The day I'm sure many have been waiting for, and just as many probably thought it wouldn't happen. Linux has finally hit 1% again on the Steam Hardware Survey.
Not the first time, in fact years ago when Steam for Linux was pretty fresh we actually saw it remain over 1% for a while. That didn't last long though, and it's been bouncing around at sub 1% for multiple years now as we've been showing on our dedicated Steam Tracker.
Want to see what systems our readers are running? Check out our statistics page.
If we take how many monthly active users Steam has which Valve reported at over 120 million at the start of this year, that would give us an estimated 1,204,000 monthly active Linux users on Steam.
The question in my mind is: why are we seeing a sudden surge? Starting in April 2021 it started to gradually slowly move upwards but now it's a much more pronounced jump. Perhaps this is as a result of the Steam Deck announcement? It certainly wouldn't be surprising to see more people try out Linux as a result of it so they know a bit more about what to expect.
What do you think has caused the recent up-tick in users? Let us know in the comments.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: PhiladelphusI wonder how long ago it was that there were just 1,204,000 total people playing video games of any sort.
Seventies.
don't look too much into these numbers.
Seriously, though, I did wonder if they might be intentionally trying to show larger Linux numbers.
QuoteThe question in my mind is: why are we seeing a sudden surge?
It's because I've started gaming a bit again, after a long hiatus.
Quoting: fleskQuoteThe question in my mind is: why are we seeing a sudden surge?
It's because I've started gaming a bit again, after a long hiatus.
Welcome back! ;)
Considering how much people are talking about the use of a Linux desktop, it's not a big surprise seeing those numbers rise and of course with the 'media' boost from the announcement of Steam Deck, much more people are willing to try (maybe again) some distro.
And also some vendors now ship their PCs with Linux preinstalled and some good distros this time like PopOS.
Valve announcement it release new Proton with Steam Deck. The new version should be able to Play any newer Windows game.
I think the jump could be to early. Windows users will download Steam, Proton and tell: My game did not work. I will be happier if the jump was after releasing this version of proton (which should support any Windows games).
EDIT:
never -> newer
Last edited by Lachu on 3 August 2021 at 12:33 pm UTC
Many factors could explain the "up-and-down" pattern shown on the graph.
One possible explanation could be that many Linux users aren't hardcore gamers and don't connect to Steam all the time, which could explain the pattern. If we have a small sample of users, then the amount of Linux users fluctuate more.
Quoting: Dan_igrokI wonder how those results are computed. Are these based on total connected users every day? Are they based on a sample of users? On all users at one particular moment?A window pops up asking if you'd like to take part in the survey. If you say yes, it collects up some information about your computer and sends it to Valve.
rustybroomhandle Aug 2, 2021
Quoting: CatKillerQuoting: Dan_igrokI wonder how those results are computed. Are these based on total connected users every day? Are they based on a sample of users? On all users at one particular moment?A window pops up asking if you'd like to take part in the survey. If you say yes, it collects up some information about your computer and sends it to Valve.
I wager a hefty chunk of Linux users do not allow the survey because "oh no, privacy!"
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