Confused on Steam Play and Proton? Be sure to check out our guide.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

As mentioned in my last article talking about the Steam Hardware Survey, Valve sometimes adjusts the numbers a few days later. They have again and this time they adjusted the Linux market share on Steam down, not up.

Originally, the December market share for Linux on Steam was shown as 0.43%, but Valve have revised this down to 0.26%. So that's a decrease of 0.01 percentage points from November to December.

I'll be honest, I was rather surprised to see that the Linux market share on Steam had suddenly shot back up a bit, considering the Windows-only game, PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is still pulling in a ton of people from the Asian market and is still breaking player records. In hindsight, it didn't really make sense for the Linux share to have risen like that. I still maintain my position that it most definitely will go back up, but that will be once the hype around PUBG fades.

Still, it's strange, as this is the biggest amount Valve has ever revised the survey numbers since I've been covering them. Well, as big as the percentages we're talking about are anyway…

So basically, nothing really changed between November and December. Here's to a strong and stable 2018.

Thanks for the news tip facePlanted.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Steam, Valve
11 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
37 comments
Page: «4/4
  Go to:

Shmerl Jan 9, 2018
Quoting: knroSo, just be thankful we have developers who are willing to release games for this sub 1% market.

Linux market is not sub 1%. Just stop repeating this.
tuubi Jan 9, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Check out Boiling Steam's recent interview with Timothee Besset. It sheds light on some of the questions discussed here. Specifically Valve's grand plan regarding SteamOS/Linux, challenges of getting big AAA devs on the platform etc.
Pecisk Jan 9, 2018
Quoting: tuubiCheck out Boiling Steam's recent interview with Timothee Besset. It sheds light on some of the questions discussed here. Specifically Valve's grand plan regarding SteamOS/Linux, challenges of getting big AAA devs on the platform etc.

This deserves it's own article no?
tuubi Jan 16, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: devnullCatering to Chinese users for inflated user numbers is not the 'wae'. They're like a pub crawl (no pun intended).
"Catering to Chinese users" is damn good business. You make it sound like they're doing it to spite us.
tuubi Jan 17, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Valve just provides the marketplace. Of course they could do something like split player bases into regions in their own games, but imposing these limits on third party publishers and developers would smell a bit too much like politics. Although developers themselves are already able to limit their games to certain regions/markets. They are not victims here.

Your gripes about censorship and virtual currency farming are really off topic. I don't know how you got there from Valve's supposed hostility towards Linux.
tuubi Jan 18, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: devnull
Quoting: tuubiValve just provides the marketplace. Of course they could do something like split player bases into regions in their own games, but imposing these limits on third party publishers and developers would smell a bit too much like politics.

OK... but I never said they had to (impose limits)? For the record they most certainly DO have to, legally. Some titles cannot be sold in all regions or have to be modified.
That's true, but I think you forgot your own point.

Quoting: devnull
Quoting: tuubiAlthough developers themselves are already able to limit their games to certain regions/markets. They are not victims here.

But again I never said they had to.

The are not victims here" -- Nice double entendre.
No, you didn't say they had to limit access, but if you're griping about China, what else could they do to appease you?

If you see a double entendre there, you're reading it wrong. It's plain English. Developers/publishers can choose their markets. Valve isn't forcing them into the Chinese market, nor are they creating any of the problems you see stemming from this expansion.

Quoting: devnull
Quoting: tuubiYour gripes about censorship and virtual currency farming are really off topic. I don't know how you got there from Valve's supposed hostility towards Linux.

I gave two examples, have you looked at either of them? Their github for example?

The story is about their hardware survey, and a contentious one at that.
The article is about the hardware survey, but your replies are decidedly not. In fact I'm having trouble following your train of thought. Might just be me.

In any case, believe or not, I'm not a big fan of Valve and their business model despite being a somewhat reluctant customer. I've said it many times before on these forums. But what got me into this conversation was your rant about them "catering to Chinese users". Whether they put enough effort towards Linux is another matter. Depends on what you expected from them.
tuubi Jan 18, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: devnull... What? No seriously, what is your point? I never said they had to do anything, where are you getting this from? You replied originally

"Catering to Chinese users" is damn good business. You make it sound like they're doing it to spite us.

At no point did I say Valve or anyone else had to further restrict access. My point was the survey numbers are inflated.
What I replied to and quoted in my post was "Catering to Chinese users for inflated user numbers is not the 'wae'." That implies they're doing it specifically to inflate the numbers, doesn't it? I did not intend to address anything else you might have written or implied.

Quoting: devnull
Quoting: tuubiIf you see a double entendre there, you're reading it wrong. It's plain English. Developers/publishers can choose their markets. Valve isn't forcing them into the Chinese market, nor are they creating any of the problems you see stemming from this expansion.

I don't know what you're talking here dude. The entendre was your referring to developers as "not victims here". I don't think you understood what I said but are continuing to attack it anyway.
Attacking, really? I thought this was a discussion, not a fight. And I should know if I intend something as a double entendre or not. Your opinion doesn't really matter there.


Quoting: devnullOh I quite agree, it is you.
I guess I don't speak devnull then. Try being more coherent next time.

Quoting: devnull
Quoting: tuubiIn any case, believe or not, I'm not a big fan of Valve and their business model despite being a somewhat reluctant customer. I've said it many times before on these forums. But what got me into this conversation was your rant about them "catering to Chinese users". Whether they put enough effort towards Linux is another matter. Depends on what you expected from them.

There was no rant. Don't believe I even said they were against Linux specifically. You can of course continue to read into whatever you want to
fit your own narrative.
Now you're getting unnecessarily defensive. But I see this conversation isn't going anywhere, so let's just leave it.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.