It’s actually second now.
Linux now has more steam users than MacOS
Which, as an ex MacOS user, is a mindboggling fact it took this long.
I guess people just trying to do things with what they have. I had a friend who plays LoL on a Mac. She also used Steam on it but there were very few games.
I was in that camp as well. Personally, if gaming got better on Mac I’d go back in a heartbeat. If you have a specific title you like that’s support it’s really nice, but anything else is a layer of compromises to get things up and running :/
Aren’t modern Macs literally not able to run games due to them being arm?
ARM isn’t the problem. Some games have native ARM ports, and x86 games can be run by Rosetta. It’s not as fast as native, but broadly comparable with the performance of the previous gen Intel chips they replaced.
A bigger problem on macOS is that they dropped support for 32-bit software a few years ago in Catalina. Not a problem with newer games, but it decimated Mac users’ Steam libraries.
And the biggest problem is that Apple just doesn’t give a shit about gaming. Every few years, they claim they’re going to do games, but quickly forget about it. They’ve never put decent video cards in Macs, and never hesitate to throttle hardware if proper cooling would mean a larger enclosure, so AAA games typically arrive on macOS years late, when second-rate or integrated video cards can run them.
If they actually cared, they’d have their own Vulcan implementation. Instead, they’re focused on their own proprietary Metal API.
Basically, Apple and AAA game studios have been ignoring each other for decades.
so AAA typically arrive late
that’s IF they arrive at all. Many studios/publishers just don’t care about lower hardware anymore. If it doesn’t run on current day hardware they don’t release it for it. Especially with Linux and Mac. The best time to get a release for the the two would be release day, after that it’s diminishing results
I firmly believe that with the move to ARM, they gutted macos gaming capability past the point of no return. You used to be able to say that you could run compatibility layers on it but, the new architecture makes it super hard to do so. Even virtualizing it via VirtualBox is a pain in the butt on the new system. I’ve just been telling customers if you want any type of gaming support, choose anything but the new macs.
It depends, actually. You can stack translation layers to take things from x_86 -> Arm and stuff intended for Windows -> MacOS. Depending on your solution sometimes you need to use Microsoft’s x86 translation layer and some times you use Apple’s.
This takes a pretty big hit tho. And for a long time DX12 was an issue, but with Apple’s release of the GameDev porting kit (intended for developers) you could now do play those titlss through a WineBottle. Many users did this (myself included) and I think commercial products like CrossOver are able to have the same functionality. Playing D4 on my base m1 was kinda wild.
It’s honestly kinda fun if you like tinkering, but not ideal if you care about raw performance. Ultimately tho, my Linux system is just easier now, but if I get curious if I can run a game on the thinnest laptop I own I reach for my Mac.
Even if it’s Steam Deck, this just goes to show that desktop Linux is totally viable; it just needs more commitment from companies
A stable ABI wouldn’t hurt either though
… Yes, but realistically the work to make the Linux ABI “more stable” can probably go to use elsewhere
desktop Linux is totally viable
I think this shows the opposite.
If a FREE option that claims to be more efficient/faster (but usually isn’t in real life) is less than 2% of the market, something is wrong. Very, very wrong. Since when do people turn down free stuff, unless that free item is that bad?
Because the vast majority of computers come with Windows preinstalled, and the vast majority of users can’t be bothered to update their OS unless they’re forced, let alone reinstall something else. I’m fairly certain the numbers would be very different if there were a significant number of blank laptops on the market, let alone ones shipped with Linux.
Yeah! That thing almost nobody touches because it’s literally just there to run a proprietary storefront and act as a translation layer for games is totally going to win the desktop!
Just next year!
For the last twenty-five years or so.
Lol steam Deck is already on the edge of not being able to play new AAA console titles. There will be a few ten thousand left who will feel like there is value in buying a second.
This is the new Steam Link. They’ve probably lost millions internally.
Maybe 10 years from now if they keep pumping massive money into it but it’s certainly not even close to comedically viable.
Valve sold out of steam decks for multiple production runs now. And other companies are now investing in handhelds after seeing the success of it. Steams intention with the Deck was to kick start the handhelds market and make SteamOS the default operating system for that form factor. I don’t know if they profit from the deck directly but i definitely have bought more games since owning one.
Not to mention that most people have a favorite game they go back to that runs on older hardware, AAA certainly makes up a very small percentage of my gameplay
tbh most AAA game are not worth playing the last AAA game i bought was cyberpunk. i’d rather get a game with good performance, gameplay and story than one that just looks pretty and is buggy as hell
I dunno if it’s because i played cyberpunk later than everyone else or something but i quite liked it
it seems i got really lucky i played it at release and had bearly any bugs and since i don’t jump onto the hypetrain i to enjoyed it
If you try to run any new AAA title on any current handheld you’re going to have a bad time and bad battery life IMO. I think you could even extend this to modestly old gaming rigs that already struggle badly with poorly optimised new titles.
I see the Deck praised often for its emulation capabilities and indie game performance - and to be honest those aspects are appealing enough to me if I was interested in buying another portable computer.
This is the new Steam Link
Out of curiosity, what makes you think this?
