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> Linux machines make up only a bit above 1% of all Steam users. to my knowledge, this number has remained remarkably consistent over the past 5-ish years, eve

> Linux machines make up only a bit above 1% of all Steam users. to my knowledge, this number has remained remarkably consistent over the past 5-ish years, even as Proton/Wine become more and more reliable. it seems that library compatibility isn’t that much of a determinant for which OS a typical user chooses to game on. but if Valve’s console effort is successful, then that number would necessarily rise. and i can see a linux console replacing something like my Switch. at the end of the day, console gamers don’t really care about the underlying OS — just the hardware and the game library (and miscellaneous HTPC features, etc). if such things can be abstracted from the actual console, that gives a huge leg up to incumbents. might pave the way to some Cambrian explosion of console development differentiated only by hardware.

u2077 5y ago
> it seems that library compatibility isn’t that much of a determinant for which OS a typical user chooses to game on. I would argue that linux would need to be installed by default for that to change dramatically. Most people don’t even know linux is an option on desktop. Not that many people bother to change their search engine to something other than google, and that doesn’t require much effort. Switching to linux is an investment and takes time to use - let alone understand it. I can’t wait to see what follows after the steam deck is released. Hopefully with all the publicity companies will finally start taking linux seriously.
- ahelwer 5y ago
  Dual-booting needs to become easier and less bug-prone. People need to be able to try Linux before committing their main system. One year ago I tried setting up dual-booting on my system with Ubuntu and it irreparably trashed the Windows boot process; and I needed to do a full nuke & pave. At this time I don't perceive installing Linux to be a good idea unless you're buying a dedicated Linux workstation from System76 or similar.
  - sergeykish 5y ago
    I'd recommend Live USB, flash drives are big enough these days.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  > I would argue that linux would need to be installed by default for that to change dramatically. I disagree. There are good reasons people choose not to use Linux and it is annoying that the community continues to tell itself variations of this kind of thing so it doesn't have to face that fact. Even starting out a potential user has to navigate a ludicrous number of distros, all with slightly different ways of doing things and various levels of inadequate and out of date documentation, and as soon as they ask for help they'll likely be told to try a different distro regardless of which one they pick. Even having Linux preinstalled won't change this because, as we've seen, every single manufacturer wants to build their own distro instead of throwing their effort behind an existing one.
  - xboxnolifes 5y ago
    > There are good reasons people choose not to use Linux and it is annoying that the community continues to tell itself variations of this kind of thing so it doesn't have to face that fact. This is true, but I think it's actually irrelevant to the point GP is making. Even if Linux had absolutely no downside for any user in this community, and every person who would want to use it switched to it, Windows is so ubiquitous and does a good enough job that I doubt the given 1% number would raise more than a few percentage points.
    - squeaky-clean 5y ago
      I agree. Windows is "free" for most gamers too. If you're building your own PC you need to buy a license, but the majority of steam users are definitely on pre-builts or laptops.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
      At 1%, any extra percentage points represents at least a 2x increase. That's not dramatic? I would think a 10%+ increase would be easily achievable between Glorious PC Gaming Master Race, People What Have Entirely Too Serious Hobbies, and People Who Use Computers For Work if said people actually wanted the Linux Desktop experience. At any rate, I can't back up my hypothetical quantification of "if Linux fixed some of its most well known issues" gains, it's just a gut feeling from 20 years of interacting with personal computers and the people who use them.
marcodiego 5y ago
I has been slowly but consistently growing: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/ https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/
- IshKebab 5y ago
  Looks like it has been flat for 3 years and then suddenly grown a bit in the last 6 months. Don't fall for the linear trend line on a graph that clearly isn't linear.

u2077 5y ago

> it seems that library compatibility isn’t that much of a determinant for which OS a typical user chooses to game on. I would argue that linux would need to be installed by default for that to change dramatically. Most people don’t even know linux is an option on desktop. Not that many people bother to change their search engine to something other than google, and that doesn’t require much effort. Switching to linux is an investment and takes time to use - let alone understand it. I can’t wait to see what follows after the steam deck is released. Hopefully with all the publicity companies will finally start taking linux seriously.

ahelwer 5y ago
Dual-booting needs to become easier and less bug-prone. People need to be able to try Linux before committing their main system. One year ago I tried setting up dual-booting on my system with Ubuntu and it irreparably trashed the Windows boot process; and I needed to do a full nuke & pave. At this time I don't perceive installing Linux to be a good idea unless you're buying a dedicated Linux workstation from System76 or similar.
- sergeykish 5y ago
  I'd recommend Live USB, flash drives are big enough these days.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
> I would argue that linux would need to be installed by default for that to change dramatically. I disagree. There are good reasons people choose not to use Linux and it is annoying that the community continues to tell itself variations of this kind of thing so it doesn't have to face that fact. Even starting out a potential user has to navigate a ludicrous number of distros, all with slightly different ways of doing things and various levels of inadequate and out of date documentation, and as soon as they ask for help they'll likely be told to try a different distro regardless of which one they pick. Even having Linux preinstalled won't change this because, as we've seen, every single manufacturer wants to build their own distro instead of throwing their effort behind an existing one.
- xboxnolifes 5y ago
  > There are good reasons people choose not to use Linux and it is annoying that the community continues to tell itself variations of this kind of thing so it doesn't have to face that fact. This is true, but I think it's actually irrelevant to the point GP is making. Even if Linux had absolutely no downside for any user in this community, and every person who would want to use it switched to it, Windows is so ubiquitous and does a good enough job that I doubt the given 1% number would raise more than a few percentage points.
  - squeaky-clean 5y ago
    I agree. Windows is "free" for most gamers too. If you're building your own PC you need to buy a license, but the majority of steam users are definitely on pre-builts or laptops.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    At 1%, any extra percentage points represents at least a 2x increase. That's not dramatic? I would think a 10%+ increase would be easily achievable between Glorious PC Gaming Master Race, People What Have Entirely Too Serious Hobbies, and People Who Use Computers For Work if said people actually wanted the Linux Desktop experience. At any rate, I can't back up my hypothetical quantification of "if Linux fixed some of its most well known issues" gains, it's just a gut feeling from 20 years of interacting with personal computers and the people who use them.

marcodiego 5y ago

I has been slowly but consistently growing: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/ https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/

IshKebab 5y ago
Looks like it has been flat for 3 years and then suddenly grown a bit in the last 6 months. Don't fall for the linear trend line on a graph that clearly isn't linear.