Something I keep seeing repeated in our comments, forum and across other sites is people believing Valve have somehow failed already and are abandoning SteamOS. That's far from the truth of the matter.
To re-iterate something I've said every time: SteamOS was never, ever going to be an overnight success. New platforms generally take quite some time to make a difference, but SteamOS has already made a massive difference to Linux gaming.
SteamOS is still a very new platform for Valve and for everyone. Does anyone remember what Steam itself was like a few years ago? It was horrific. It still has tons of problems even now, but it is improving at a reasonable pace. In a few years SteamOS will probably be quite different to what we have today.
I've spoken to a few developers over the years and one thing is quite clear to me. If it wasn't for SteamOS there is no way we would be getting the types of games we have been getting for the past few years. We also wouldn't have as big a push as we have seen in pushing our graphics drivers forward, as a lot of it is thanks to people testing games and sending in feedback from the experience.
Only recently has SteamOS been updated to include a Vulkan driver for Nvidia and the new AMD GPU PRO driver.
Vulkan
Vulkan is the next-generation graphics API that will see Linux/SteamOS hopefully progress even further with a possible promise of improved performance. We have already seen Talos improve quite a bit with it and going by benchmarks out there for Dota 2 it has also improved performance.
Vulkan is still in its infancy and it is being regularly updated with the community to improve it.
Open source drivers
Look at how far MESA has come along even in the past two months. It's incredible. Not only is it gaining support for modern versions of OpenGL, but it's looking like performance is steadily going up too. This is particularly good news for Intel and AMD users.
Games
In the last six months alone we have seen titles like F1 2015, Tomb Raider, Stellaris, Saints Row: The Third, Medieval II: Total War Collection, Payday 2, XCOM 2, Dying Light: Enhanced Edition, American Truck Simulator, GRID Autosport, Total War: ATTILA and the list just goes on and on without even getting into the popular smaller indie games. Linux gaming is expanding at a pretty great pace.
We have a lot to look forward to with plenty of titles not yet announced, some teased and an almost guaranteed steady flow of indie games.
It was only at the very end of march we mentioned that there was now 2,000 Linux/SteamOS games on Steam. Now only two months later we have another ~183 games on the platform.
If you want to help us keep track of games, check out our Release Calendar and submit missing games to it.
We also have a wiki page for Unreleased Ports that could use some community love. You knew we had a Wiki right?
Game engines
Unity, Unreal, Crytek and others have all made pushes towards OpenGL, Vulkan and Linux. Some are working well, some need work, but the point is we have some of the most widely used game engines now supporting Linux. This was another thing that was unheard of only a few years ago.
Not only that, but some major game engines have recently become more open with their code.
The amount of Linux gamers
It's really hard to tell this accurately, so take this with a pinch of salt, but a recent editorial right here on GOL had an interesting way to calculate it. Taking that into consideration, Linux use on Steam is at an all time high.
How can you help?
Buy Linux games from legitimate stores. Steam, Humble Store, GOG, Games Republic and itch.io are a few choices. Try to make sure you're counted as a Linux sale.
Stop buying games on promises of a future Linux version. Wait. You are in control of your own wallet. A good bit of reading is our Samsai's thoughts "On pre-orders and other nasty buying habits".
Advertise Linux to your friends and family, let them know about it, show it to them.
I've been around Linux Gaming for about 10 years now, believe me when I say what we have is bloody awesome. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
To re-iterate something I've said every time: SteamOS was never, ever going to be an overnight success. New platforms generally take quite some time to make a difference, but SteamOS has already made a massive difference to Linux gaming.
SteamOS is still a very new platform for Valve and for everyone. Does anyone remember what Steam itself was like a few years ago? It was horrific. It still has tons of problems even now, but it is improving at a reasonable pace. In a few years SteamOS will probably be quite different to what we have today.
I've spoken to a few developers over the years and one thing is quite clear to me. If it wasn't for SteamOS there is no way we would be getting the types of games we have been getting for the past few years. We also wouldn't have as big a push as we have seen in pushing our graphics drivers forward, as a lot of it is thanks to people testing games and sending in feedback from the experience.
