I really hope they release Steam OS for everyone soon. I'd love to install it on my laptop, currently running ChimeraOS which is functionally very similar, but would love to have the stuff like tdp control working in the overlays too without needing third party tools or workarounds.

They’ve done such amazing work for Linux. Linux gaming wouldn’t be the same without them.

Now we just need an open source steam client and they will be the literal proof that companies can contribute to GNU/Linux and still stay on top.

It does, but as a result we can now set up Linux on other machines and play a huge range of games. This removes one of the main obstacles for many people with Linux.

Love the Deck. I actually finish games with retro or pixel art aesthics with the deck compared to my PC or consoles. The pick up and go aspect and the smaller screen helps me keep coming back to it instead of abandoning it.

The deck has a lot to do with it whether people are playing on it or not. It's the thing that's made them make the big push into supporting games on Linux, which applies to other distros than just the Steam one.

It automatically uses Proton for titles that Valve has whitelisted as compatible. To play anything else you need to check a box in the settings. Honestly, it should probably just be checked by default.

I noticed that wine/dxvk/proton works better than many native Linux versions. This is usually because the game studio does not think Linux is a priority and ships a half-assed implementation. Better to use the optimized version through wine/proton/dxvk.

The post says ~42 % is Steam OS

Actually its only 44% steam decks!

@cipherlab @pnutzh4x0r Nonetheless, it's quite the achievement. That's exactly what Linux needs: visible, tangible and reputable hardware that's ostensibly better than the competition. It's great to be flexible, but you still need to have a face.

Less than that though they are a large slice.

Most Windows and practically all Mac instances are preinstalled by the hardware vendor. There are very few companies selling preinstalled Linux gaming machines other than the Steam Deck. I expect they might be a majority of new Linux steam users for some time as they are by far the lowest entry cost in terms of hardware, prerequisite technical knowledge and time.

Many gamers who dabble with Linux are still taking the path of least resistance and dual booting for gaming. Linux first people like myself will continue to grow in number but as long as it is a DIY thing realistically we will always be a few percent at best as most people want a simpler out of box gaming experience.

Steam still runs on Rosetta2. They just gave up and aren't even trying anymore, probably thanks to apples hostility to them and no Vulkan