Windows remains the number one operating system for PC gamers, but the rise of Linux is very real.
Published every month, the Steam surveys provide an opportunity to take stock of the configuration used by PC gamers. Of course, it's important to take a step back, as this is a voluntary exercise: it's easy to imagine that many users refuse to reveal information about their configuration, and Steam doesn't specify the number of returns made each month. That said, given the millions of connected gamers, we can only hope that it paints a relatively accurate picture of the PC world.
Linux represents just over 3% of PCs connected to Steam © Steam
And there's one very interesting thing this month: for the first time, the Linux operating system has surpassed the 3% user mark. To be precise, 3.05% of machines connected to Steam run Linux, all distributions included, up 0.41% on last month. This puts Linux well ahead of MacOS, which gained 0.34% over one month to establish its market share at 2.11%, again all versions of MacOS included.
SteamOS is the number one Linux distribution on Steam © Steam
Of course, Linux is still a long way behind Windows, which crushes the competition with 94.84% market share, including 63.57% for Windows 11 alone, which is gradually replacing Windows 10 (31.14%, down 3.94% over one month) among gamers. The fact remains that the rise of Linux has been observed for several months now, and can be attributed to a number of factors: a certain degree of tiredness on the part of gamers in relation to Windows, but above all to the growing simplicity of gaming under Linux, thanks to tools such as Wine and now Proton. The latter is developed by Valve, which also owns the Steam platform and, with its Steam Deck handheld console, has launched the SteamOS system. With 27.18%, SteamOS is the number one Linux distribution among gamers.
