Something I keep seeing repeated in our comments, forum and across other sites is people believing Valve have somehow failed already and are abandoning SteamOS. That's far from the truth of the matter.
To re-iterate something I've said every time: SteamOS was never, ever going to be an overnight success. New platforms generally take quite some time to make a difference, but SteamOS has already made a massive difference to Linux gaming.
SteamOS is still a very new platform for Valve and for everyone. Does anyone remember what Steam itself was like a few years ago? It was horrific. It still has tons of problems even now, but it is improving at a reasonable pace. In a few years SteamOS will probably be quite different to what we have today.
I've spoken to a few developers over the years and one thing is quite clear to me. If it wasn't for SteamOS there is no way we would be getting the types of games we have been getting for the past few years. We also wouldn't have as big a push as we have seen in pushing our graphics drivers forward, as a lot of it is thanks to people testing games and sending in feedback from the experience.
Only recently has SteamOS been updated to include a Vulkan driver for Nvidia and the new AMD GPU PRO driver.
Vulkan
Vulkan is the next-generation graphics API that will see Linux/SteamOS hopefully progress even further with a possible promise of improved performance. We have already seen Talos improve quite a bit with it and going by benchmarks out there for Dota 2 it has also improved performance.
Vulkan is still in its infancy and it is being regularly updated with the community to improve it.
Open source drivers
Look at how far MESA has come along even in the past two months. It's incredible. Not only is it gaining support for modern versions of OpenGL, but it's looking like performance is steadily going up too. This is particularly good news for Intel and AMD users.
Games
In the last six months alone we have seen titles like F1 2015, Tomb Raider, Stellaris, Saints Row: The Third, Medieval II: Total War Collection, Payday 2, XCOM 2, Dying Light: Enhanced Edition, American Truck Simulator, GRID Autosport, Total War: ATTILA and the list just goes on and on without even getting into the popular smaller indie games. Linux gaming is expanding at a pretty great pace.
We have a lot to look forward to with plenty of titles not yet announced, some teased and an almost guaranteed steady flow of indie games.
It was only at the very end of march we mentioned that there was now 2,000 Linux/SteamOS games on Steam. Now only two months later we have another ~183 games on the platform.
If you want to help us keep track of games, check out our Release Calendar and submit missing games to it.
We also have a wiki page for Unreleased Ports that could use some community love. You knew we had a Wiki right?
Game engines
Unity, Unreal, Crytek and others have all made pushes towards OpenGL, Vulkan and Linux. Some are working well, some need work, but the point is we have some of the most widely used game engines now supporting Linux. This was another thing that was unheard of only a few years ago.
Not only that, but some major game engines have recently become more open with their code.
The amount of Linux gamers
It's really hard to tell this accurately, so take this with a pinch of salt, but a recent editorial right here on GOL had an interesting way to calculate it. Taking that into consideration, Linux use on Steam is at an all time high.
How can you help?
Buy Linux games from legitimate stores. Steam, Humble Store, GOG, Games Republic and itch.io are a few choices. Try to make sure you're counted as a Linux sale.
Stop buying games on promises of a future Linux version. Wait. You are in control of your own wallet. A good bit of reading is our Samsai's thoughts "On pre-orders and other nasty buying habits".
Advertise Linux to your friends and family, let them know about it, show it to them.
I've been around Linux Gaming for about 10 years now, believe me when I say what we have is bloody awesome. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
To re-iterate something I've said every time: SteamOS was never, ever going to be an overnight success. New platforms generally take quite some time to make a difference, but SteamOS has already made a massive difference to Linux gaming.
SteamOS is still a very new platform for Valve and for everyone. Does anyone remember what Steam itself was like a few years ago? It was horrific. It still has tons of problems even now, but it is improving at a reasonable pace. In a few years SteamOS will probably be quite different to what we have today.
I've spoken to a few developers over the years and one thing is quite clear to me. If it wasn't for SteamOS there is no way we would be getting the types of games we have been getting for the past few years. We also wouldn't have as big a push as we have seen in pushing our graphics drivers forward, as a lot of it is thanks to people testing games and sending in feedback from the experience.
