Steam On Linux Is Still Bouncing Around 0.9% For Summer 2020

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Steam On Linux Is Still Bouncing Around 0.9% For Summer 2020

With the start of a new month comes the latest numbers out of Valve for the rough Linux gaming market percentage from the Steam Survey...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Steam-June-2020-Stats

[Setif]

Conspiracy!

[Danny3]

While I play mostly on Linux, I'm mostly on Lutris because of Epicgames which gives games, including GTA V for free.
I assume this cannot be seen by Steam.
Maybe if they could do a deal with Epicgames to share games from one another, but I think that's highly unlikely.

[blackiwid]

This numbers really slightly confuse me because I think the Netmarketshare data can't be completely wrong, Macos had also a big increase in April but then gone down slightly month after month but linux numbers go up far 3 months so it can't be all just some counting problem, why wouldn't they find the problem in 3 months?

I also read more and more from normies move to linux and stick with it, particularly often because gaming nearly is a 1:1 replacement now.

So there are a few possibilities, Netmarketshare data is really wrong with 3 months in row wrong data how would they come back from that, that would make their statistics worthless if they have such high error rate. I can't really believe that.

2. errors in steam counting, we hear from buggy survey it's not really measuring but asking questions, so you have a "how many people are willing and have the time to answer" bias. Linux users tend to be more privacy focused and don't like to deal with shit popups that are annoying (hence they don't use windows anymore), but again they count people not computers right? So they count 1 person as windows person if they have 1 pc with dualboot and the last 3 months they played more in windows or something.

3. it's really the case that not much gamers come to linux while massive amount of users that do only browsing and office work switch to linux.

If it would be the 3rd and both statistics are basically correct, then I would wonder what is the cause windows 7 support end? Hmm well Windows 7 support ended Januar, why did the numbers than explode April? Sure some don't move instantly but why the hard shift at this 1 month, was it the combination of Corona and Windows 7, or is it all Corona, but I don't see how Corona can increase the linux numbers month after month for 3 months? Even if people were in quarantine and used less windows computers at work, was really the last month the one with the most quarantines? Didn't they reduce the quarantines already in many countries? And even if it's all Corona, why does Linux profit most from it, has Linux a huge % of home-computers and the other 2 OS have a bigger base in work computers?

I really can't believe that steam numbers, so 5 years you could basically not play at all under linux, now you can basically play everything (one way or another most pretty easy), that has 0% effect on linux adoption of gamers? I can't believe it.

[birdie]

So there are a few possibilities, Netmarketshare data is really wrong with 3 months in row wrong data how would they come back from that, that would make their statistics worthless if they have such high error rate. I can't really believe that.

There's no error, it's just among people who use Linux daily only less than a third have Steam installed. That sounds about right. Most people don't care about full-fledged PC games and have better things to do in life or they just launch Solitaire straight from the web.

[ix900]

While I play mostly on Linux, I'm mostly on Lutris because of Epicgames whic gives games, including GTA V for free.
I assume this cannot be seen by Steam.
Maybe if they could do a deal with Epicgames to share games from one another, but I think that's highly unlikely.

Before Steam started pushing Linux, gamers were so low it never mattered as it was passed up on and sent to the garbage bin. Sure, a total of linux gamers would be better than 1% probably but that's not for Steam to do.

Steam is about those using Steam. It would be better for Lutris or Epic to publish a statistics, or for the distros to do it, or for someone else to combine them all.

[gojul]

I'm surprised to see such figures, since GamingOnLinux reports completely different figures : https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2020/0...ubuntu-winning

So who's right ? o_O

[andyprough]

Linux is a kernel, not an OS. Many millions of people use steam on Android and on chrome os. These numbers don't seem reflective of that. They mainly seem reflective of the number of people using steam on Ubuntu.

[discordian]

I'm surprised to see such figures, since GamingOnLinux reports completely different figures : https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2020/0...ubuntu-winning

So who's right ? o_O

Both?

You don't need x86 for using Linux, you need that for running steam.
You don't need closed source Stuff for using Linux, you need that for running steam.
You don't need DRM crap for using Linux, you need that for running steam.
You don't need to whack off to how special how you are for using Linux, you probably do if you send surveys on steam.

[liamdawe]

Some more historical data on the GOL Steam Tracker for those interested.