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When it comes to PC gaming in general, Windows has always been the main OS for users, for its focused development on said OS, and for its compatibility with the vast majority of gaming software available.

While Windows has historically maintained most of the gaming market for PC, other operating systems have also hold a share in it, even if low, like Linux and macOS, which next to Windows, have also their own gaming market. For decades, Windows held the first place, with a percentage of around 95+%, followed closely by macOS and then Linux following with percentages barely breaking above the 1%.

However, due to the popularity of the recently released Steam Deck just a year ago, alongside Valve's own SteamOS, the percentage share for Linux gamers has seen a historical rise in usage, taking the 2nd place with 1.96%, which was held previously by macOS with 1.84%. That 1.96% isn't specific to a particular distribution of Linux, since Linux also ranges from a wide variety of them, with the following braekdown based on Linux distributions for gaming:

SteamOS: 42.07% Arch Linux: 7.94% Ubuntu 22.04.2: 7.38% Freedesktop.org SDK 22.08: 5.99% “Manjaro Linux”: 4.29% Linux Mint 21.1: 3.84% Pop!_OS 22.04: 2.97% Other Linux operating systems: 25.52%

Without a doubt, a huge number of the chart is taken up by SteamOS users, and while SteamOS is the operating system that comes bundled with the Steam Deck, it can also be installed in PCs, though it's unknown just how much of that 42% is taken up by actual Deck users, and how many by PCs with SteamOS users, but it might be safe to say that the majority of that portion from the chart could very well be Steam Deck players.

Source #1
Source #2

 

[linuxares]

Most of the Steam library disappeared when MacOS dropped 32-bit support. Linux still supports 32 bit for the most part. I don’t expect there will be much for ARM on any platform.

About that...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Decrapify-x86-APIC

 

[tabzer]

Ok, but we're talking about Steam metrics here, which is why I edited my post to make that clear.

Sorry, I thought we were talking about the article.

As for the metrics. There's some wonkiness happening that's not being addressed. We can report on the massive spike over the past month but what of the mass exodus that happened in March? Did a bot farm temporarily go offline only to work overtime in July?

It's a great time to sell the news, but not buy it. I imagine course correction is coming.

Also, where is the source for the macOS having 1.84%?

"It should probably be noted that Valve won’t be counting those using the Game Porting Toolkit, as it emulates a Windows environment." But, they'll count Linux platforms that rely on Proton!

 

[linuxares]

Sorry, I thought we were talking about the article.

As for the metrics. There's some wonkiness happening that's not being addressed. We can report on the massive spike over the past month but what of the mass exodus that happened in March? Did a bot farm temporarily go offline only to work overtime in July?

View attachment 386539

It's a great time to sell the news, but not buy it. I imagine course correction is coming.

Also, where is the source for the macOS having 1.84%?

"It should probably be noted that Valve won’t be counting those using the Game Porting Toolkit, as it emulates a Windows environment." But, they'll count Linux platforms that rely on Proton.

https://store.steampowered.com/hwsu...are-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam?platform=combined

It's from this they got their data. It's public.

 

[tabzer]

https://store.steampowered.com/hwsu...are-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam?platform=combined

It's from this they got their data. It's public.

Thanks. An odd thing to forget to include when pretending to cite sources. (Source #2 forgot it too)

 

[linuxares]

Thanks. An odd thing to forget to include when pretending to cite sources.

Game journalism today after all. Not up to snuff anymore!

 

[JeepX87]

Not surprised since it is based on Steam users and vast majority of gamers playing on Windows PC.

Most Mac users don't play games and they are accounted about 20%-30% range of home computer market but use statistic based on home computers are impossible to give an accurate numbers. Some people, including myself use both Windows and Mac.

I'm not interested in Steam Deck and as for ASUS ROG Ally, I'm not sure about it right now.

First party games that made by Nintendo is main reason that I play on Switch and not interested in emulator, exception of need assistance to produce the proper save to get work with Switch and testing purpose.

 

[tabzer]

Game journalism today after all. Not up to snuff anymore!

I generally like all of @ShadowOne333 's articles.

I do like this one too, for different reasons.

 

[linuxares]

I generally like all of @ShadowOne333 's articles.

I do like this one too, for different reasons.

I just talked about the sources personally

 

[tabzer]

I just talked about the sources personally

Dang, I was really hoping to find a graph that shows MacOS change over time. Oh well.

 

[x65943]

come on!!!

