pretty sure Valve put some thoughts into this at the time when they're changed the icon, most likely at some point they draw the line between supporting Linux gaming in general and (their own) Steamos gaming which they need to promote.Well, two different icons describing basically the same thing, now that's confusing.It’s not the same thing. What’s confusing is games that run on linux even though they don’t have the steamos icon (dying light), and games that don’t even though they have it (most recent unity games).
As such, if a game runs on SteamOS it will get an SteamOS icon and support, if not, it gets nothing.
There are games on Steam which are still supporting and running fine on Linux, but got the SteamOS-Icon removed, as they are not compatible with the Big Picture Mode. That is the only difference.
Without the Icon you have no chance to find this games on Steam now!
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If you buy a Steam Play title on Windows, you can play it on Mac and Linux and so on.Steam Play does not mean it supports Linux & SteamOS. Steam Play means you buy it once, and it will only work on the platforms that the game supports directly.I still don't get it, sorry. Could you please explain to a non-Steam user* what Steam Play means? I mean, obviously a game can only run on the platforms that it supports (at least if you don't use things like wine). Where does Steam Play come in?
* Never bought a single game on Steam, but got some as a present.
There is a Call of Duty game Aspyr ported to Mac which is not Steam Play, so Windows and Mac versions are seperate purchases as one example.
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If you buy a Steam Play title on Windows, you can play it on Mac and Linux and so on.
... if it happens to be available for Mac or Linux. SteamPlay does not guarantee either.(*)
(*) I know that you know, Liam - hey, you're "liam" again!?! I like that! -, I just want to make it clear for those who don't.
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Thanks for the answers, I didn't know some where selling their games separately per OS.
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I still wonder if anybody has an example of a game on Steam supporting several platforms but not SteamPlay?
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Re RANT:
Some people are indeed not dumb. But then again, some are. And evidently, some don't bother reading the whole thread before replying.
Some people are indeed not dumb. But then again, some are. And evidently, some don't bother reading the whole thread before replying.
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jasondaigo 24 Jun 2016
i would really like to see a mini tux in that steamos icon; then its just like steamos and/or linux compatible.
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