Steam Survey Results For August Show A Linux Dip After A Very Exciting July

[Dukenukemx]

Lost a little in terms of marketshare, but not in terms of absolute numbers. The Summer Sale discounts and refurbished Steam Decks offered really good value. Not to mention, the Steam Deck answers what it takes to raise Linux marketshare: sell devices with a Linux OS pre-installed. The vast vast majority of Steam Deck users stick with SteamOS over going out of their way to install Windows.

This is why Windows is so dominant when it comes to gaming and that's because Microsoft really cared about gaming. At one point, more people had Doom installed than Windows, which is why Microsoft got so into gaming to begin with. This is why DirectX was created and why Xbox was created, because gaming was popular and Microsoft knew this. If the Steam Deck is propelling Linux use on Steam then it's no different than Microsoft with Xbox. This will have a knock on effect when people realize they can dump Windows 11 for a Linux distro and still play their games.

[HEL88]

Lost a little in terms of marketshare, but not in terms of absolute numbers.

Take a look. If, for example, the share of Windows desktop didn't change year-on-year, neither did the share of Linux desktop, while the share of macOS declined decisively (what Mac OS lost got Steam Deck) - that's what it looks like, more or less.

And you emphasize that nominally Linux desktop players increased - OK.

Then think that in the same period the number of Windows desktop players increased 96 times more than desktop Linux. Do you understand? 96 times more of them came.

That's why we use market shares for simplicity's sake, so that we don't play around with nominal numbers that are steadily increasing.

[slalomsk8er]

I counted DESKOP linux. So I had reasons.

I know It's anecdotal but I haven't gamed on my Linux desktops much, since I have the Steam Deck and there are 5 Linux desktops at home and 2 at work besides the Deck.
Some other non gaming trackers had Linux at around 3% of the desktop marked, if you count Chrome OS you get 7% and in the US of A it's about 2% but if you count Chrome OS it looks like ~10%. This 2-3% are enormous if you think about not being able to go into the next PC store and buy Linux desktop/laptop machine and I guess if someone like System76 makes it into stores the market share could jump to ~10% or even ~20% if you count Chrome OS.

[NeoMorpheus]

This is why Windows is so dominant when it comes to gaming and that's because Microsoft really cared about gaming. At one point, more people had Doom installed than Windows, which is why Microsoft got so into gaming to begin with. This is why DirectX was created and why Xbox was created, because gaming was popular and Microsoft knew this. If the Steam Deck is propelling Linux use on Steam then it's no different than Microsoft with Xbox. This will have a knock on effect when people realize they can dump Windows 11 for a Linux distro and still play their games.

There are two possible issues looming.

1- All SteamDeck competitors are coming with Windows.

2- M$ can and might address this and release a proper gamepad gui for all these handhelds.

Unless Valve does something to bring all these handheld devices to ship with SteamOS and/or release an official SteamOS for the rest of us (FU Ngreedia) or Linux surge will die when M$ ships a proper competitor.

And the rumor is, M$ its already working on such change.

[CombatEmu]

Typical mental gymnastics nonsense.

You keep whinging about "Muh dESkToP Linux" when the Deck can be used as a desktop, hence why there's a market and demand for those docks whether it be Valve's official one, JSAUX, or another 3rd party.

You also made a critical error by judging on a single point. Individual marketshare numbers should be given as much credit as individual political polls. Instead, making conclusions based on trends. Linux hitting a new high on StatCounter isn't the most significant part; it's that its marketshare has been consistently going up. You also clearly don't understand relative math. A change of a half percent of marketshare on Windows has very little relative effect as opposed to the same half percent change on Linux, for example.

Though the most telling part is that you don't read. You just looked at the numbers and went straight to the comments:

The Steam Survey results for August show the English language userbase dropping by 2.34% globally to 35.57% while Simplified Chinese picked up 2.74%. That's a pretty big difference for the span of one month for all Steam users globally.

[Almindor]

You guys are funny. To support your rationale you are able to refer to portable gaming consoles as laptops .

I'm writing this on the Steam Deck plugged into a monitor on a dock that we use as our main "living room pc/console". It's connected to a HDMI multiplexer and a projector for couch play but also a monitor and full desktop setup for other things. We keep it in desktop mode.

I don't disagree though that this is probably a niche use case in the overall numbers and that it shouldn't count for linux "PC" usage purposes.

Linux will never punch through, but that's ok.

[anarki2]

Very exciting indeed