Linux Fares Worse After Valve Backs It

It was easily three years ago when Valve, the owner and operator of Steam, decided it was going to fully throw its weight behind Linux, the operating system time forgot. While not commercially successful due to lacking any real support and being heavily reliant on a user’s own ability to code and maintain their software, Linux is a very versatile operating system with a dedicated following and is arguably one of the “good guys” in the software world. Steam’s commitment to the Linux was so profound that it even opted to give the Steam Box, their PC-powered consoles, a Linux-based operating system.

So, after converting their game libraries and upgrading their client, has Steam successfully bolstered gaming’s affection for the Linux?

No. In fact, according to Steam’s latest Hardware and Software survey, the number of Linux users on Steam has actually dropped less than one percent, or .94% to be exact. Now, to be fair, it was never exactly rolling in numbers here—beforehand it was sitting at a meager 1.05%, so it only dropped by .09%. Still, when you’re dealing with such small numbers, even a few dozen people make a gigantic difference. Unsurprisingly, Windows is doing the best with 95.81%, while OS X users are sitting at 3.26%.

So, it appears as if Valve’s support doesn’t count for much, but frankly, that’s probably not their fault to begin with. No one who wants to game gets a Linux-based system to begin with, and even Steam’s libraries aren’t exactly overflowing with Linux-compatible games. Plus, Linux is, again, not a OS good for casual users—and that high barrier of entry certainly isn’t any better with Valve’s love and support.

Regardless, Valve isn’t about to stop supporting Linux, and as near as I can tell the Steam Machines will still operate on that piece of software. If that helps improve numbers is anyone’s guess, but if for some reason you own and operate a software-based gambling ring… I wouldn’t bet on it.