• Windows users take up 96.21%
• Linux now takes up 1.96%
• macOS is third with 1.84%

This info is on the source. The Linux 1% is bigger than the macOS 1%, how this is newsworthy?

There are methodological problems in the research as well, is it is not counting the Chinese emulation station based handhelds that are selling astronomical numbers, specially outside the fat land and the white land. Those devices are almost always offline and there is no way on earth to know how many are out there with precision.

*Emulation stations and its forks are requite Linux OSs

So if even by the highly biased research Linux is number 2, and we expect the research to skew towards apple as their devices connect online, then Linux is even more firmly number 2

But the research is still important because now we can all say beyond shadow of a doubt Linux has beaten MacOS

 

[SylverReZ]

Is… is this the year of the Linux desktop?

HELL YEAH! Linux is da best.

 

[x65943]

HELL YEAH! Linux is da best.

How can you tell if someone is a Linux user? Don't worry they will tell you

 

[CharlesDeGaulle]

Champagne !

Still a long way to strike the beast down, which will never occur, of course.
But at least, Linux users are gate keeping the video game hobby against the proprietary nightmare W8 foreshadowed.

All hail Gabe for his clever move.

 

[tpax]

How can you tell if someone is a Linux user? Don't worry they will tell you

I guess that’s something Linux users, vegans and non-binary people have in common.

 

[Sir Tortoise]

Look at what they need to mimic a fraction of our power.

 

[SylverReZ]

I guess that’s something Linux users, vegans and non-binary people have in common.

Tbf, thats more of a stereotype. Same can be said for people wearing fedora hats, having a neck beard and wearing gamer socks.

 

[Foxi4]

More than anything it was the beginning of big picture and the development of Proton. Valve can end up getting ahead of themselves because of their business structure, but something good always comes of it in the long run.

One could also call the Steam Deck "asinine" from a profit standpoint, but Valve is so well-liked precisely because profit isn't their only concern.

There’s nothing weird about having a loss leader. I think you’re lionising the company a little over there.

 

[tabzer]

Tbf, thats more of a stereotype. Same can be said for people wearing fedora hats, having a neck beard and wearing gamer socks.

Gamer socks starts getting oddly specific.

 

[Spider_Man]

Thank you Valve. Hopefully certain devs will make their DRM and Anti-cheats work right now. That is the thing that is holding back most games from being compatible.

DRM?

every single game I've put on my deck is a copy, sorry but its not DRM, its the fact its trying to run games built for Windows OS but on Linux OS.

One thing that annoys me is how messy the Steam Deck OS is.

When you install an app when in Desktop Mode, you dont get the option to install it to your SD card.

Its a complete nightmare to then try move apps from your internal drive to your SD card. It has shortcuts that point to the install location, but it then has multiple directories where the app is also installed to.

Unlike Windows OS, even if you didn't have the option to select the install directory, if you clicked properties on the app shortcut, it would take you to the installation location.

You can easily go to its main folder then move it wherever you want it to be, but no, not with Steam Deck.

It has so many directories that are pretty much the same, current, active, shared, bin, a long bunch of numbers, x86 and then you find it in .var location and deck/app.

Then there's the cleanup, making sure all files are deleted if you remove a game or want to remove something. Again unlike Windows OS it has a simple uninstall feature.

Steam Deck doesn't, it should have a built in feature to list everything installed and a simple click to remove.

I like the Steam Deck, but its a sodding pain in the ass to install and set up emulators, I dont want to use EmuDeck or other apps like that.

I simply want to install each emulator on their own to my SD card and have all my emulators and roms on the same SD card.

Ive managed to get Dolphin, PS2, PS3, N64 to run off my SD card, but because the installation of apps creates that many directories its unclear to pinpoint exactly what you need to copy.

I cant seem to get Switch, Dreamcast, GBA and Megan rive emulators to run off my SD card.

 

[Xzi]

There’s nothing weird about having a loss leader. I think you’re lionising the company a little over there.

It's pretty weird to have a business model absolutely chock full of loss leaders, though. It was the Orange Box that got me to finally download Steam, before that I was staunchly in favor of keeping my own library of (no-CD cracked) games organized how I wanted. Even if you pay for PS+, Game Pass, or NSO, none of them give you half the features Steam does in 2023 for free. That's why those three are more focused on giving out old games instead.

They are still a business, and obviously GabeN doesn't do what he does for free, but you can tell he loves what he does nonetheless. Who wouldn't love being gamer Santa.