We don't usually comment directly on the Steam Hardware Survey every month, not unless it's something real interesting and this is the second month where it is because we're still officially above 1%! It was actually quite big news last month because it's the highest we've seen in many years.
The trend appears to be continuing, with the August numbers up from Valve which show Linux now at 1.02%. You can see a bit of history over on our dedicated Steam Tracker.
Using the latest months recorded share that's an estimated 1,228,080 "monthly active" Linux users on Steam, based on the last data Valve gave from January 2021. Going by the data that Steam provide we can see a breakdown of the most popular Linux distributions (when filtered to just Linux) on Steam right now as these:
- Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS 64 bit - 15.77%
- Manjaro Linux 64 bit - 12.72%
- Arch Linux 64 bit - 11.14%
- Pop!_OS 21.04 64 bit - 7.36%
- Ubuntu 21.04 64 bit - 6.60%
- Linux Mint 20.2 64 bit 5.50%
You can also see that Steam Flatpak shows up being used by 5.58% of Linux/Steam users.
Want to see what systems our readers are running? Check out our statistics page.
We expect the hype around the Steam Deck and Proton getting some bigger mentions from Valve has helped. Since the Steam Deck is a Linux machine with SteamOS 3 being based on Arch Linux, it's not overly surprising to see a bump in people trying Linux out before the release.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
And that's despite Windows country had a rise...
QuoteEnglish
33.56%
-4.40%
Simplified Chinese
30.12%
+7.21%
10 Likes, Who?
FauconNoir Sep 2, 2021
You should use a Javascript library like Highcharts to have an interactive chart, it is cooler !
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: FauconNoirYou should use a Javascript library like Highcharts to have an interactive chart, it is cooler !We already do, on the dedicated page which is linked in the article but we're not going to stick JavaScript required stuff into an article content for something like that.
25 Likes, Who?
and 0.001% Gentoo
Probably the only one who uses gentoo and plays games on it...
I just hope Valve switches for gentoo for steam OS hue hue hue
Probably the only one who uses gentoo and plays games on it...
I just hope Valve switches for gentoo for steam OS hue hue hue
2 Likes, Who?
thoughtfulhippo Sep 2, 2021
Actually had the survey pop-up for the first time on my daughter's account last night. That's only the third time I recall getting asked across 4 accounts and 7 years.
The survey is such a mystery!
The survey is such a mystery!
7 Likes, Who?
Quoting: thoughtfulhippoActually had the survey pop-up for the first time on my daughter's account last night. That's only the third time I recall getting asked across 4 accounts and 7 years.
The survey is such a mystery!
That's ok in my book. How often are you asked which party you'd be voting for...?
(It seems the result is always taken on the first of a month, that's also the only time I had it.)
2 Likes, Who?
What is the adoption in the USA alone?
I know all good businessmen will actually focus more on chinese numbers before rest of the world because there is where big money is made today (well, unless Winnie is able to kill his country VG market with the new restrictions), but USA is meaningful for trend setting and it can give a hint on what to expect in the years to come.
I know all good businessmen will actually focus more on chinese numbers before rest of the world because there is where big money is made today (well, unless Winnie is able to kill his country VG market with the new restrictions), but USA is meaningful for trend setting and it can give a hint on what to expect in the years to come.
0 Likes
Quoting: MalWhat is the adoption in the USA alone?
Nobody knows, but Liam's tracker has got the English only graph for a guess (nice increase lately!):
Liam, I'm still not sure how you're calculating it, despite reading the description. Which numbers do you use?
Last edited by Eike on 2 September 2021 at 9:33 am UTC
4 Likes, Who?
gradyvuckovic Sep 2, 2021
Oh nice! That's awesome!
Considering 1% is well above 'trend', to be staying above that mark is really awesome!
1.02% of 120 million monthly active gamers.
That's 1,224,000 penguins. Hardly "no one".
And the number is highly likely to rise even higher once the Steam Deck starts shipping.
I really think 2% is within reach next year at this rate.
Considering 1% is well above 'trend', to be staying above that mark is really awesome!
1.02% of 120 million monthly active gamers.
That's 1,224,000 penguins. Hardly "no one".
And the number is highly likely to rise even higher once the Steam Deck starts shipping.
I really think 2% is within reach next year at this rate.
