Steam On Linux Ends Q1'2021 Still Below 1% Marketshare

[fafreeman]

Much higher? So you think the Linux share would actually crack 1% in North America?

well going off: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market...tes-of-america
in the united states, linux makes 1.67% for desktop share. while mac makes up 29%. interesting is chrome os makes up 6.83%.
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market...desktop/canada
in canada linux is reported at 1.46%, mac at 23.65%, and chrome os at 2.6%

so yes, in north america, i believe linux would crack 1% or higher.

in europe: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market...desktop/europe linux cracks 2.25%, mac at 16.89%, and chrome os at 1.39%

what i really think that hurts linux overall share in steam is:
china - 0.47% (new to steam, officially at least):
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market.../desktop/china
south korea - 0.55%:
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market...op/south-korea

i really wish steam would start showing regions and countries. to really get a more thorough idea.

edit:
interesting enough is inda. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market.../desktop/india with linux at 3.32%

[r_a_trip]

Just a FYI, i have never, ever, gotten a Steam survey on Linux, since the native port launched.

I've seen that elusive thing twice since I signed up in 2013. Could Valve be underreporting to keep the big incumbents in the dark?

[klapaucius]

Just a FYI, i have never, ever, gotten a Steam survey on Linux, since the native port launched.

Funny coincidence, this morning I've just received the survey, so I'm pushing up the Linux share by a whooping ~0.001%

[Adarion]

1st: We all know that Steam survey is flakey without end.
2nd: Steam numbers do not really show the truth. They might seem tempting and interesting for game developers (e.g. also HW distribution, how many people run 2 cores, quadcores and so on, average installed memory,...) but these numbers aren't really solid.
3rd: Okay, so what about any WINE installations? Are those counted as W32, too?
4th: One would wonder how many of these "Windows installations" are actually licensed. And how many are "licensed". With all due respect, but some years ago, according to reports of people who'd been there, you'd get a W32 CD/DVD for less than a value of 1 USD at every second corner in certain regions in Asia. And "with a license" for something like 1.50 USD. Yeah. Sure. "With a license."
So a lot of them might be unlicensed Windows copies in China. Nobody there cares. But things like that will also influence these Steam numbers.
(Not blaming the Chinese for not having the money, MS is evil anyway )

[discordian]

Since defining what should be counted is in fashion (hope its ok if I dont base it on xenophobia): Steam marketshare for real Linux users is 0% by definition. You arent a Linux user if you use crappy DRM, you aren't a Linux User if you use x86 (which only survived the last 30 years because of Windows), you arent a Linux User if you send money to greedy Microsoft forbes 100 Types.
You certainly aren't a Linux User if you submit to stupid surveys.

[TemplarGR]

Since defining what should be counted is in fashion (hope its ok if I dont base it on xenophobia): Steam marketshare for real Linux users is 0% by definition. You arent a Linux user if you use crappy DRM, you aren't a Linux User if you use x86 (which only survived the last 30 years because of Windows), you arent a Linux User if you send money to greedy Microsoft forbes 100 Types.
You certainly aren't a Linux User if you submit to stupid surveys.

Who says that? Linux is not all things open source, and open source is not just about Linux. DRM is fine for Linux if it helps bringing more content here. Not everyone can make money on open source and "free stuff".

[birdie]

Eh, market share is just a number. As long as games continue to work and get ported to Linux and Valve keeps investing in the platform via proton and other means I'm happy and I'll keep buying games on Steam

You mean DXVK? Isn't Linux a complete platform which is good for games? You mean a single triple-A title a year? God, you're funny.

Your imagination is truly wild.

[birdie]

1st: We all know that Steam survey is flakey without end.
2nd: Steam numbers do not really show the truth. They might seem tempting and interesting for game developers (e.g. also HW distribution, how many people run 2 cores, quadcores and so on, average installed memory,...) but these numbers aren't really solid.
3rd: Okay, so what about any WINE installations? Are those counted as W32, too?
4th: One would wonder how many of these "Windows installations" are actually licensed. And how many are "licensed". With all due respect, but some years ago, according to reports of people who'd been there, you'd get a W32 CD/DVD for less than a value of 1 USD at every second corner in certain regions in Asia. And "with a license" for something like 1.50 USD. Yeah. Sure. "With a license."
So a lot of them might be unlicensed Windows copies in China. Nobody there cares. But things like that will also influence these Steam numbers.
(Not blaming the Chinese for not having the money, MS is evil anyway )

So many sad, convoluted and made up excuses.

• You don't know that, you cannot prove that, period.
• You don't know that, you cannot prove that, period. Also, the Linux desktop market share as estimated by various analytics services is well below 2% which mirrors Steam data.
• Steam can easily deduce it's being run under Wine.
• Does it fucking matter? I mean people are more eager to pirate Windows than to run "licensed" Linux because in Windows games just work for fuck's sake.

You're so funny.

Just a FYI, i have never, ever, gotten a Steam survey on Linux, since the native port launched.

An anecdotal evidence of one. Yeah, right. You represent literally hundreds of thousands of users ... oh, wait.

[Mez']

Eh, market share is just a number. As long as games continue to work and get ported to Linux and Valve keeps investing in the platform via proton and other means I'm happy and I'll keep buying games on Steam

Exactly. I only buy Linux compatible games though, to reward editors for taking Linux into account in the initial development. Not those who expect Proton to do their job.

Now, onto numbers.
When Valve made Steam available for Linux, it's because they saw a financial interest. Might have been Steam machines and Steam OS, sure, but not only.
If you keep in mind the steady Linux market share (if we can trust surveys) and the growing Steam market penetration in general, it means the Linux user base has increased and I suppose it brings more revenues than 6-7 years ago. It was already interesting enough financially when they started or they would have pulled the plug, so it can only be more interesting these days.

[kpedersen]

So a lot of them might be unlicensed Windows copies in China. Nobody there cares. But things like that will also influence these Steam numbers.
(Not blaming the Chinese for not having the money, MS is evil anyway )

I went to a conference in China a few years back. Oddly enough Windows works much better over there. No telemetry can get through and the apps (spyware) can't even download from a fresh install. A number of the "updates" are also not ever downloaded. They have a different type of update server which effectively only distributes *actual* updates. Obviously due to China's more strict country wide firewall.

So for the casual user (who doesn't know how to block this crap anyway), they probably don't realize that Microsoft's OS is meant to be criminally bad.