Valve has updated its Steam Hardware and Software Survey for December 2025, raising the Linux market share from an initial 3.19% to a record 3.58%. This adjustment highlights growing adoption of Linux for gaming, driven partly by the Steam Deck. Windows remains dominant at 94.23%, with macOS at 2.18%.
Valve's revision of the December 2025 Steam Hardware and Software Survey marks another milestone for Linux gaming. Initially reported at 3.19%, the Linux share now stands at 3.58%, an all-time high, while Windows holds 94.23% and macOS 2.18%. The update addressed discrepancies in languages and data totals, adding distributions like Debian 13, Linux Mint 22.1, Fedora Linux 43 Workstation Edition, and Ubuntu Core 24, which replaced Ubuntu Core 22.
Among Linux users, SteamOS Holo 64-bit leads at 26.32%, followed by Arch Linux 64-bit at 9.54%, Linux Mint 22.2 64-bit at 7.85%, and CachyOS 64-bit at 7.20%. Other notable shares include Freedesktop SDK 25.08 (Flatpak runtime) at 6.29%, Bazzite 64-bit at 5.89%, and Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS 64-bit at 3.93%. The Steam Deck significantly boosts these figures, with its LCD model's AMD Custom GPU 0405 at 13.37% and OLED model's AMD Radeon Graphics (RADV VANGOGH) at 12.48%, totaling about 25.85% of Linux stats.
SteamOS, the default OS for the Steam Deck launched in February 2022, now represents over 21% of Linux gaming on Steam, built on Arch Linux with a KDE Plasma desktop and console-style interface. It integrates Proton, Valve's compatibility layer based on Wine, which uses DXVK for DirectX-to-Vulkan translation and VKD3D-Proton for DirectX 12 support, enabling thousands of Windows games to run on Linux.
However, challenges persist, particularly with multiplayer anti-cheat systems in titles like Call of Duty and Valorant, which often require Windows-specific access. While Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye offer Linux pathways, adoption depends on developers. Nearly 80% of Linux gaming occurs outside SteamOS, indicating robust growth in desktop and other distributions.
Despite some presentation issues in the survey, such as disordered listings, the data underscores Linux's expanding role in Steam's ecosystem.