I doubt this is the case as thin client gaming accessories are a very niche product, and the Deck hardware is grossly overqualified in this regard IMO
It’s always hilarious when kids with no knowledge talk about Valve’s hardware. Like… none of it has ever been developed to make money. Steam makes so goddamn much money they’re literally just pissing around with R&D because it’s fun.
No, the #steam deck is just an attempt to secure their longevity if #Microsoft tries to kick them from #windows.
The steam deck is also a way to get people to buy more games.
Kick them from Windows? You mean “piss off literally every game developer, publisher, and player to the point of antitrust lawsuits from multiple entities.”
But go on being literally insane with conspiracy horseshit.
Anything I have a challenge running at a good frame rate, I’ll just locally stream from my PC. 60fps all day long with the power of anything my PC can run. Don’t sleep on that local game streaming, super handy and sips power.
Math don’t add up, Linux would be second because whatever else would only have 1.83.
Second place baby!
But second place wasn’t looking so saucy like the medal biting guy
Also works for Reddit vs lemmy user count
I like to think we are in fact happier here than on Reddit.
Even if it was all gamers, that’d push a lot of companies to care about Linux a whole lot more. Venn diagram of people who spend a lot of money in tech stuff and people who play games is almost a circle nowadays.
I’ve worked in server-side systems development for over a decade, in all sizes of company, and Linux has been ubiquitous on the server side for ages: it’s simply the most problem free way of maximizing the hardware you have, not to mention cheaper (both upfront and TCO).
It’s only on the desktop that it’s not.
I meant companies that make apps for desktop, like Adobe.
I don’t even think Valve really care about Linux. At least not in the same way that Linux users care about Linux.
They just care about getting the costs of Steam Deck down, and don’t want MS to go mental and pull the rug from under their business model.
I’m surprised by how much of my Steam library would work on the Deck, tbh. Out of nearly 1300 games, 407 are verified, and 931 are verified and playable. Be nice if you could stream the rest (either from your own PC or an external provider), but Geforce Now showed that was a minefield (I suspect due to exclusive streaming rights already being to sold to someone else) and publishers freaked the fuck out, despite it being none of their business where I run my purchased games.
They care about Microsoft not 100% controlling access to the platform Steam customers use. Valve cares about Linux because they need an escape strategy if Microsoft ever locks them out.
I thought they were going that way with Windows 11 S that prevented you using anything other than the MS Store, but it turns out you can just switch S mode off.
It would be mental for MS to do it. Their desktop dominance hinges entirely on people still being able to run the last 30 years or so of wonky old software.
S mode is in 10 also. I work for a MSP that recommends virtual desktops to our clients, so we often have to help users connect from their home PCs. It wasn’t a ton, but enough people were locked in S-mode we all had practice walking them through disabling It, because it blocks our remote control app also if in s made.
I’ve only found 2 games out of my library so far that don’t work
You can stream from your own PC. They have remote play and Steam Link for android.
I actually feel sorry for that first placed kid on the picture: he formally won but clearly feels beaten by the sheer enthusiasm of the 3rd place one.
[Relevant]
Linux is life
Linux is Shrek?
Knowledge is power.
France is bacon
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When you get a slice of the pie AND enjoy the mental/karmic benefits of doing the right thing.
I like this meme format
I wish I had his energy tbh
As much as #3?
Truly a Linux moment
I love this. Happy with whatever at hand.
Wait, If Windows is 96.21% and Linux is 1.96%, then MacOS is 1.83%?
Wouldn’t that make Linux 2nd place?
Before opening the comments, I spent several seconds contemplating if I should mention this, or if people would think I was some pedantic nerd dickhead and downvote me to hell. Glad someone else already covered this.
We still think you’re a pedantic need dickhead, but we upvote you for that!
Is that counting steam decks?
Yup
Does SteamOS count as Linux? How about Android?
Yes, SteamOS does count as Linux. Android does not. The Android and iOS Steam app is just for social features / store, not for playing games so neither show up on the survey.
SteamOS Holo, which is what the Steam Deck uses, makes up 42% of the Linux systems in the survey results.
Wow 42% is actually a lot less than I had imagined
Which OS is #2 then? MacOS is now behind Linux.
Windows 11 is #2
😬
Does SteamOS count as Linux?
Why wouldn’t an Arch branch not be Linux?
How about Android?
Completely irrelevant because Steam games don’t run on Android.
There is a Steam app for Android so I figured that would count…
The Android and iOS apps don’t actually run games, they’re essentially just the store and community tabs + SteamGuard. The hardware survey explicitly exists to tally up what kinds of hardware is actually being used to play games on Steam, so that’s why it’s not counted.
Why wouldn’t an Arch branch not be Linux?
Because it’s Valve’s own OS. They might consider being first-party sufficient reason to not to lump it in with its third-party cousins.
It’s based upon the well established distro Arch, and thus still considered Linux. A distro is basically the Linux kernel with pre-installed packages. SteamOS only adds another layer of packages unto Arch afaik.
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Yes, I know how Linux works.
The poster above asked for a reason why steamOS might be considered separately to other sisters, and I gave them a possible one.
The terminology is off then. Different distro’s is not regarded as entirely new OS’s, they’re still Linux. E.g. SteamOS (if anything) is Steam’s distro, not Steam’s OS. I’m not trying to nitpick, only explain.
Wot
Who does Number 2 work for?
