New Steam statistics showed a sharp increase in the number of Linux users. Over the year, the share of gamers on systems with the Linux kernel increased by 64%, reaching 3.38%.
The growth is not driven by Steam Deck alone. Although Valve's portable console occupies a large share of the market, the share of SteamOS has declined in favor of regular desktop distributions. New users are installing Linux on PCs and laptops instead of buying a ready-made device.
Reasons for the migration: aggressive Copilot AI integration, ads in the Start menu, and intrusive updates make Windows "hostile" for many gamers. In response, Linux offers control, privacy, and game compatibility through Proton, which allows Windows games to run without performance loss.
Windows still remains the leader with 95% of the market, but Linux's growth shows that Microsoft's monopoly is not eternal. If Valve releases SteamOS as a standalone system, it could become a real revolution. The penguin will finally spread its wings and learn to fly.
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