8 Likes, Who?
Quoting: EikeLiam, I'm still not sure how you're calculating it, despite reading the description. Which numbers do you use?It's based on an older comment. I'm still not 100% sure if that's actually correct or not, maths is a real weak point of mine - the code is on GitLab if anyone wanted to verify and fix if it's wrong.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 2 September 2021 at 9:49 am UTC
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What does "English only" means?
Is it for the OS locale, or the steam language set or the country registered with the steam account?
Debian based systems in the top 5 is enough for me
Is it for the OS locale, or the steam language set or the country registered with the steam account?
Quoting: nenoroand 0.001% Gentoo
Probably the only one who uses gentoo and plays games on it...
I just hope Valve switches for gentoo for steam OS hue hue hue
Debian based systems in the top 5 is enough for me
0 Likes
Quoting: EikeQuoting: MalWhat is the adoption in the USA alone?
Nobody knows, but Liam's tracker has got the English only graph for a guess (nice increase lately!):
Liam, I'm still not sure how you're calculating it, despite reading the description. Which numbers do you use?
Wow!
I'm always tepid when it come to "1% articles". That's why I never comment them. No offence but I think that in those articles we talk just to talk, with no concrete stats to back those theories and analysis. The way I see it, we always made conjectures on error bars rather than actual data.
I'm still not sure we are actually seeing a change, but these numbers can definitely be the first recorded trace of a real trend. And yes, this is something we never seen before and also by my "picky standards" it's worth spending a word so here I am: my word is "Wow!"
Can't wait to see if in 6 months it's confirmed!
3 Likes, Who?
QuoteUbuntu 20.04.2 LTS 64 bit - 15.77%
Manjaro Linux 64 bit - 12.72%
Arch Linux 64 bit - 11.14%
Pop!_OS 21.04 64 bit - 7.36%
Ubuntu 21.04 64 bit - 6.60%
Hmm...? Liam, are you sure with those stats? I don't see Pop!_OS in Top5. Ubuntu 21.04 is №4 and Linux Mint 20.2 is №5.
Spoiler, click me
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: TriasHmm...? Liam, are you sure with those stats? I don't see Pop!_OS in Top5. Ubuntu 21.04 is №4 and Linux Mint 20.2 is №5.
It's kind of weird. Your list is what shows on the global list, but when you filter "Linux Only", you get Liam's list. Definitely something fishy going on there.
3 Likes, Who?
Yeah it seems the two pages don't quite match on the Linux distribution breakdown, weird.
3 Likes, Who?
It seems that a chunk of Linux Steam users are running it as a flatpak.
Other is still the most popular distro, with more than a third of users. Ubuntu-based is close, though, with 35.23%.
Much as I appreciate the variety of Linux distros, it would be good if that was, say, 60% Ubuntu-based and 30% Arch-based (or the other way round: I'm not pushing a particular distro) and 10% Other. That way developers only need to test one to be representative of most users, and two to be representative of the great majority of users. We can say that's what they should do, but it's better if Steam's charts show that too.
Last edited by CatKiller on 2 September 2021 at 4:17 pm UTC
QuoteDescription:Freedesktop.org 20.08.14 (Flatpak runtime) 64 bit 5.58% +5.58%
Other is still the most popular distro, with more than a third of users. Ubuntu-based is close, though, with 35.23%.
Much as I appreciate the variety of Linux distros, it would be good if that was, say, 60% Ubuntu-based and 30% Arch-based (or the other way round: I'm not pushing a particular distro) and 10% Other. That way developers only need to test one to be representative of most users, and two to be representative of the great majority of users. We can say that's what they should do, but it's better if Steam's charts show that too.
Last edited by CatKiller on 2 September 2021 at 4:17 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: nenoroand 0.001% Gentoo
Probably the only one who uses gentoo and plays games on it...
I just hope Valve switches for gentoo for steam OS hue hue hue
Not the only one for sure, I use Gentoo and play games. Gentoo is just not for everybody and that's OK. If people find installing Arch hard, telling them to unpack the base operating system in order to compile the rest might be bit too much.
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: thoughtfulhippoActually had the survey pop-up for the first time on my daughter's account last night. That's only the third time I recall getting asked across 4 accounts and 7 years.This month I was also asked for the first time since I switched to Linux from Windows(like ~1-2 years ago) and probably the second time ever.
The survey is such a mystery!
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