Only recently has SteamOS been updated to include a Vulkan driver for Nvidia and the new AMD GPU PRO driver.
Vulkan
Vulkan is the next-generation graphics API that will see Linux/SteamOS hopefully progress even further with a possible promise of improved performance. We have already seen Talos improve quite a bit with it and going by benchmarks out there for Dota 2 it has also improved performance.
Vulkan is still in its infancy and it is being regularly updated with the community to improve it.
Open source drivers
Look at how far MESA has come along even in the past two months. It's incredible. Not only is it gaining support for modern versions of OpenGL, but it's looking like performance is steadily going up too. This is particularly good news for Intel and AMD users.
Games
In the last six months alone we have seen titles like F1 2015, Tomb Raider, Stellaris, Saints Row: The Third, Medieval II: Total War Collection, Payday 2, XCOM 2, Dying Light: Enhanced Edition, American Truck Simulator, GRID Autosport, Total War: ATTILA and the list just goes on and on without even getting into the popular smaller indie games. Linux gaming is expanding at a pretty great pace.
We have a lot to look forward to with plenty of titles not yet announced, some teased and an almost guaranteed steady flow of indie games.
It was only at the very end of march we mentioned that there was now 2,000 Linux/SteamOS games on Steam. Now only two months later we have another ~183 games on the platform.
If you want to help us keep track of games, check out our Release Calendar and submit missing games to it.
We also have a wiki page for Unreleased Ports that could use some community love. You knew we had a Wiki right?
Game engines
Unity, Unreal, Crytek and others have all made pushes towards OpenGL, Vulkan and Linux. Some are working well, some need work, but the point is we have some of the most widely used game engines now supporting Linux. This was another thing that was unheard of only a few years ago.
Not only that, but some major game engines have recently become more open with their code.
The amount of Linux gamers
It's really hard to tell this accurately, so take this with a pinch of salt, but a recent editorial right here on GOL had an interesting way to calculate it. Taking that into consideration, Linux use on Steam is at an all time high.
How can you help?
Buy Linux games from legitimate stores. Steam, Humble Store, GOG, Games Republic and itch.io are a few choices. Try to make sure you're counted as a Linux sale.
Stop buying games on promises of a future Linux version. Wait. You are in control of your own wallet. A good bit of reading is our Samsai's thoughts "On pre-orders and other nasty buying habits".
Advertise Linux to your friends and family, let them know about it, show it to them.
I've been around Linux Gaming for about 10 years now, believe me when I say what we have is bloody awesome. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
0 Likes
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
The link is broken for the SteamOS download due to it being moved to http://repo.steampowered.com/download/ I think the site admins are just a little behind on the Steam site.
If anyone knows about Valve they should also know about "Valve Time", they don't rush anything they do and they build a great "platform".
"Steam" is over a decade old but people seem to forget in the early days Steam was nothing more than a place to get the "Valve" games. There was no real "store" or anything early on.
People just need to have some patience, if you're that stuck up on Gaming you're not solely using Linux for everything at the moment. There is nothing wrong with using other platforms to do what you need while you wait for something better.
If anyone knows about Valve they should also know about "Valve Time", they don't rush anything they do and they build a great "platform".
"Steam" is over a decade old but people seem to forget in the early days Steam was nothing more than a place to get the "Valve" games. There was no real "store" or anything early on.
People just need to have some patience, if you're that stuck up on Gaming you're not solely using Linux for everything at the moment. There is nothing wrong with using other platforms to do what you need while you wait for something better.
2 Likes, Who?
The state of Linux gaming is quite good, I agree, but the launch of SteamVR / HTC Vive without (the promised) Linux support really leaves me wondering what their plan is.
I mean, we're talking about a company that runs a console platform, releasing a peripheral without support for their own platform. Imagine if this had been any other company, eg. Sony releasing their Playstation-VR with support for Windows PC only and Playstation support coming eventually - it would be considered madness, but somehow, for SteamOS it's generally accepted as okay.
