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Update: It seems Valve have adjusted their survey and changed the total, the new figures are

Linux Total: 0.81% + 0.01% (instead of +.02% originally)
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 64 bit 0.20% - 0.04%
Ubuntu 14.04.4 LTS 64 bit 0.10% - 0.02%
Linux 64 bit 0.08% + 0.01%
Linux Mint 17.3 Rosa 64 bit 0.07% - 0.02%
Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS 64 bit 0.06% + 0.06%

Original article below:

The latest Steam Hardware Survey is out and for the first time in a while the Linux figure seems to have grown.

Linux total: 0.82% + 0.02% (we are 0.02% away from June's level)
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 64 bit: 0.21% - 0.03%
Ubuntu 14.04.4 LTS 64 bit: 0.11% - 0.01%
Linux 64 bit: 0.08% + 0.01%
Linux Mint 17.3 Rosa 64 bit: 0.07% - 0.02%
Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS 64 bit: 0.05% + 0.05%

A few things to remember:

It is such a tiny percentage we could be seeing nothing more than statistic anomalies here. Same for any survey that shows a positive/negative change when it's such a small amount. Let's not get carried away over an increase. With that said, it's still great to finally see something positive isn't it!

SteamOS and Steam Big Picture are still not included in the survey and it's a manual survey, so you're not included in it unless you get the pop-up asking you to submit your details.

I actually had the survey this time, so it's not a myth!

In all honesty, the figure is likely around the correct number going by the sales statistics I often see from developers. It doesn't mean Linux isn't worth it though, plenty of developers are selling enough to make it worth porting. Heck, even Rust has sold over 30 thousand copies to Linux gamers.

You may be wondering why I still bother to cover this since nothing really changes! Well, it's another chance to plug our own User Statistics Page. Be sure your profiles are up to date. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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38 comments
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melkemind Aug 2, 2016
Quoting: FornaxI too got the survey yesterday! First time this year

I got the survey this time too. I was pretty shocked.
Eike Aug 2, 2016
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: TacoDeBossI'm trying to learn some programming so when the mod comes out, I *might* be able to port it to Linux, since they're open-sourcing the code and maps.

Cool, good luck!

Quoting: TacoDeBossNot that this wasn't a pain either. Half-Life 1 and Xash3D are 32-bit code meaning I have to chroot into a 32-bit Debian partition if I want to compile either.

Maybe cross-compiling (amd64->i386) could be useful here?
(If not, VirtualBox makes it really easy to work with VMs...)


Last edited by Eike on 2 August 2016 at 10:31 am UTC
winate Aug 2, 2016
Quoteit's another chance to plug our own User Statistics Page. Be sure your profiles are up to date.

You sure love to plug that often, but it's still missing from the sidebar and navbar ;). Hell, you could even put it under Misc.

Edit: I'm a dumbass. Wasn't expecting it to have its own nav section; thought it'd be in a dropdown.

Also, you can't delete comments? Laaame!


Last edited by winate on 2 August 2016 at 11:27 am UTC
Creak Aug 2, 2016
Quoting: liamdaweI actually had the survey this time, so it's not a myth!
Quoting: KeyrockIn a related story, I got the survey for the first time in about a year yesterday.
Quoting: melkemindI got the survey this time too. I was pretty shocked.
I think we've got our +0.02% :D


Last edited by Creak on 2 August 2016 at 12:04 pm UTC
Creak Aug 2, 2016
BTW, it would be nice if more people were to set their desktop environment.

There are 349 "vanilla" Ubuntu, but KDE is first in the DE's list. Considering the distributions stats, we should have Unity on top, then a fight between KDE and GNOME.
tmtvl Aug 2, 2016
Quoting: CreakThere are 349 "vanilla" Ubuntu, but KDE is first in the DE's list. Considering the distributions stats, we should have Unity on top, then a fight between KDE and GNOME.

What about people who installed plain Ubuntu and afterwards installed the superior Plasma DE themselves?
Eike Aug 2, 2016
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Quoting: tmtvlWhat about people who installed plain Ubuntu and afterwards installed the superior Plasma DE themselves?

I wonder how many would have installed Kubuntu in the first place. I'm changing DEs without reinstalling as well, though. That's why I have no entry at desktop at the moment BTW: I'm still wondering if I stay with KDE or move to Cinnamon (after... a decade or so?).
linux_gamer Aug 2, 2016
The average number of Linux owners per "Linux game" is crucial. This number is not published, but Valve should be able to generate it.
Creak Aug 2, 2016
Quoting: tmtvlWhat about people who installed plain Ubuntu and afterwards installed the superior Plasma DE themselves?
I thought of that, but I wonder how many people installed Ubuntu and then switched to another DE. It would have been the first version of Ubuntu with Unity, I wouldn't argue, but it's been a couple of years that Unity is coming by default with Ubuntu, so the people know that now and they know that if they want another DE, they'd better get an alternative spin (i.e. Ubuntu-GNOME, Xubuntu, Kubuntu, etc...)


Last edited by Creak on 2 August 2016 at 1:23 pm UTC
coryrj19951 Aug 2, 2016
I actually got the survey yesterday too :P
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