Only recently has SteamOS been updated to include a Vulkan driver for Nvidia and the new AMD GPU PRO driver.
Vulkan
Vulkan is the next-generation graphics API that will see Linux/SteamOS hopefully progress even further with a possible promise of improved performance. We have already seen Talos improve quite a bit with it and going by benchmarks out there for Dota 2 it has also improved performance.
Vulkan is still in its infancy and it is being regularly updated with the community to improve it.
Open source drivers
Look at how far MESA has come along even in the past two months. It's incredible. Not only is it gaining support for modern versions of OpenGL, but it's looking like performance is steadily going up too. This is particularly good news for Intel and AMD users.
Games
In the last six months alone we have seen titles like F1 2015, Tomb Raider, Stellaris, Saints Row: The Third, Medieval II: Total War Collection, Payday 2, XCOM 2, Dying Light: Enhanced Edition, American Truck Simulator, GRID Autosport, Total War: ATTILA and the list just goes on and on without even getting into the popular smaller indie games. Linux gaming is expanding at a pretty great pace.
We have a lot to look forward to with plenty of titles not yet announced, some teased and an almost guaranteed steady flow of indie games.
It was only at the very end of march we mentioned that there was now 2,000 Linux/SteamOS games on Steam. Now only two months later we have another ~183 games on the platform.
If you want to help us keep track of games, check out our Release Calendar and submit missing games to it.
We also have a wiki page for Unreleased Ports that could use some community love. You knew we had a Wiki right?
Game engines
Unity, Unreal, Crytek and others have all made pushes towards OpenGL, Vulkan and Linux. Some are working well, some need work, but the point is we have some of the most widely used game engines now supporting Linux. This was another thing that was unheard of only a few years ago.
Not only that, but some major game engines have recently become more open with their code.
The amount of Linux gamers
It's really hard to tell this accurately, so take this with a pinch of salt, but a recent editorial right here on GOL had an interesting way to calculate it. Taking that into consideration, Linux use on Steam is at an all time high.
How can you help?
Buy Linux games from legitimate stores. Steam, Humble Store, GOG, Games Republic and itch.io are a few choices. Try to make sure you're counted as a Linux sale.
Stop buying games on promises of a future Linux version. Wait. You are in control of your own wallet. A good bit of reading is our Samsai's thoughts "On pre-orders and other nasty buying habits".
Advertise Linux to your friends and family, let them know about it, show it to them.
I've been around Linux Gaming for about 10 years now, believe me when I say what we have is bloody awesome. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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When I see such an article I know that it is written for a reason - some people are starting to worry. Because there are reasons to be worried about.
First of all - I agree, Linux gaming is in a great place, a place that I couldn't imagine 3 years ago.
Secondly - Liam is completely right - all the points he made are valid.
But there are 2 things that I always keep in mind:
1) Valve does not make all the best for the SteamOS/Steam machines. Let's recall what happened so far:
- Valve did famous huge SteamOS titles advertisement.
The newest and the biggest title from this list (Witcher 3) was completely ignored by the publisher of this game, which for me should be super offensive for Valve. Second biggest title (Batman Arkham Knight) did not come to Linux (but it was not Valve's fault to be fair).
- Valve made a sale that allowed people to buy Steam Controller with Portal and Rocket League, which were meant to work on SteamOS. As we all now Rocket League still does not work on SteamOS.
- Valve have made super discrete launch of Steam Machines. If I wasn't following this site everyday I guess I would miss Steam machines launch.
- Some small things that do matter (like example from Beamboom)
2) Biggest titles are still announced without Linux support. Titles that are announced for Linux/SteamOS do not come to Linux day one or get updates not as often as Windows counterpart.
So while I do agree Linux gaming is in great place, I expect Valve to focus more on SteamOS. Because if Microsoft wants to force developers to use their store, it means that Valve has to have a platform, the one with huge library with decent titles, to survive. And approach in which Valve focuses on SteamOS and supports at least Dabian based Linux distributions may be the biggest piece of cake that will be left for Valve at some point. And it's up to Valve how big will this piece of cake be.
