Linux Surges Past 5% Install Share in Latest Steam Hardware Survey
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Linux usage on Steam jumped to 5.33 percent in the March hardware survey, marking a notable single-month increase and comfortably outpacing Mac, though Windows still dominates the market.
The latest numbers from Valve are in, and they bring an intriguing movement for PC platform preferences. According to the March Steam hardware survey reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, Linux usage jumped to 5.33 percent of the total install base. This marks a notable 3.10 percent increase from February, when the open source operating system sat at 2.23 percent. While hardware surveys can fluctuate and are not entirely bulletproof, this bump pushes Linux comfortably ahead of Mac, even if Windows still maintains a massive dominant lead at 92.33 percent.
A closer look at the data shows that the Linux ecosystem remains decentralized. Different distributions share the ecosystem quite evenly, with Arch Linux leading the charge at 0.34 percent, followed closely by Linux Mint and Ubuntu Core variants. Much of this ongoing momentum is naturally tied to the continued success of handheld gaming devices like the Steam Deck, which run on Valve's own Arch-based SteamOS and have normalized Linux gaming for millions of players who previously only touched Windows.
Of course, nobody should call time on the Windows era just yet. Windows 11 and Windows 10 still command the vast majority of gaming setups, and past monthly surveys have shown that Linux adoption tends to move in unpredictable waves rather than a straight upward line. Still, seeing alternative operating systems gain genuine ground is a positive win for player choice and open platforms. For those tracking the broader health of PC gaming, it is another sign that the monopoly of traditional desktop operating systems is slowly facing more diverse competition.
Tags: Linux, Steam, PC Gaming, Valve, Hardware
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun