Gaming on Linux isn't a joke: it just hit a record high on Steam, and it's not just SteamOS doing all the legwork

1 month ago 3

Summary

Linux usage on Steam has nearly tripled in 3 years, now at 2.69%.
SteamOS is not the only lead contributor; other distros are also gaining in popularity.
Steam Deck's success has significantly boosted Linux gaming adoption.

I remember when "gaming" and "Linux" were words that never gelled well in a sentence together. It was pretty much Windows or bust if you wanted to play games. There were some valiant efforts to get Linux users gaming, but it was mostly when (or if) a developer made a version that worked on Linux. If they didn't, you were out of luck.

These days, things are far different. Not only can you game on Linux, but one of the best-selling gaming handhelds on the market uses it. This has helped with the adoption rates for Linux on Steam as people give something other than Windows a try, and surprisingly, it's not just SteamOS doing all of the work.

A graph showing Linux adoption on Steam over the years

As spotted by the aptly named Gaming on Linux, the number of people using Steam on a Linux operating system has really excelled in the past few years. Before the Steam Deck's release in February 2022, Linux users on Steam accounted for around 0.8-1% of the total user base. Since then, Linux usage has been on the up and up, reaching 2.69% of the share. That's almost triple what it was around three years ago.

So, what's causing people to game on Linux? The obvious answer is SteamOS, the Steam Deck's operating system. Anyone hopping on their Steam Deck and playing games counts as a Linux user, which definitely helped with the rise. However, Gaming on Linux notes that only 31% of Steam's Linux gamers are using SteamOS.

Here are the full stats:

SteamOS Holo 64 bit 30.95% -2.83%
Arch Linux 64 bit 10.09% +0.64%
Linux Mint 22.1 64 bit 7.76% +1.56%
Freedesktop SDK 24.08 (Flatpak runtime) 64 bit 7.42% +1.01%
Ubuntu Core 22 64 bit 4.63% +0.01%
Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS 64 bit 4.30% -0.14%
CachyOS 64 bit 2.54% +2.54%
EndeavourOS Linux 64 bit 2.44% -0.02%
Manjaro Linux 64 bit 2.43% -0.18%
Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS 64 bit 2.17% -0.06%
Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) 64 bit 1.99% -0.28%
Other 23.27% -2.27%

So there you have it; not only is SteamOS carrying the torch for gaming on Linux, but other distros are joining in on the fun too. It's especially cool seeing Linux Mint on the rise, given how I fell in love with the OS after being a Windows fanboy for so long.

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