Steam data reveals PC gamers shifting from Windows to Linux
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Switched rest of the house to Linux due to win10 bullshit. Not going pretend like this is something that everyone can do but if you can do it for yourself, it takes only on Linux zealot per household
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Switched to linux (popos - so far so good) this month because fuck microsoft. yeah, some things arenāt perfect or require extra steps (modding, usually) but fuck microsoft. Fuck their AI shit, fuck their ārecallā spyware, fuck their CEO that babbles about AI while laying off thousands of workers.
Iām a long-time Linux hacker and Iām currently running Pop! OS on my laptop and dev box. Itās the best distro Iāve found yet that Just Works
(but naturally still allows for all the customization I might want).
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Honestly, I kinda suspect the tariffs are speeding this up. I recently upgraded my desktop due to the suspicion that prices are gonna go bonkers shortly and since I was basically rebuilding it anyway, I went ahead and switched my last windows PC to Linux. Been a lot smoother than I had suspected, highly recommended.
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Iām a long-time Linux hacker and Iām currently running Pop! OS on my laptop and dev box. Itās the best distro Iāve found yet that Just Works
(but naturally still allows for all the customization I might want).
Iāve also run mint and ubuntu, but this was very smooth.
The only problem so far are I get a crackling in my headphones in at least one game (guild wars 2), and Iām not sure how to diagnose that. One of the related problems of windows being so dominant is the internet is full of SEO slop for windows problems
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Microsoft is already responding to the potential shift. The upcoming ROG Xbox Ally X handheld from Microsoft and ASUS will reportedly ship with a gaming-optimized version of Windows 11 with a dedicated Xbox UI and interface that aims to streamline the experience while boosting in-game performance and overall handheld efficiency.
Given how much Microsoft wants to shove AI tools every where in Windows, I donāt think this optimisation will make much of a difference.
Given the popularity of the Steam Deck, the Xbox handheld would have to come free with the purchase of any Xbox exclusive game to stand a chance in that sphere, I think. The fact that itās Win11 immediately turns me off and I say this as someone who still uses Windows.
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I put KDE plasma on my elderly Momās surface laptop. She uses it mostly for organising photos, and sheās loving it. She complained that windows always āmesses with her settingsā. If she gets it, you can too.
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Iām doing my part! Moving to a new country in a few days, part of the prep for that was to ditch my Windows desktop and Iāve been setting up a Linux laptop. Arch with KDE Plasma is so far the most enjoyable experience Iāve had with an OS
Iāve tried at various times to switch to Linux in the past. Iām enough of a turbo nerd youād think it would have been easy for me but it was never quite there for one reason or another. This latest attempt though hot damn itās all smooth sailing. Iāve even converted one of my friends to Mint and making progress convincing people who donāt want to use Windows 11 to just make the switch
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Steam has over 132 million monthly active users
That month on month Linux expansion is ~422,000 computers. That is a shitload of people switching in just a single month.
OSes are sticky as hell. People donāt like switching. As Linux attracts these people away from Microsoft, MS is not going to get them back. And importantly, the adoption rate is high enough that many 3rd party companies are taking notice and releasing for both.
OSes are sticky as hell. People donāt like switching.
Every time they buy a new device they have to switch back to linux, because that device with very few exceptions ships with MS.
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Iāve also run mint and ubuntu, but this was very smooth.
The only problem so far are I get a crackling in my headphones in at least one game (guild wars 2), and Iām not sure how to diagnose that. One of the related problems of windows being so dominant is the internet is full of SEO slop for windows problems
Easy effects (flathub) helped improve my sound a lot
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Iām a long-time Linux hacker and Iām currently running Pop! OS on my laptop and dev box. Itās the best distro Iāve found yet that Just Works
(but naturally still allows for all the customization I might want).
really? I found the customization for Pop/COSMIC extremely limited.
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MS is not going to get them back
Until they want to play a multiplayer game with their friends, that doesnāt work because of Anti-Cheat. Or maybe Linux is a bit more involved than they initially realized.
Most of those that switched probably wonāt go back, but I think with Linux itās going to be more than someone might think (however itāll still grow, especially over the coming months with Windows 10 support ending).