First of all - I agree, Linux gaming is in a great place, a place that I couldn't imagine 3 years ago.
Secondly - Liam is completely right - all the points he made are valid.
But there are 2 things that I always keep in mind:
1) Valve does not make all the best for the SteamOS/Steam machines. Let's recall what happened so far:
- Valve did famous huge SteamOS titles advertisement.
The newest and the biggest title from this list (Witcher 3) was completely ignored by the publisher of this game, which for me should be super offensive for Valve. Second biggest title (Batman Arkham Knight) did not come to Linux (but it was not Valve's fault to be fair).
- Valve made a sale that allowed people to buy Steam Controller with Portal and Rocket League, which were meant to work on SteamOS. As we all now Rocket League still does not work on SteamOS.
- Valve have made super discrete launch of Steam Machines. If I wasn't following this site everyday I guess I would miss Steam machines launch.
- Some small things that do matter (like example from Beamboom)
2) Biggest titles are still announced without Linux support. Titles that are announced for Linux/SteamOS do not come to Linux day one or get updates not as often as Windows counterpart.
So while I do agree Linux gaming is in great place, I expect Valve to focus more on SteamOS. Because if Microsoft wants to force developers to use their store, it means that Valve has to have a platform, the one with huge library with decent titles, to survive. And approach in which Valve focuses on SteamOS and supports at least Dabian based Linux distributions may be the biggest piece of cake that will be left for Valve at some point. And it's up to Valve how big will this piece of cake be.
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Has anyone calculated the rate of new titles released for SteamOS over the last 6 to 24 months compared to other gaming platforms? I think MS, Sony and Nintendo are wetting their pants right now. Well, maybe not, but things are looking pretty good for Linux as a gaming platform.
Regarding converting other people: I have two co-workers make the switch just because of the annoying Win10 upgrade ads on their Windows machines. One of them did not even try it out before, now it's 3 weeks and counting.
The Steam VR support for Linux hiding in the shadows is a real shame, although I guess it's because of shortcomings on the driver side that has lead them to that decision. Considering the tendency to make Linux run on almost any tech out there I don't worry in the long run though. It just takes some time for the HowTo's to get written ;)
Regarding converting other people: I have two co-workers make the switch just because of the annoying Win10 upgrade ads on their Windows machines. One of them did not even try it out before, now it's 3 weeks and counting.
The Steam VR support for Linux hiding in the shadows is a real shame, although I guess it's because of shortcomings on the driver side that has lead them to that decision. Considering the tendency to make Linux run on almost any tech out there I don't worry in the long run though. It just takes some time for the HowTo's to get written ;)
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I have to agree that times are looking pretty sweet for Linux gaming. I ditched Windows over 15 years ago and for most of that time a few LGP games were the only real gaming I did. In just the last three years I collected over a hundred games and actually need to watch out I don't forget my other hobbies. Times of luxury!
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Valve does not communicate much. It's true if anyone follows their Steam story. There are some disappointments - like we don't know what's with Witcher 3, or Rocket League which got delayed many times, Arkham Knight was pure PC release fail, not Linux problem though - and yes, there's still lot of potential games - even indie games - which aren't released on Linux.
However I am not panicking. Technically things get better each month. Binary drivers get better, open source drivers get better, Linux desktop evolution continues at steady speed.
Would I like to know have Steam Machines gained any traction? Definitely. Have I heard rumours project has failed? No, not a inch. I think if it was disaster we would have heard by now, especially from vendors. SteamOS evolves. AMD driver improvements, Vulkan - this all has happened in just last six months! In fact it feels like that Linux gaming platform - and therefore SteamOS - just getting started. And that might be a clue - Valve did first wave of SM, collected feedback, collected feedback about their controller, etc. And all this feedback is fed into next wave of Steam Machines.
At least I could see it. Of course it might be that everything's kaput and we are just not being told :)
However I am not panicking. Technically things get better each month. Binary drivers get better, open source drivers get better, Linux desktop evolution continues at steady speed.
