Valve have put up the Steam Hardware & Software Survey for December 2024, which shows that the Linux share ended 2024 in December with a nice boost.
Here's what Valve gave as the overall operating system share on Steam:
- Windows 96.10% -0.51%
- Linux 2.29% +0.29%
- OSX 1.61% +0.22%
A lot of this movement can likely still be explained by the overall drop in Simplified Chinese once again, which saw a 3.53% change.
Check out the interactive chart on our Steam Tracker page.
Switching over to the Linux side, these are the most popular distributions, which also includes the Flatpak and Snap versions of Steam:
- SteamOS Holo 64 bit 36.47% -0.44%
- Arch Linux 64 bit 9.70% +0.84%
- Freedesktop SDK 24.08 (Flatpak) 64 bit 5.73% +5.73%
- Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS 64 bit 4.79% -0.01%
- Linux Mint 22 64 bit 4.62% +0.38%
- Ubuntu Core 22 (Steam Snap) 64 bit 3.79% +0.01%
- Manjaro Linux 64 bit 2.96% -0.07%
- Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS 64 bit 2.71% -0.02%
- EndeavourOS Linux 64 bit 2.66% +2.66%
- Other 27.47% +0.67%
We have a lot to thank Valve for here, with the Steam Deck with SteamOS continuing to be a big slice of the Linux gaming pie. And with leaks about a new Lenovo handheld with SteamOS, we could see another boost this year.
There's some things that don't quite seem to add up on it right now though. So it's possible we may see a correction like Valve have done a few times in the past. When switching between just Linux, macOS and Windows the Processor Vendor on each of them adds up to over 100%, as does the Linux distribution list.
All the details can be see on Steam.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I hope Linux can grow even more, especially considering what Microsoft is doing with Windows 11, and the seemingly unstoppable AI crap that nobody asked for.
And I'd say not all the last bump up can be explained by simplified Chinese . . . with a drop of 3.53% I think for Linux to gain .29% from that, Linux would have to be at near 10% outside China, but then the overall % would have to be higher. Of course the rest could be noisy data, as usual we don't know much about Valve's sampling. But anyway, good.
If China ever get serious about security from or trade war with the US, that Linux % could rise significantly . . .
CanadianBlueBeer 2 days ago
:)
With Win10 going EOL in Oct, gonna be interesting to see how next Dec numbers turn out.
If Valve gets the new SteamMachine out the door (fremont) with Deckard, the Steam Controller 2 and HalfLife 3. In June, I think there will be a ton of people that buy it. Like 10 million. All based on the Steam Deck's success. And I'm sure with all the word of mouth and all the success of the Steam Machine, a lot of the PC gamers who still have great working hardware will take the plunge into Linux. If you need Windows, then you need Windows and that's fine. I'm sure an overwhelming majority will just keep using Win10 without security updates. But for those who care, they will give Linux a go before buying new hardware just for Win11. If the Steam Machine is out before Oct. and is doing well. I'm sure the PC gamers who do actually need an upgrade will probably go with a Steam Machine. It will play all or nearly all of their games without the Windows hassle. Especially if all you do is play PC games.
Last edited by Highball on 3 January 2025 at 5:04 pm UTC
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