UPDATE: See here for the revised (higher) figures.
Valve have put up their usual monthly survey and the interesting thing for us is that the Linux share is the highest it's been for some time now.
We're currently tracking it every month on a dedicated page which gives you some historical data. As you can see, the current Linux market share on Steam is now at 0.71% as of September's figures. It hasn't been that high since July last year when it hit 0.74%. Although we're still chasing that elusive 1% mark.
With Valve introducing their new Steam Play system near the end of August, it certainly seems to have had an effect. Whether this continues or not is certainly going to be interesting to see, but it's still a pretty good sign. Still not exactly a high percentage when you compare it to Windows at 96.30% for September, but we do have to remember the seemingly ever-increasing user-count on Steam too which means we probably have a lot more users than some would think.
The biggest uncertainty will be people testing out Linux for Steam Play, if they do decide to become fully-fledged Linux users. I've honestly lost count of the amount of people across the net, that said they've officially dumped Windows or they're finally trying Linux out. There's been a lot of positive talk about it lately, so no matter what Valve have put Linux back on the radar.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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It's possible that people using Steam on Wine were now more likely to get their survey on Linux again due to proton. It could also be a statistical anomaly. Time will tell.
On a positive note, I got a survey last night. On Linux obviously. :D
On a positive note, I got a survey last night. On Linux obviously. :D
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The title of the story suggested a number a biiiit more impressive than 0.7%, but It's a success anyway I guess ;)
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The title of the story suggested a number a biiiit more impressive than 0.7%, but It's a success anyway I guess ;)The title doesn't suggest anything, it's simply a fact.
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trawzified 2 Oct 2018
Well, I finally switched 100% to Linux this month, no more need for dual booting. Wine + DXVK replaced all need for a dual-boot solution. I hope more people will follow :)
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What I see is a massive 30% still using Windows 7. This might be our ticket to success. We got one year to improve Linux gaming. Windows 7 EOF is January 2020. If we could get even 1/10 of those users..
PS: Proton is good but needs to get better (yes yes..I know its in its infancy). For example, I would really like scripts being introduced. Let users create scripts to tweak proton(or the game options) in order to run games, and then submit those scripts to valve for testing in order to make them official. Or..something..we need to gain momentum.
PS: Proton is good but needs to get better (yes yes..I know its in its infancy). For example, I would really like scripts being introduced. Let users create scripts to tweak proton(or the game options) in order to run games, and then submit those scripts to valve for testing in order to make them official. Or..something..we need to gain momentum.
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Well, I finally switched 100% to Linux this month, no more need for dual booting. Wine + DXVK replaced all need for a dual-boot solution. I hope more people will follow :)
I did this two years ago and there were plenty of games working on Linux back there.
Stopped watching games released only for Windows and I don't regret this decision. There were very few games that were released for Windows, that I wanted to try. (Mostly Warhammer titles - Steam Play allowed me to play Warhammer End Times: Vermintide
) But right now I still have some games in my (linux only) Library I didn't even tested. Not much time for playing right now.Last edited by Zlopez on 2 Oct 2018 at 11:24 am UTC
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Arehandoro 2 Oct 2018
Always happy to see more people trying the OS. Independently whether they stay or not, I think it will do eventually good. Perhaps some of the hatred beteween OSes can diminish too.
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What I see is a massive 30% still using Windows 7. This might be our ticket to success. We got one year to improve Linux gaming. Windows 7 EOF is January 2020. If we could get even 1/10 of those users.Aren't most of these people Chinese? If so, they almost certainly won't switch to Linux.
If i recall well, we were at .59% last month. That would make a relative 20% increase in proportion.That's good, but I wonder how long this growth rate will sustain. Surely Proton release have made a lot of people, who were dual booting, to switch completely to Linux - that's great. But with just them I guess we won't reach much more than 1% (remember that Linux desktop market share is around 2%).
We need more new and inexperienced people trying out Linux and for that we need friendly and welcoming community - they need to feel that Linux OS is for everybody and not for small tech elite.
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What I see is a massive 30% still using Windows 7. This might be our ticket to success. We got one year to improve Linux gaming. Windows 7 EOF is January 2020. If we could get even 1/10 of those users.Aren't most of these people Chinese? If so, they almost certainly won't switch to Linux.
Why wouldn't they? Ubuntu Kylin is sponsored by the Chinese academy of sciences and Windows 10's snooping is a competitor to the great firewall. There is a reason the only North Korean OS was Android based - Linux is the easiest place to start. A Chinese company recently bought the license from AMD to make Ryzens and 4.18 saw them supported in the mainline Linux kernel.
I fully expect more states to start their national distro's as a cost saving measure, with business licenses for Windows increasing as a proportion of software licensing cost. This won't happen in the USA, but it might happen in Europe(France already provides Linux as one of the two OS's on parliamentary laptops) or in China/Saudi Arabia/Brazil. It's an interesting tactic to keep homegrown IT talent in the country.
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Yeah you are correct about that, but I still see many non-Chinese gamers using Windows 7. Even if they are not 30% but 10% or even a bit less, they are still a group that will have to make a choice sooner or later and they are also a group of people who chose not to upgrade to Windows 10 for 3 years.What I see is a massive 30% still using Windows 7. This might be our ticket to success. We got one year to improve Linux gaming. Windows 7 EOF is January 2020. If we could get even 1/10 of those users.Aren't most of these people Chinese? If so, they almost certainly won't switch to Linux.
