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Update: Canonical are now saying 32bit libraries will be "frozen" and not entirely dropped.

Original article:

Things are starting to get messy, after Canonical announced the end of 32bit support from Ubuntu 19.10 onwards, Valve have now responded.

Speaking on Twitter, Valve dev Pierre-Loup Griffais said:

Ubuntu 19.10 and future releases will not be officially supported by Steam or recommended to our users. We will evaluate ways to minimize breakage for existing users, but will also switch our focus to a different distribution, currently TBD.

I'm starting to think we might see a sharp U-turn from Canonical, as this is something that would hit them quite hard. Either way, the damage has been done.

I can't say I am surprised by Valve's response here. Canonical pretty clearly didn't think it through enough on how it would affect the desktop. It certainly seems like Canonical also didn't speak to enough developers first.

Perhaps this will give Valve a renewed focus on SteamOS? Interestingly, Valve are now funding some work on KWin (part of KDE).

Looks like I shall be distro hopping very soon…

To journalists from other websites reading: This does not mean the end of Linux support, Ubuntu is just one distribution.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Steam, Valve
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doomiebaby Jun 22, 2019
guys! this just in - microsoft is buying canonical and adding win32 support, mhmahahaha. alright i'll stop posting. .w.
rustybroomhandle Jun 22, 2019
Ubuntu as a desktop choice for a lot of users was so rooted in Steam's support of it, that if Valve decided to make SteamOS into a desktop focused all purpose distro, some might even start running that as a main desktop.
v3ntox Jun 22, 2019
Will the Proton/Steamplay be cancelled next ? and just back to basics i guess...we'll see.
finaldest Jun 22, 2019
Well that was fast but not unexpected.:O

I think this will turn out to be a great opportunity moving forward as Valve are unlikely to make the same mistake again in relying on a single distro. Whatever distro they decide to choose will be going onto my Acer Predator (AMD) laptop but I do hope (personal bias) they decide to support a rolling disro as its easier to get the latest GFX drivers/Kernels.

I have also not seen any mention of Valves VR efforts and how canonicals short sightedness could affect this initiative in the short term.

I do hope that the whole community bands together with Valve and create something special that will benefit all of us.

Think positive.:)
einherjar Jun 22, 2019
Quoting: Coolit
Quoting: MicromegasInteresting twitter replies right now from OpenSUSE Chairman Richard Brown to Pierre-Loup Griffais from Valve, pitching a cooperation between Valve and OpenSUSE.

https://mobile.twitter.com/sysrich/status/1142363021605580801

This would be full circle for me as Suse was my first foray into Linux 20yrs ago :)

Mine too. I started with Suse Linux 6.0 when I remember right. Then I was very long on Suse and switched to Ubuntu about 2 yeas ago.
I did it, because most things (inluding Steam, Spotify, etc) just worked very well out of the box.
And here is the problem. openSUSE is not well known nor widely spread. And Canonical even pisses on the Manufacturers who brought Ubuntu on their machines (e.g. Dell).

So even if openSUSE would be a good choice, it is really sad and much harm to Linux is already done. It will last years, to get that ok again - if it will be ok again.

In the past lots of people gave Linux several chances. May it be according to Steam machines or other Linux hypes through computer magazines. But if you give something a try with more than one failure, it is done for you.

The people at MS surely laugh so much, that they are rolling on the floors of their offices.
Eike Jun 22, 2019
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Quoting: TermyBut i highly doubt the alternative will be Debian, much to conservative with new versions. And packing a PPA with recent Kernels and Mesa for Debian seems kind of the wrong way.

Debian already does, it's called backports repository.

I can't compare to other distributions, but IMHO having Debian stable with new-enough drivers ain't hard.


Last edited by Eike on 22 June 2019 at 11:17 am UTC
Prime_Evil Jun 22, 2019
I asked Clem what would happen to Linux Mint - would they drop multiarch support in Mint 19.3 or would they keep it until Mint 20 because the distro's base is built on the 18.04 LTS. Here's his reply in full:

QuoteIt’s a very good question but it’s a little bit soon for us to answer. It definitely means there won’t be a 32-bit version of Mint 20, but we’ll do everything we can to ship functional versions of Steam, Wine and popular 32-bit libs and applications. I can’t answer this without first knowing whether Ubuntu will address these issues, but I can confirm these are important to us and we’ll make sure they’re not overlooked.
TheSHEEEP Jun 22, 2019
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Quoting: Leopard
Quoting: TheSHEEEPToo bad, really. I doubt Canonical will stick with their decision, since Valve not moving away from 32bit pretty much guarantees most gamers won't use newer Ubuntus any more.
Seems like we will have to drag along the 32bit legacy even longer. *sigh*

I don't understand that comment , really.

You're implying that is a bad decision but then also saying 32 bit legacy will stick on even longer.

When i look at your profile , it says you're dualbooting with Windows. So you also want MS to kill 32 bit support which will end miserably like Ubuntu's proposal, same games are also 32 bit on that side? Or just asking it on Linux side? Don't you have any 32 bit games?

Killing 32 bit compat is not something MS will do like Canonical does ; without a solution at all.
I simply look beyond a few personal inconveniences at the bigger picture.
And the bigger picture is that progress requires sacrifice. Can't play some games/use some apps anymore? So be it, if that's the price to pay to finally get rid of old stuff like 32bit for good.
Of course, if I couldn't play pretty much any games any more due to Steam not working, well, that would be more than just an inconvenience, it would make linux as a whole not viable to me.

Therefore, Canonical deciding to move forward becomes rather pointless if other important developers don't follow. And Valve announced that they won't, as did some others, so there we go...
I think this would require a concentrated effort, and that's just not something the Linux space is easily capable of. The Sum Of All Egos....
Vardamir Jun 22, 2019
Alan Pope did some testing, and it does not look good. I guess Canonical will reconsider this decision.
kean Jun 22, 2019
Time to make a Valve Linux and focus purely on desktop/gaming experience. I would even pay for it if everything works well. I have a lot of sound issues in Ubuntu however I have a high end soundcard on my MoBo, I have to use my mobile to avoid killing my friends eardrums.
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