Just over 5% of Steam gamers use a Linux distribution.
Every month, Steam publishes what its promoters call the " Hardware and Software Survey ". Quite simply, the aim is to take stock of the configurations used by users of the platform. Why are we interested in this study? Because the platform managed by Valve is nothing less than the number one in PC gaming, with 30 to 40 million simultaneous players and many more active accounts. Naturally, when a community like this takes stock of the situation of its machines, it's worth taking a look. It should be noted, however, that this information gathering is voluntary: any Steam user can refuse to take part in this vast survey.
Results of the March 2026 Steam survey © Steam
In fact, the published results are sometimes open to question, and it's better to look at long-term trends rather than one-off bumps in the road. For example, January/February statistics are often slightly disrupted by the Chinese New Year. Many Chinese players take advantage of this to play massively, whereas they may not play for the rest of the year. This is partly why, in January/February 2026, we were able to discover an over-representation of Chinese as the language used and Windows as the operating system. With the arrival of the March statistics, the general trend observed since September 2025 is confirmed.
And what a trend it is! Indeed, the operating system's march forward is impressive... even if the Penguin OS still only represents just over 5% of connected machines, this is a fine progression, whereas just a few years ago, the system was simply confidential. Linux is obviously taking market share from Windows, even though Microsoft's OS is still fairly quiet. That said, it's interesting to note that it's also the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 that's pushing some gamers towards Linux: rather than investing in a new PC capable of meeting the demands of Windows 11, users are turning to Linux, which benefits from distributions that are increasingly geared towards video games.
Which Linux on Steam? March 2026 © Steam
SteamOS is one of the best-known, powered by the Steam Deck, but you can also count on the excellent Bazzite and slightly more anecdotal systems such as Regata OS, Pop!_OS or Nobara. The fact is, it's getting easier and easier to play under Linux. So, even if Windows still has a market share of just over 92%, Windows 11 needs to convince users if Microsoft doesn't want to be in trouble in five or ten years' time.