Until they want to play a multiplayer game with their friends, that doesnāt work because of Anti-Cheat
Itās my understanding that anti-cheat CAN work in Linux and does with some games. The point is still valid of course. If a specific game someone wants to play doesnāt work, thatās going to be a frustrating experience. But still I foresee the percentage of Linux gamers will continue to grow. And gaming companies increasingly making sure to use anti-cheat software that does work with Linux, as that market share is becoming too large to ignore.
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really? I found the customization for Pop/COSMIC extremely limited.
Like I said, it allows for what I want. I donāt need to āriceā a setup that Iām trying to use to Get Shit Done. These days, the only time Iām rebuilding Linux from scratch is when Iām literally building an OS for a project.
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Iāve also run mint and ubuntu, but this was very smooth.
The only problem so far are I get a crackling in my headphones in at least one game (guild wars 2), and Iām not sure how to diagnose that. One of the related problems of windows being so dominant is the internet is full of SEO slop for windows problems
I find Ubuntu to be buggier than it used to be, and snaps are inherently broken.
Mint stands between Ubuntu and Pop! OS, but is still fiddlier than what I want for a daily driver.
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Wonāt miss those years tweaking Windows to uninstall or disable bloatware and malware. I donāt mind if more or less people migrate to Linux, Iām just grateful to those who are making and improving such amazingly good distros.
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Microsoft is already responding to the potential shift. The upcoming ROG Xbox Ally X handheld from Microsoft and ASUS will reportedly ship with a gaming-optimized version of Windows 11 with a dedicated Xbox UI and interface that aims to streamline the experience while boosting in-game performance and overall handheld efficiency.
Given how much Microsoft wants to shove AI tools every where in Windows, I donāt think this optimisation will make much of a difference.
And if we take this as an actual attempt at a better handheld experience, then this is just further proof that competition breeds better products for consumers.
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As people already stated in the comments, this may not be a permanent change for some (they find out something like destiny 2 refuses to work on Linux without bans, some other tools needed for certain use cases are not there yet or windows only), but I think is super important people understand there are alternatives, and not only windows or Mac. Hopefully gives more people awareness that something else is out there. And would be really cool if we had more of the user base that is on the verge to throwing away the machine because of windows 11 restrictions and instead, gives machines a second chance.
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11% of 2% is nice but not āfucking crazyā
At that rate we reach 100% Linux users in 34 months. (50% in 27)
Iād call that quite significant.
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At that rate we reach 100% Linux users in 34 months. (50% in 27)
Iād call that quite significant.
⦠what rate are you talking about?
I am going to assume the other personās numbers were right but it honestly doesnāt matter
422k people per month? That is 0.3% per month.
2.89 + (0.3*34) = 13.09
. 13% after almost 3 years. Which⦠that honestly still seems high but I could almost see it if SteamOS gets enough coverage by the various influencers and runs on every handheld form factor gaming PC that isnāt MS or Sony branded. And if the next attempt at Steam Machines actually gains traction and they take over a chunk of the console space ahead of the PS6.Or are you talking about compound interest? Which⦠I think even Activision and EA would call you crazy for assuming. Also I am not sure if the math actually holds for that either but I can never remember the simple math to represent that.
Also it is completely unrelated but Iāll just add: I personally donāt consider SteamOS gaining a significant market share to be ālinuxā any more than I do Android or consider Mac to be āBSDā. Yes, they have common ancestry (and varying levels of shared kernel and libraries) but it rapidly starts creating walled garden issues as developers prioritize one distro over the other to an obscene degree. And⦠I think we can all agree after the past few weeks that GabeN can indeed do wrong when it is in his/Valveās financial interest to do so.
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Anyone know if CP2077 runs better on Linux than Windows?
By much? With HDR?
Sorry for the drive by comment, but this is like the one game my 3090 canāt quite handle to my satisfaction. Iāve thoroughly disabled the thing from rendering in Linux and donāt want to undo all that⦠But if I could get like another 10% over Windows, that would be incredible. Even 5% would be awesome.
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Steam has over 132 million monthly active users
That month on month Linux expansion is ~422,000 computers. That is a shitload of people switching in just a single month.
OSes are sticky as hell. People donāt like switching. As Linux attracts these people away from Microsoft, MS is not going to get them back. And importantly, the adoption rate is high enough that many 3rd party companies are taking notice and releasing for both.
What do you mean OSes are sticky as hell? Iām currently on Arch, but only because of the AUR. Iām thinking of switching to gentoo because people keep putting malicious packages on the AUR so I might as well do gentoo