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Steam now has over 3,000 Linux games available

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It's official! Steam has hit another milestone for Linux games. We now have over 3,000 Linux games to fill our time with. The exact count for me right now is 3,008!

I know, quality over quantity, but with quantity we get the possibility for more good games. I have hundreds in my own Steam library and 99% of them are great.

We've recently had Civilization VI, next week we have HITMAN and next month we have DiRT Rally! So there are some great titles still to come even this early in the year.

I know we have many more great releases due this year too, some big and some small. It really is going to be a fantastic year for Linux gaming. Cossacks 3 even has a release date now, which should be good for strategy fans!

With Valve planning to remove Greenlight in favour of Steam Direct, this could slow down a bit depending on the amount they set for developers to pay to get each game on Steam. Especially free games, they will likely see a slowdown.

Have you picked up anything really good lately? Let me know in the comments! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial, Steam
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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30 comments
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tmtvl Feb 11, 2017
Quoting: KimyrielleFallout 4

I thought you said "Quality Games"? You may have misspelled Fallout: New Vegas.
Kimyrielle Feb 11, 2017
Quoting: tmtvl
Quoting: KimyrielleFallout 4

I thought you said "Quality Games"? You may have misspelled Fallout: New Vegas.

*throws a shoe*
Philadelphus Feb 11, 2017
Interesting that a mere two years ago, at the end of 2015, [Steam only had 2,964 games altogether](https://twitter.com/Steam_Spy/status/804072335997358084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), and now here we have 3,000 on Linux. :)

Though the flip side is, simply having more games doesn't necessarily mean more games I want to play, nor does it include some games I do want to play. But hey, as long as they're making someone happy, that's fine with me. :)
Kimyrielle Feb 11, 2017
Quoting: PhiladelphusInteresting that a mere two years ago, at the end of 2015, [Steam only had 2,964 games altogether](https://twitter.com/Steam_Spy/status/804072335997358084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), and now here we have 3,000 on Linux. :)

Though the flip side is, simply having more games doesn't necessarily mean more games I want to play, nor does it include some games I do want to play. But hey, as long as they're making someone happy, that's fine with me. :)

Unfortunately, that's true. Of the 3,000 games, roughly 2,500 suck very extremely hard. Indie development has brought us gems like Prison Architect and Stardew Valley. But also a lot of people who can barely code Hello World suddenly thought they could be the next game development star and published their drivel on Steam because nobody stopped them. That's actually a huge problem these days, because it's getting harder and harder to find the few good games in the mountain of drivel.
1xok Feb 11, 2017
Quoting: KimyrielleUnfortunately, that's true. Of the 3,000 games, roughly 2,500 suck very extremely hard. Indie development has brought us gems like Prison Architect and Stardew Valley. But also a lot of people who can barely code Hello World suddenly thought they could be the next game development star and published their drivel on Steam because nobody stopped them. That's actually a huge problem these days, because it's getting harder and harder to find the few good games in the mountain of drivel.

But it's the same for Windows on a much more larger scale. So many scrap games that will never appear for Linux. ;)

Many of the indie games are adorable. For example Typoman which was released on Friday. Some games are also a matter of taste. For example Sky Break. This gets rather negative reviews. But I just like the graphics and the gameplay as it reminds me of Phantasy Star Online.

Not every game is a hit. But even weaker games have their moments. I know only a few games that are really garbage. Most are worth their money.


Last edited by 1xok on 11 February 2017 at 11:10 pm UTC
Liam Dawe Feb 11, 2017
Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: BeamboomYou got SEVERAL hundred games for Linux on your account, and 99% of them are what you would describe as GREAT? OK sounds like you're easily pleased then, I must say.

I got around 200 games now I guess (don't remember exactly), and I can easily say 10% are a pure waste of time, 40% mediocre, the rest being what I'd describe as "quite good" or higher. The ones I'd say are "great" would be maybe 15-20%. And that's after I've done a decision on what to purchase.

I mean, let's be honest about the quality ratio here.
Well, yeah, but he's a pro--games is what he does, he talks to game people (both developers and critics) constantly and so on. Probably it's partly that he gets better information before he buys and so only ends up with games that are genuinely to his taste.

Anyway, 3000, woot! and stuff. It does seem like just a couple of months since 2000, this is getting ridiculous.
Out of the 800 Linux-supported games I own on Steam, there really aren't that many terrible ones. I just don't make a habit of buying or testing things that have telltale signs of probably being bad.
etonbears Feb 11, 2017
Quoting: Kimyrielle
Quoting: PhiladelphusInteresting that a mere two years ago, at the end of 2015, [Steam only had 2,964 games altogether](https://twitter.com/Steam_Spy/status/804072335997358084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), and now here we have 3,000 on Linux. :)

Though the flip side is, simply having more games doesn't necessarily mean more games I want to play, nor does it include some games I do want to play. But hey, as long as they're making someone happy, that's fine with me. :)

Unfortunately, that's true. Of the 3,000 games, roughly 2,500 suck very extremely hard. Indie development has brought us gems like Prison Architect and Stardew Valley. But also a lot of people who can barely code Hello World suddenly thought they could be the next game development star and published their drivel on Steam because nobody stopped them. That's actually a huge problem these days, because it's getting harder and harder to find the few good games in the mountain of drivel.

Yep. Steam is a microcosm of the Internet at large. Anyone can say anything ( much of it wrong or, at least, highly opinionated ), publish their music, videos, and selfies, and, of course, turn "Hello World" into an underwhelming game.

Just wait until the other 6.5bn of the global population join in.... :)
Shmerl Feb 12, 2017
I bought Owlboy not long ago, and I'm still in the middle of the game.
Shmerl Feb 12, 2017
Quoting: KimyrielleUnfortunately, that's true. Of the 3,000 games, roughly 2,500 suck very extremely hard. Indie development has brought us gems like Prison Architect and Stardew Valley. But also a lot of people who can barely code Hello World suddenly thought they could be the next game development star and published their drivel on Steam because nobody stopped them. That's actually a huge problem these days, because it's getting harder and harder to find the few good games in the mountain of drivel.

There is GOG for that. I regularly check their release announcements. I don't buy all games that they release, but I buy most of them (I mean ones that come out for Linux). And they are good as a rule.

I suppose Steam is becoming more like itch.io, with barely any filtering of what's submitted. There is some benefit in that too (GOG filtering can prevent some good games occasionally from coming out there). But the downside is of course a huge noise of various irrelevant stuff.


Last edited by Shmerl on 12 February 2017 at 2:38 am UTC
GustyGhost Feb 12, 2017
Quoting: ShmerlI suppose Steam is becoming more like itch.io, with barely any filtering of what's submitted. There is some benefit in that too (GOG filtering can prevent some good games occasionally from coming out there). But the downside is of course a huge noise of various irrelevant stuff.

The various approaches to quality control, by store:

Itch.io:


Steam:


GOG:



Last edited by GustyGhost on 12 February 2017 at 3:32 am UTC
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