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The latest Steam Hardware Survey and Linux has dropped down again, but the change is so small it's practically insignificant.

It shows that Linux dropped -0.04% to a total of 0.80%. Now I should remind you that does not mean there are less Linux players on Steam. It's likely that Windows has just grown quicker than Linux has.

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.

The problem is, this type of survey isn't all that good for measuring the operating system, it's more for the hardware side of things. Especially since you can trigger it by changing distro, changing to Windows, Linux or Mac, changing graphics card etc. You also only get it when you login, so if you're logged in for a long time over the period it's done, you will never see it.

So, basically, don't put too much thought into the OS side of it. And ignore anyone who uses that mark as a way of claiming Linux is at it's lowest ever level (no, I don't hate Phoronix, I just think that's an idiotic and uninformed headline from someone who should know better), or Linux gaming is dying or something.

Why do I still bother to cover this? Simple! To shout out the fact that we have our own statistics page you can visit any time, which I just updated so it's nice and fresh for you! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial, Steam
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About the author -
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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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38 comments
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Aimela Jul 3, 2016
Whether the userbase is stagnant right now or not, things are still moving forward for Linux gaming(albeit slowly). If it reaches the point where people find that they can play their favorite and anticipated games on a free platform such as Linux, a big change will happen(and not just in terms of amount of Linux gamers), but that day is not today.


Last edited by Aimela on 3 July 2016 at 4:21 am UTC
Mountain Man Jul 3, 2016
Quoting: aFoxNamedMorrisGood to know you understand the concept of proportional mathematics, Liam. Too many people put too much faith or value on numbers, not considering the bigger picture or the context.
I think Valve needs to remove the OS count from their hardware survey since it confuses too many people.
Erikcht Jul 3, 2016
I use video card from AMD. And after upgrading to Ubuntu version 04.16 LTS no more proprietary drivers for this version.
It would only change the driver for the MESA opensource version (should be so) happens that many games can not be ok if behaving the opensource driver MESA. beeping whenever I'm not using the proprietary driver.

Another thing, in my case I have two plates of integrated videos (one for energy saving in the Intel case and one for video rendering if AMD) and Linux can not force the use of video rendering via AMD is not using AMD's proprietary software that forces the use of this. No support will this on Ubuntu.
Akamanah Jul 3, 2016
1) Send one survey in 3-4 years for GNU/Linux users
2) Have 0,8%
3) ?????
4) PROFIT!
0aTT Jul 4, 2016
As long as Windows is preinstalled on almost every new PC or laptop, it stays an uphill battle for Linux.

Equip the children with Linux boxes.
cakesale Jul 4, 2016
I really hope people see the significance of Linux and start to embrace it. It truly is a better OS. Gaming, when supported, is better. I have been Windows free for some time now and I feel good without it. Thanks to the developers who care about gaming. Thanks Liam and co :D
Mountain Man Jul 5, 2016
I miss some of my Windows-only games, but I don't miss Windows.
vlademir1 Jul 7, 2016
Really Valve needs to do a full userbase survey at least once a year and their shown stats need to also include logged play time per user per month month by OS and average gross purchase value per user per month by OS at the very least (both stats we know they already track per user).
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