Would I like to know have Steam Machines gained any traction? Definitely. Have I heard rumours project has failed? No, not a inch. I think if it was disaster we would have heard by now, especially from vendors. SteamOS evolves. AMD driver improvements, Vulkan - this all has happened in just last six months! In fact it feels like that Linux gaming platform - and therefore SteamOS - just getting started. And that might be a clue - Valve did first wave of SM, collected feedback, collected feedback about their controller, etc. And all this feedback is fed into next wave of Steam Machines.
At least I could see it. Of course it might be that everything's kaput and we are just not being told :)
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natewardawg May 29, 2016
I think many people are used to how public companies like Microsoft and Apple make decisions, who's success is determined by stock holder confidence (and therefore stock prices). Valve is a privately held company, so they do what they think is in the company's best interest in the long term. Public companies tend to have to be very short sighted and worry about what the stock price will be next quarter. This is probably the main reason why Microsoft has been forcing Windows 10 updates. It's so they have numbers to report to their stock holders to show how wonderful Windows 10 adoption is, thus keeping them on board and the stock price up. If you look at Valve's history they tend to make major decisions, like Steam (and SteamOS), over the long term without fear of what any stock holders may think. Just my 2c.
If SteamOS is a complete failure in 5 years, then Valve might abandon it. I'm pretty sure that won't happen as Valve is probably already making a decent profit off of it already on top of having enough money to sustain it.
If SteamOS is a complete failure in 5 years, then Valve might abandon it. I'm pretty sure that won't happen as Valve is probably already making a decent profit off of it already on top of having enough money to sustain it.
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I think we need to separate the issues here, even though they're related. On the one hand, gaming on Linux has never been better, and it will probably continue to get better. For Linux gamers, this is a dream come true.
On the other hand, for Valve, they stink pretty badly at PR and don't communicate well with their customers. For the people who have used Steam for years, they probably know that. For someone new to the scene looking to buy a Steam machine and use SteamOS as an alternative to an Xbox One or PS4, they will likely be disappointed.
For Windows PC gamers, they just laugh at the poor performance and low number of games. But since that is likely to improve, it's possible some of them will come around, especially if they're loyal Steam users.
On the other hand, for Valve, they stink pretty badly at PR and don't communicate well with their customers. For the people who have used Steam for years, they probably know that. For someone new to the scene looking to buy a Steam machine and use SteamOS as an alternative to an Xbox One or PS4, they will likely be disappointed.
For Windows PC gamers, they just laugh at the poor performance and low number of games. But since that is likely to improve, it's possible some of them will come around, especially if they're loyal Steam users.
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Mohandevir May 30, 2016
Thanks for the reminder Liam. In the last few weeks, I was beggining to doubt but with this wrapup it raises my spirit.
Still, even in a dark mood, I always apply the "No tux, no bucks". :)
Last edited by Mohandevir on 30 May 2016 at 12:19 am UTC
Still, even in a dark mood, I always apply the "No tux, no bucks". :)
Last edited by Mohandevir on 30 May 2016 at 12:19 am UTC
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[Linux] tayshady May 30, 2016
The fact that you're posting this news article and not news about big games coming out on Linux is a big tell though.
How many delayed/cancelled ports do we have? Vive, Occulus Rift support? What big games exactly are using Vulkan on Linux? What big Vulkan games on Linux are even proposed for that matter? How many DX12 games have been announced though? Whatever happened to us ever getting past 1%? Blizzard just wanted us to get to 2% and we still haven't done shit since SteamOS and Valve, it wouldn't be surprising that Valve just puts SteamOS on the side as a side project in case M$ ever tries to force their Windows store. Otherwise I wouldn't hedge anything on SteamOS TBH.
If Valve was serious about SteamOS they would have actually put real money into it they would've funded ports and paid Bethesda to bring their big games to Linux, they didn't. No one outside of us knew the day SteamOS came out because everyone was too busy playing Fallout 4. This article is only further enforcing this truth people like me wouldn't exist if the situation wasn't what it was.
I keep hearing 2000 games, most are old AAA games, indie games, or very bad games. F1 2015 is a very niche title, Tomb Raider 2013 is a good title despite being old but it runs better in WINE than natively.
