After the recent upset caused by Canonical's plan to drop 32bit support in Ubuntu, then to turn around and change their plan due to the uproar caused by it, Valve now have a full statement out about their future support of Linux gaming.
Firstly, to get it out of the way, there's nothing to worry about here. Valve said they "remain committed to supporting Linux as a gaming platform", they're also "continuing to drive numerous driver and feature development efforts that we expect will help improve the gaming and desktop experience across all distributions" which they plan to talk more about later.
On the subject of Canonical's newer plan for Ubuntu 19.10 and onwards in regards to 32bit support, Valve said they're "not particularly excited about the removal of any existing functionality, but such a change to the plan is extremely welcome" and that it "seems likely that we will be able to continue to officially support Steam on Ubuntu".
However Arch Linux, Manjaro, Pop!_OS and Fedora all got direct mentions in this statement, when talking about how the Linux gaming landscape has changed and how there's a lot more options to have a good gaming experience. Valve said they will be working "closer" with more distributions but they have nothing to announce just yet on what exact distributions they will be officially supporting in future.
Also, if you're working on a distribution and you need a direct line with Valve, they suggested using this link.
You can see the full statement from Valve here.
Fantastic news, I will be completely honest, there was that little worry in the back of my mind that Valve would start pulling back but why would they? They've put a ridiculous amount of resources into our smaller platform, things have improved an astonishing amount since Steam arrived on Linux back in 2013 and it sounds like things will continue getting better.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Nevertheless Jun 27, 2019
Quoting: mjfa12Very happy to see this. This most recent decision/confusion by Ubuntu is what made me finally switch to Fedora. First the whole Unity 8 fiasco. Then the GNOME themeing arguments. Now the 32 Bit decision. It's clear Ubuntu is being geared toward server and cloud and away from the desktop. That is fine and probably a good financial decision for Ubuntu. But for me, a desktop user, I have switched to Fedora. Steam works well on Fedora when downloaded from RPM Fusion. There is also a flatpak, but I need access to external drives when using steam. I am looking forward to seeing how they enhance their Fedora support.
Access to external drives is no problem with Flatpak. Just type
flatpak override com.valvesoftware.Steam --filesystem=<PATH>
This will just create a textfile named "com.valvesoftware.Steam" in the directory "~/.var/flatpak/overrides", which you also can edit to add more paths or mountpoints.
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As a Fedora user and full-time developer I'm glad to hear that Fedora is mentioned as one of the distributions providing great gaming desktop experience.
KWin is windows manager for KDE, the changes will introduce better handling of games in fullscreen and address issues with game windows.
Quoting: GuestQuoting: ShmerlGreat to hear about Valve working closely with more distros! And especially backing efforts to improve desktop experience. I suppose the recent KDE/KWin work announcement is related to that.
Can you remind me what that KDDe kwin stuff was about ?
KWin is windows manager for KDE, the changes will introduce better handling of games in fullscreen and address issues with game windows.
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Quoting: Mountain ManAt this point, what is the best Ubuntu alternative?I've had exactly one problem with Manjaro since I switched right after Ubuntu's first announcement dropping 32bit support, and I found the solution in two minutes using a quick search on DuckDuckGo.
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Valve has earned their 30% steam tax. It's a good tax, because Valve is ensuring the future of gaming. None of the other companies are really that interested into working on the future of gaming for the community (including for the competitors).
Don't forget that for instance the cro-team could diagnose the reason of micro-stuttering and what to do about on Windows thanks to Linux.
Don't forget that for instance the cro-team could diagnose the reason of micro-stuttering and what to do about on Windows thanks to Linux.
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Quoting: ArdjeValve has earned their 30% steam tax. It's a good tax, because Valve is ensuring the future of gaming. None of the other companies are really that interested into working on the future of gaming for the community (including for the competitors).Full text here
Don't forget that for instance the cro-team could diagnose the reason of micro-stuttering and what to do about on Windows thanks to Linux.