Everything else Valve is doing fills me with hope, but that specific move threatens to abolish that hope with bad planning.
I mean, we're talking about a company that runs a console platform, releasing a peripheral without support for their own platform. Imagine if this had been any other company, eg. Sony releasing their Playstation-VR with support for Windows PC only and Playstation support coming eventually - it would be considered madness, but somehow, for SteamOS it's generally accepted as okay.
Everything else Valve is doing fills me with hope, but that specific move threatens to abolish that hope with bad planning.
2 Likes, Who?
Mountain Man May 29, 2016
There are currently more games available for Linux than I have the money to buy or the time to play, and this includes a number of AAA releases. Compared to even 2-years ago, that's a HUGE step forward for Linux gaming! I think the future is looking pretty bright for our penguin-powered OS.
4 Likes, Who?
I used to buy practically any game that appeared for Linux. Obscure platformers, odd puzzle games, any Humble Bundle. Yes, pretty much everything. Nowadays I give "F1 2015" a miss, because of average reviews and a library chock full of games I haven't played yet (particularly Grid Autosport)...
6 Likes, Who?
TacoDeBoss May 29, 2016
Haha, whoops. I think my Reddit thread inspired this article.
I was just feeling disappointed in Valve and some other developers. It's a great place (that we're in), but we're still missing out on a lot of great games and experiences that I wish we weren't.
Last edited by TacoDeBoss on 29 May 2016 at 7:25 pm UTC
I was just feeling disappointed in Valve and some other developers. It's a great place (that we're in), but we're still missing out on a lot of great games and experiences that I wish we weren't.
Last edited by TacoDeBoss on 29 May 2016 at 7:25 pm UTC
0 Likes
Mountain Man May 29, 2016
[quote=eridanired123]
Quoting: UncleivanSteamOS was released barely 6 months ago. And the game scene in Linux in general have never been better. So things are good.That puts things into perspective. How many six-month old platforms can boast 2000+ games?
1 Likes, Who?
Expalphalog May 29, 2016
Quoting: UncleivanThese news.... Apologies english is not my native language
You had it right the first time. He was agreeing wih you, not correcting you. :)
0 Likes
Actually it feels like a mixed bag. Dont get me wrong, I am all in for SteamOS and already build my own SteamMachine but I can understand the disappointment so far.
Yes, I can see the updates under the hood with engines, drivers and new API like Vulkan and I understand that SteamOS is a long term project. On the other hand I am disappointed with the pace of the overall progression. There are a number of games that are postponed way longer then expected. Kinda Feels like the hype about the SteamOS and SteamMachines is pretty much gone. And the often mentioned big amount of 2000 games doesn't mean so much for me when there is only a few AAA titles. Actually the only game I was interested in and bought this year so far was "Tomb Raider".
Besides some more games, what I am missing are some more end user features in SteamOS. In the current state it feels kinda boring from my point of view. Right now I use SteamOS only to start/play games and uploading some screenshots. What I am missing the most are some easy to use (with controller!) streaming apps for youtube, twitch, netflix and amazon prime to come closer to the desired living room experience.
Anyway, besides these points, I am still postive about the future of SteamOS and expect things to improve and get better as (valve) time goes by...
Yes, I can see the updates under the hood with engines, drivers and new API like Vulkan and I understand that SteamOS is a long term project. On the other hand I am disappointed with the pace of the overall progression. There are a number of games that are postponed way longer then expected. Kinda Feels like the hype about the SteamOS and SteamMachines is pretty much gone. And the often mentioned big amount of 2000 games doesn't mean so much for me when there is only a few AAA titles. Actually the only game I was interested in and bought this year so far was "Tomb Raider".
Besides some more games, what I am missing are some more end user features in SteamOS. In the current state it feels kinda boring from my point of view. Right now I use SteamOS only to start/play games and uploading some screenshots. What I am missing the most are some easy to use (with controller!) streaming apps for youtube, twitch, netflix and amazon prime to come closer to the desired living room experience.
