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Linux reaches new massive peak in March 2026 Steam Hardware & Software Survey
- Thread starter analog_future
- Start date
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
I know several who run Linux but they all also have Windows as a backup.
The Mad Draklor
Member
I would give it another 2 months before we can make out a trend. Granted, Linux eclipsing 10% among Steam accounts that use English is very significant.
I wonder how Tim Sweeney is taking this news...
I wonder how Tim Sweeney is taking this news...
analog_future
Banned
Topher
Identifies as young
Since I'm using Nvidia, that's currently where I am. Primary partition on my computer is cachyos. I have a 500mb SSD installed with Windows solely for games that have such a performance gap on Linux that makes it silly to not play on Windows. Thankfully those games are getting fewer and fewer.
Tams
Member
Normies don't care and the Linux community is incredibly autistic.
ReyBrujo
Member
Been using Linux since the early 2000s, I've always used proprietary drivers for graphic cards (all the way back to the 64MB Riva TNT) and never had a problem, however I don't game so I can't say whether there had been advances in the Nvidia drivers or not. Frankly speaking right now there are only two pieces of software that "common" people run in their computers: a browser and games. Most stuff has gone web already (whether you stick to old Microsoft Office 03 or not). Even CAD software now runs on web browsers. So ironically the only reason game makers don't focus more on Linux is because gamers don't switch from Windows. It's a catch-22 situation and Valve's new cube won't modify that, it's basically a "console" so people will continue keeping their Windows PC with them.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
You CAN run Office or other apps on the web but I'm not sure why you'd choose to do that if you actually have to use them for anything serious. It's always going to be flakey compared to the Windows/Mac versions.
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
The general trend is worth watching but month to month variations probably less so.
The 5% might be more accurate but it is hard to tell - even discounting the Feb data it would seem something would have to have changed in their methodology rather than actual usage to explain the jump from Nov/Dec 2025 to Mar 2026.
twilo99
Member
It sucks for a lot of other reasons as well
analog_future
Banned
The general trend is worth watching but month to month variations probably less so.
The 5% might be more accurate but it is hard to tell - even discounting the Feb data it would seem something would have to have changed in their methodology rather than actual usage to explain the jump from Nov/Dec 2025 to Mar 2026.
Apparently the February data was bugged, so if you look at the long term trend outside of that, ~5% makes sense. Going to be interesting to see how things continue to grow in the coming years.
ReasonBeing
Member
I would be interested to see if this holds true over the span of a few months, but the stats speak for themselves. MS better make their handheld variant of Windows a better place to play, or it will continue to swing in Linux's favor.
phant0m
Member
Hope this is a wake up call for MSFT to knock it the fuck off with their anti-consumer shit and forced Copilot that no one asked for. We have massively more powerful computers than we did 20 years ago and W10/W11 feel less responsive than XP because of all of the internet connected bullshit and background nonsense
I guess worst case they don't and gaming keeps growing on both Linux and Mac.
I guess worst case they don't and gaming keeps growing on both Linux and Mac.
phant0m
Member
I haven't run Windows in my house for almost 2 years - 5800X3D / 7900XT on Bazzite
Runs 90% of what I want to play with zero issues. The rest I just play on console instead.
Sonik
Member
nemiroff
Gold Member
"This is the year of Linux" have officially become the "Full Self-Driving is coming next year" of the software world. Always promised, perpetually twelve months away. But I'm sure it's different this time
But tbh/serious, I wouldn't mind if it became a household OS. Especially now when Europe is aiming for more independence from the US/Microsoft/Google etc with stuff like Euro-Office gaining traction. There will definitely be some kind of boosting happening to Linux these days.
FF:Enhanced_Reality
Member
I swapped Microsoft for Linux about two years ago and I've never looked back. I love Linux Mint and I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for an alternative.
Hudo
Gold Member
The only games that don't run on Linux are those with kernel-level anti-cheat and/or kernel-level DRM. And those games shouldn't be bought and played in the first place. Games have no fucking business requesting kernel-level access and users shouldn't grant it. It's just bad engineering for a problem that should be solved on the server side (anti-cheat) or via better service and fairer pricing (DRM).
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analog_future
Banned
Right. Virtually all SP games work excellently on Linux, and the vast majority of MP games do too. Arc Raiders, Helldivers 2, Diablo IV, World of Warcraft, Fallout 76, Counter-Strike 2, Marvel Rivals, PUBG, Overwatch, Rocket League, The Finals, etc.. etc.. etc.. all work great. There's only a few (admittedly huge) titles that don't, like Call of Duty and Battlefield.
BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
I want to get into Linux but it always seems like a pain in the ass.
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Unknown?
Member
That would kill their stock, they cannot admit AI and copilot are not needed/wanted. They have to go full force forward or implode their basket full of eggs.
Durin
Member
It's not that bad, but the pain points are similar to jumping to MacOS, in that it has different conventions to do the same basic things vs Windows that you have to learn.
Also with Linux, you can either run into compatibility issues for hardware, or learn what open-source apps that make that hardware work.
It's why I do think gaming distros like Bazzite, CachyOS or PikaOS are actually great, because they bundle a lot of that stuff in for you, so on the welcome installer you can get basic apps with one-button installs like Heroic to install GoG games, CUPS for just making a printer work out of the box (was easier than windows), various video/audio codecs bundled so any video will just work on the default media player, and stuff like openrazer for that brand of peripherals, etc. It's also trending over time to get easier for new people to use, which I like, and hopefully in summer the Nvidia performance gap will be dead.
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