3 Likes, Who?
doomiebaby Jun 27, 2019
Quoting: PieOrCakeQuoting: Mountain ManAt this point, what is the best Ubuntu alternative?I've had exactly one problem with Manjaro since I switched right after Ubuntu's first announcement dropping 32bit support, and I found the solution in two minutes using a quick search on DuckDuckGo.
two words: arch. wiki. =P''
arch itself may not be the most nubb-friendly...unless you're a nubb that wants to systematically become more confident, for which case, i'm beginning to think, it's probably one of the most noob-friendly distros around, oddly enough... Owo yknow for all the reputation i keep hearing it has.
but while i don't like everything manjaro ships with, it does let you download, install and use a desktop OS all on the same day- AND do so without writing anything on your arm, which is pretty neat xP'
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It going to be interesting seeing how the Ubuntu 32bit debacle is going to affect the next round of PC stats here on GOL (provided everyone updates their PC info), how big is the hit to ubuntu going to be and where have been the big winners from this migration.
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Quoting: ajgpIt going to be interesting seeing how the Ubuntu 32bit debacle is going to affect the next round of PC stats here on GOL (provided everyone updates their PC info), how big is the hit to ubuntu going to be and where have been the big winners from this migration.I think you will see the affect more in the future, especially around 18.04s end of life.
1 Likes, Who?
BlackBloodRum Jun 27, 2019
This is great news! I think working with more distributions is a much better idea.
I understand they have SteamOS which is based on Debian or uBuntu, but honestly I don't know anyone who uses SteamOS rather than a regular distribution for their games these days. Most, if not all Linux users would rather use his/hers/it's favourite distribution.
I feel broader Linux support is the best choice.
Just my opinion of course.
Now they just need to fix the bug which prevents my monitor going to sleep (idle) if steam app is open! :lol:
Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 27 June 2019 at 11:01 am UTC
I understand they have SteamOS which is based on Debian or uBuntu, but honestly I don't know anyone who uses SteamOS rather than a regular distribution for their games these days. Most, if not all Linux users would rather use his/hers/it's favourite distribution.
I feel broader Linux support is the best choice.
Just my opinion of course.
Now they just need to fix the bug which prevents my monitor going to sleep (idle) if steam app is open! :lol:
Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 27 June 2019 at 11:01 am UTC
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Completely off topic, but I wish the Pop!_OS guys would change the name to something that doesn't sound like a l33t g4mer RGB peripheral 
And now, get of my lawn, whippersnappers!
And now, get of my lawn, whippersnappers!
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Quoting: LinasDebian Testing doesn't security updates in a timely manner. Experimental is not a branch of the ditro you can install, it is only a bunch of packages that you can install (preferably on a Sid system) if you dare to do so.Quoting: SalvatosDebian Testing is also a good choice. It's basically the same system under the hood, so it's not even that much of a change. And Debian Testing is a rolling distribution with packages that are fairly up-to-date. And if you need bleeding edge, there is Debian Unstable. And even Experimental if you are really adventurous. :)Quoting: Mountain ManAt this point, what is the best Ubuntu alternative?Depends on what you're after. I left Ubuntu after they forced too many UI decisions I didn't like, so Mint was a natural choice for me. Similar look and feel to good old Ubuntu + Gnome.
The biggest difference is that Debian is much less opinionated than Ubuntu, Mint, and other derivatives. They don't have the Debian desktop experience, but rather ship upstream packages. So you get vanilla GNOME, vanilla KDE, etc. with minimal branding from Debian.
I personally would either go for Stable (if you can live with outdated packages and/or need the stability of package versions), or Sid/Unstable with apt-listbugs installed and a look at Debian forums for possible problems before updating the system.
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Quoting: TobiSGDWhat about Debian Stable + backports repo? I believe it provides everything you need for gaming, the only issue I have is outdated Firefox, and Firefox Snap looks so ugly on Debian Stable I even made a bug report.Quoting: LinasDebian Testing doesn't security updates in a timely manner. Experimental is not a branch of the ditro you can install, it is only a bunch of packages that you can install (preferably on a Sid system) if you dare to do so.Quoting: SalvatosDebian Testing is also a good choice. It's basically the same system under the hood, so it's not even that much of a change. And Debian Testing is a rolling distribution with packages that are fairly up-to-date. And if you need bleeding edge, there is Debian Unstable. And even Experimental if you are really adventurous. :)Quoting: Mountain ManAt this point, what is the best Ubuntu alternative?Depends on what you're after. I left Ubuntu after they forced too many UI decisions I didn't like, so Mint was a natural choice for me. Similar look and feel to good old Ubuntu + Gnome.
