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.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: nenoroand 0.001% GentooA fellow Gentoo user !
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
I recently built a desktop Gaming rig and I slapped Windows on it (tried to use Gentoo but I was too lazy I just want to game without hassle), so I don't game much on my Gentoo laptop anymore, but I still use it when travelling or for light games I want to play in my bed. So nice to see other Steam Gentoo users !
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aaronfranke Sep 2, 2021
At this rate, the Year of the Linux Desktop will surely come in a few hundred years.
(We can hope for sooner, but I usually give pessimistic estimates)
(We can hope for sooner, but I usually give pessimistic estimates)
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Sep 3, 2021
How does the hardware survey trigger. I been on Arch Linux for months and have never gotten the popup
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TheRiddick Sep 3, 2021
This trend MAY continue if Valve promise on their whole more games will work and also all anticheat statement by the time Steam Decks come out, even if its initially on SteamOS3. If they fall flat and say, oops, sorry we can't do any of that... well it will go back to under %1 in no time!
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Quoting: HoriWhen the Deck releases and Linux becomes "mainstream"/"popular" we'll all need to migrate to BSD and start asking for support there.+1 Haiku
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Quoting: tohurHow does the hardware survey trigger. I been on Arch Linux for months and have never gotten the popup
It takes a small sample of the over one hundred million people using Steam actively. I'm on Steam for Linux since the beta, and did get it some times, but not every few months. More like once every one or two years. Be patient, Padawan.
1 Likes, Who?
slaapliedje Sep 5, 2021
Quoting: nenoroand 0.001% GentooI always thought of Gentoo users as people who enjoy walking down dark alleys and getting mugged. 😜
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
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slaapliedje Sep 5, 2021
Quoting: CatKillerHa, maybe by the time Linux is Mainstream, Haiku will be done!Quoting: HoriWhen the Deck releases and Linux becomes "mainstream"/"popular" we'll all need to migrate to BSD and start asking for support there.+1 Haiku
Quoting: TheRiddickThis trend MAY continue if Valve promise on their whole more games will work and also all anticheat statement by the time Steam Decks come out, even if its initially on SteamOS3. If they fall flat and say, oops, sorry we can't do any of that... well it will go back to under %1 in no time!I will have to point out that this cannot be SteamOS 3. SteamOS 3 was going to be based on Debian and was called Clockwerk or something, and never got out of Beta. This should be considered SteamOS 4. Also, Valve does not know how to count to 3.
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Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: nenoroand 0.001% GentooI always thought of Gentoo users as people who enjoy walking down dark alleys and getting mugged. 😜
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
No, you have misunderstood. Nobody has just gotten lights to compile yet properly yet, so meanwhile people bump into things.
You're welcome to come to the dark alley and help. Once we get the compilation to work, they will be brightest lights around the neighborhood, just wait and see
1 Likes, Who?
oldominion Sep 7, 2021
Quoting: tohurHow does the hardware survey trigger. I been on Arch Linux for months and have never gotten the popup
Good question, I got my first Linux survey a few days ago and I am using Steam for over a decade and on Arch I am for something like 2 years, maybe I got one earlier but I really don't remember if I got one.
Last edited by oldominion on 7 September 2021 at 9:34 am UTC
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StalePopcorn Sep 7, 2021
Yesss…yesss—YESS! Bwahahahaha!
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slaapliedje Sep 7, 2021
Great, now that we're the official 1%, does that mean we're like Rich snobby people (rich as in freedom of software!)
More seriously, this is pretty sweet. I don't know how, with the lack of any decent 3d hardware on the Macs for decades, how they're still higher on Steam usage, but whatever.
Are there really hard core Mac gamers?
More seriously, this is pretty sweet. I don't know how, with the lack of any decent 3d hardware on the Macs for decades, how they're still higher on Steam usage, but whatever.
Are there really hard core Mac gamers?
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Once Proton has full support for RTX and DLSS I won't have to reboot into Windows to play games that use those technologies. I hope we see an increase of Linux gamers after that!
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slaapliedje Sep 13, 2021
Quoting: wonkoOnce Proton has full support for RTX and DLSS I won't have to reboot into Windows to play games that use those technologies. I hope we see an increase of Linux gamers after that!Kind of thought that had started to work?
Was figuring I should start playing Cyberpunk 2077, now that it should be patched a lot...
Last edited by slaapliedje on 13 September 2021 at 4:42 pm UTC
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Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: nenoroand 0.001% GentooI always thought of Gentoo users as people who enjoy walking down dark alleys and getting mugged. 😜
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
mugged by our own devs yes XD
Quoting: AnzaQuoting: 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.
both are easy to install after you retry over and over
Quoting: YvanoffQuoting: nenoroand 0.001% GentooA fellow Gentoo user !
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
I recently built a desktop Gaming rig and I slapped Windows on it (tried to use Gentoo but I was too lazy I just want to game without hassle), so I don't game much on my Gentoo laptop anymore, but I still use it when travelling or for light games I want to play in my bed. So nice to see other Steam Gentoo users !
don't worry gaming on linux is way easy than expected so far no issue excepted for valhalla who is not an optimized product
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