How many delayed/cancelled ports do we have? Vive, Occulus Rift support? What big games exactly are using Vulkan on Linux? What big Vulkan games on Linux are even proposed for that matter? How many DX12 games have been announced though? Whatever happened to us ever getting past 1%? Blizzard just wanted us to get to 2% and we still haven't done shit since SteamOS and Valve, it wouldn't be surprising that Valve just puts SteamOS on the side as a side project in case M$ ever tries to force their Windows store. Otherwise I wouldn't hedge anything on SteamOS TBH.
If Valve was serious about SteamOS they would have actually put real money into it they would've funded ports and paid Bethesda to bring their big games to Linux, they didn't. No one outside of us knew the day SteamOS came out because everyone was too busy playing Fallout 4. This article is only further enforcing this truth people like me wouldn't exist if the situation wasn't what it was.
I keep hearing 2000 games, most are old AAA games, indie games, or very bad games. F1 2015 is a very niche title, Tomb Raider 2013 is a good title despite being old but it runs better in WINE than natively.
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The reason for this is simple: Linux. The majors are investing a lot of money in the drivers, infrastructure and stability. The reason is simple as well: Android. Linux is a good test-case, since display server implementations in the drivers are a very small part, the driver infrastructure below is the same.
They're waiting for the big shot, when everyone can just dock a phone and use it as desktop. It's their future market, and they know that. Be it AMD, NVidia, Google, Apple, Microsoft or the Engine creators. The market is shifting, not in the next 1-2 years, but it will, and they better be ready for this, or they'll loose ground on competitors, and they can't allow themselves for that to happen.
We're lucky for that, but we're just beta testers for their real business goals. Within that said, we'll be closer then, and since infrastructure and drivers will be the same. Valve is scared not of the Microsoft store, but of Google Play. Once this shift takes place, the google store will be major, and we'll see real consoles based on it, probably having major titles. Google will be making this push, and Valve needs to be ready. Not sure what the strategy there is, but my best guess is that they want a competing product in place once this happens which people are used to and where they already have their games.
A push like this towards android consoles and all major games being for android could certainly kill off Steam, Valve and PC gaming as we know it now (when desktops are shifting). That's the danger for Valve, so they need to be ready when Google pushes this agenda. And Google will, they see the money behind it.
Last edited by STiAT on 30 May 2016 at 5:18 am UTC
They're waiting for the big shot, when everyone can just dock a phone and use it as desktop. It's their future market, and they know that. Be it AMD, NVidia, Google, Apple, Microsoft or the Engine creators. The market is shifting, not in the next 1-2 years, but it will, and they better be ready for this, or they'll loose ground on competitors, and they can't allow themselves for that to happen.
We're lucky for that, but we're just beta testers for their real business goals. Within that said, we'll be closer then, and since infrastructure and drivers will be the same. Valve is scared not of the Microsoft store, but of Google Play. Once this shift takes place, the google store will be major, and we'll see real consoles based on it, probably having major titles. Google will be making this push, and Valve needs to be ready. Not sure what the strategy there is, but my best guess is that they want a competing product in place once this happens which people are used to and where they already have their games.
A push like this towards android consoles and all major games being for android could certainly kill off Steam, Valve and PC gaming as we know it now (when desktops are shifting). That's the danger for Valve, so they need to be ready when Google pushes this agenda. And Google will, they see the money behind it.
Last edited by STiAT on 30 May 2016 at 5:18 am UTC
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TheRiddick May 30, 2016
Think we will need to monitor people playing games on Linux, perhaps hours played or frequency to determine the trend of Linux gamers, because I buy allot of keys from NON steam websites because I miss all the specials and its convenient for me, am sure allot of other people do also.
Point being is you can't look at the stats of people just buying on what platform via the Steam Store because many buy outside of that.
Last edited by TheRiddick on 30 May 2016 at 5:28 am UTC
Point being is you can't look at the stats of people just buying on what platform via the Steam Store because many buy outside of that.
Last edited by TheRiddick on 30 May 2016 at 5:28 am UTC
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