The biggest difference is that Debian is much less opinionated than Ubuntu, Mint, and other derivatives. They don't have the Debian desktop experience, but rather ship upstream packages. So you get vanilla GNOME, vanilla KDE, etc. with minimal branding from Debian.
I personally would either go for Stable (if you can live with outdated packages and/or need the stability of package versions), or Sid/Unstable with apt-listbugs installed and a look at Debian forums for possible problems before updating the system.
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The big issue I have with 32bit is that you don't always get the same outdated and vulnerable library from your distribution as the game has been built against, so maybe it would be time to release them as appimages with the needed 32bit libraries and then focus more on having the rest of steam 64bit only.
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QuoteArch Linux, Manjaro, Pop!_OS and FedoraOS from geeks for geeks; Same with their unnecessary assemblies; Same Ubuntu. Team of ~ 20 people; Test stand.
When will Valve take care of its distribution? How long will we wait for a normal distribution? :(
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Quoting: bird_or_cageIf mesa is in the backports repository, and it seems to be, that that should work, yes. Totally forgot about backports.Quoting: TobiSGDWhat about Debian Stable + backports repo? I believe it provides everything you need for gaming, the only issue I have is outdated Firefox, and Firefox Snap looks so ugly on Debian Stable I even made a bug report.Quoting: LinasDebian Testing doesn't security updates in a timely manner. Experimental is not a branch of the ditro you can install, it is only a bunch of packages that you can install (preferably on a Sid system) if you dare to do so.Quoting: SalvatosDebian Testing is also a good choice. It's basically the same system under the hood, so it's not even that much of a change. And Debian Testing is a rolling distribution with packages that are fairly up-to-date. And if you need bleeding edge, there is Debian Unstable. And even Experimental if you are really adventurous. :)Quoting: Mountain ManAt this point, what is the best Ubuntu alternative?Depends on what you're after. I left Ubuntu after they forced too many UI decisions I didn't like, so Mint was a natural choice for me. Similar look and feel to good old Ubuntu + Gnome.
The biggest difference is that Debian is much less opinionated than Ubuntu, Mint, and other derivatives. They don't have the Debian desktop experience, but rather ship upstream packages. So you get vanilla GNOME, vanilla KDE, etc. with minimal branding from Debian.
I personally would either go for Stable (if you can live with outdated packages and/or need the stability of package versions), or Sid/Unstable with apt-listbugs installed and a look at Debian forums for possible problems before updating the system.
2 Likes, Who?
Mountain Man Jun 27, 2019
Quoting: GuestBut you know... have you considered debian?Debian and Manjora are the two I'm leaning towards if I were to change.
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nattydread Jun 27, 2019
what about LMDE? Does anyone still use it? :P
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Nevertheless Jun 27, 2019
Quoting: GuestQuoteKWin is windows manager for KDE, the changes will introduce better handling of games in fullscreen and address issues with game windows.
Does it basically mean all Steam games will ask kwin to disable compositing (most games do but not all), because of the fact kwin does not unredirect fullscreen windows like mutter (kwin devs designed it differently) ?
Here's the blog-site of the guy who works on kwin for Valve:
https://subdiff.org/blog/2019/new-website-new-company-new-partners-new-code/
1 Likes, Who?
Nevertheless Jun 27, 2019
Quoting: nattydreadwhat about LMDE? Does anyone still use it? :P
I really would have, if would be based on Debian Testing.
I'm trying out Testing KDE Plasma itself instead, keeping Mint Cinnamon as a safe haven on another partition..
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Quoting: GuestClear Linux Flatpak if I had to guess.You know, this is a good prediction I think. It's not ready yet, but in three years? Clear Linux might be one of the top picks. What they've done so far is fun to watch. Imagine a Stadia game ad that says, "Optimized for Clear Linux." Sure, the geeks can make their systems optimized for anything and feel pompous about it, but marketing lines like that do have an effect.
Me and dubi is ON IT!!!
Last edited by 14 on 28 June 2019 at 2:33 am UTC
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