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...we need friendly and welcoming community - they need to feel that Linux OS is for everybody and not for small tech elite.
Problem number one for the majority of people who tried Linux and then gave up, because thy were trolled on reddit by some elitist a**hole. Even some of the people on the Linux gaming sub-reddit are just insufferable. A few weeks back I was called out for having a "parasitic way of thinking" because I dared to express my view that an OS is nothing more than a tool and I will use both Windows and Linux for whatever purpose they best suit me. Then there was this other person, who tried to explain to me that not having Photoshop or Vegas Pro was somehow the fault of both the developer and the user. Essentially, people who need professional software had to be ashamed they need non-Linux software and use Linux anyway. Because f*ck your job - open source for life :). You just need a bit of a thick skin when you're in the Linux community. 9 people are extremely friendly and helpful, but the 10th makes Apple fanboys go "Daaaaaaaaamn!!!" :))).
Last edited by mao_dze_dun on 2 Oct 2018 at 11:19 am UTC
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Pompesdesky 2 Oct 2018
On a positive note, I got a survey last night. On Linux obviously. :D
Got it yesterday as well, strange timing as I upgraded my hardware and installed Mint 19 about 3 weeks ago already...
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On a positive note, I got a survey last night. On Linux obviously. :D
Got it yesterday as well, strange timing as I upgraded my hardware and installed Mint 19 about 3 weeks ago already...
Every time I had it it was on the first of the month.
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Be prepared for the next survey! We will see an increase of another 0.10%-share. Just yesterday Steam asked me to attend the survey ... ;)
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9 people are extremely friendly and helpful, but the 10th makes Apple fanboys go "Daaaaaaaaamn!!!" :))).My experience with any tech community ever. There are opinionated idiots in every bunch, and the anonymity of the Internet doesn't help. Better stick to decently moderated communities to keep the worst trolls off your case and the signal-to-noise ratio at a reasonable level. That won't fix the problem, but I don't believe anything will.
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Well, I finally switched 100% to Linux this month, no more need for dual booting. Wine + DXVK replaced all need for a dual-boot solution. I hope more people will follow :)I switched to dual boot in January 2017. Since then I have started my Windows installation only 2-3 times to save still needed documents. Otherwise Full-Time Linux. First I switched to Linux Mint 18.1 and then to Linux Mint 19 via the different iterations. And I don't regret it.
I missed some titles at the beginning (GTA V, The Witcher 3), but there was already a large selection of Linux native titles. For example Deus Ex: Mankind Divded, Mad Max or Hitman to name a few.
I have also experimented with Wine, Lutris and DXVK ... but all the frizzing with the WinePrefixes is annoying.
Stem Play for Linux aka Proton is a real relief. After installing the MS-Fonts (requires the Rockstar Social Club Launcher) GTA V runs out of the box without any further settings! FUN!
I also think we can win more Linux users with it. Many have announced that the biggest obstacle to a change has been removed. Not all of them will really switch. But a certain part for sure. Especially those who work with a dual-boot installation to continue playing under Windows are predestined switcher.
I am looking forward to the next figures for October. Even though the announcement of Valve already took place on August 22nd, this feature has to get around everywhere first. Personally, I expect (perhaps rather: hope) that we can break through the magic 1% mark in 2019.
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rustybroomhandle 2 Oct 2018
Re China... I've totally underestimated how huge that market is. This week's top-selling game on Steam is a Chinese language only early access game. Think about that.
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...we need friendly and welcoming community - they need to feel that Linux OS is for everybody and not for small tech elite.
Problem number one for the majority of people who tried Linux and then gave up, because thy were trolled on reddit by some elitist a**hole. Even some of the people on the Linux gaming sub-reddit are just insufferable. A few weeks back I was called out for having a "parasitic way of thinking" because I dared to express my view that an OS is nothing more than a tool and I will use both Windows and Linux for whatever purpose they best suit me. Then there was this other person, who tried to explain to me that not having Photoshop or Vegas Pro was somehow the fault of both the developer and the user. Essentially, people who need professional software had to be ashamed they need non-Linux software and use Linux anyway. Because f*ck your job - open source for life :). You just need a bit of a thick skin when you're in the Linux community. 9 people are extremely friendly and helpful, but the 10th makes Apple fanboys go "Daaaaaaaaamn!!!" :))).
True, but I would like to point out that the GamingOnLinux community we have here is pretty much the nicest gaming community on internet, at least from what I have experienced.
9 people be like: Everything is awesoooooome!
and the 10th be like: It would be even more awesome if it was DRM-free, but yeah, it's awesome.
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If i recall well, we were at .59% last month. That would make a relative 20% increase in proportion.
Nah, you're counting the wrong way. If we were at .59 and went up to .71, the increase is relative to .59 as the 100% value, meaning this would be more correct: (.79 / .51) * 100 - 100
We're up 25.42%! :D
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Well, I'm one of 'em. I'd forgotten until now, but I got the survey on the first of September.
This is seriously good news. I mean, it's not a huge leap - as you say, it's a pity we couldn't crack 1% - but it's a very clear increase after a period of decline and stagnation relative to the overall growth of the Steam userbase, and Proton's only getting started. I think Valve will be encouraged.
This is seriously good news. I mean, it's not a huge leap - as you say, it's a pity we couldn't crack 1% - but it's a very clear increase after a period of decline and stagnation relative to the overall growth of the Steam userbase, and Proton's only getting started. I think Valve will be encouraged.
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