Anyway, besides these points, I am still postive about the future of SteamOS and expect things to improve and get better as (valve) time goes by...
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: SwitchesThe link is broken for the SteamOS download due to it being moved to http://repo.steampowered.com/download/ I think the site admins are just a little behind on the Steam site.
It links to the correct location, there's just no "SteamOSImage.zip" file at that file location anymore. It's "SteamOSDVD.iso" or "SteamOSInstaller.zip" now.
And this does tell something about their focus. It's the first link that pops up when you google "steamos download". If they had a certain level of focus on this they'd at the very least updated their own main page for this distro and not break availability as they changed the file name. I mean... This really is elementary.
It's worrying. I don't put more into it than that, but it's not comforting.
Last edited by Beamboom on 29 May 2016 at 8:14 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
When I see such an article I know that it is written for a reason - some people are starting to worry. Because there are reasons to be worried about.
First of all - I agree, Linux gaming is in a great place, a place that I couldn't imagine 3 years ago.
Secondly - Liam is completely right - all the points he made are valid.
But there are 2 things that I always keep in mind:
1) Valve does not make all the best for the SteamOS/Steam machines. Let's recall what happened so far:
- Valve did famous huge SteamOS titles advertisement.
The newest and the biggest title from this list (Witcher 3) was completely ignored by the publisher of this game, which for me should be super offensive for Valve. Second biggest title (Batman Arkham Knight) did not come to Linux (but it was not Valve's fault to be fair).
- Valve made a sale that allowed people to buy Steam Controller with Portal and Rocket League, which were meant to work on SteamOS. As we all now Rocket League still does not work on SteamOS.
- Valve have made super discrete launch of Steam Machines. If I wasn't following this site everyday I guess I would miss Steam machines launch.
- Some small things that do matter (like example from Beamboom)
2) Biggest titles are still announced without Linux support. Titles that are announced for Linux/SteamOS do not come to Linux day one or get updates not as often as Windows counterpart.
So while I do agree Linux gaming is in great place, I expect Valve to focus more on SteamOS. Because if Microsoft wants to force developers to use their store, it means that Valve has to have a platform, the one with huge library with decent titles, to survive. And approach in which Valve focuses on SteamOS and supports at least Dabian based Linux distributions may be the biggest piece of cake that will be left for Valve at some point. And it's up to Valve how big will this piece of cake be.
First of all - I agree, Linux gaming is in a great place, a place that I couldn't imagine 3 years ago.
Secondly - Liam is completely right - all the points he made are valid.
But there are 2 things that I always keep in mind:
1) Valve does not make all the best for the SteamOS/Steam machines. Let's recall what happened so far:
- Valve did famous huge SteamOS titles advertisement.
The newest and the biggest title from this list (Witcher 3) was completely ignored by the publisher of this game, which for me should be super offensive for Valve. Second biggest title (Batman Arkham Knight) did not come to Linux (but it was not Valve's fault to be fair).
- Valve made a sale that allowed people to buy Steam Controller with Portal and Rocket League, which were meant to work on SteamOS. As we all now Rocket League still does not work on SteamOS.
- Valve have made super discrete launch of Steam Machines. If I wasn't following this site everyday I guess I would miss Steam machines launch.
- Some small things that do matter (like example from Beamboom)
2) Biggest titles are still announced without Linux support. Titles that are announced for Linux/SteamOS do not come to Linux day one or get updates not as often as Windows counterpart.
So while I do agree Linux gaming is in great place, I expect Valve to focus more on SteamOS. Because if Microsoft wants to force developers to use their store, it means that Valve has to have a platform, the one with huge library with decent titles, to survive. And approach in which Valve focuses on SteamOS and supports at least Dabian based Linux distributions may be the biggest piece of cake that will be left for Valve at some point. And it's up to Valve how big will this piece of cake be.
5 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me