Valve's October 2025 Steam Hardware and Software Survey shows Linux usage climbing to 3.05 percent among Steam users, marking a significant milestone for the open-source operating system. This represents a 50 percent increase from a year ago, driven largely by the Steam Deck and improved game compatibility. Windows usage has dipped below 95 percent as a result.
The latest Steam survey, released in November 2025, indicates that Linux now accounts for 3.05 percent of Steam's user base, up 0.37 percentage points from the previous month and 0.4 points from August. Compared to October 2024, when Linux stood at exactly 2 percent, this is a roughly 50 percent jump over the year, though the absolute growth remains modest at just over one percentage point.
Among Linux distributions, SteamOS leads with 27 percent usage, followed by 'other' at 18 percent and Arch Linux at 10.3 percent. Arch's overall share is 0.31 percent. Gaming site Boiling Steam reports that Windows game compatibility on Linux has hit an all-time high, with nearly 90 percent of titles launching successfully by late October 2025. However, challenges persist: some games may launch but suffer from performance issues like lag, crashes, or graphics problems, and multiplayer titles with anti-cheat software often remain incompatible due to their reliance on Windows-specific features.
The surge is attributed to the Steam Deck, released in 2021, which runs SteamOS and has sold millions of units, continuing as a top seller. Valve's Proton compatibility layer has enabled many Windows games to run on Linux. GamingOnLinux estimates that, based on 2022 user figures, the 3 percent share could exceed 4 million users; factoring in Steam Deck sales, the number may be even higher. Steam recently hit a peak of 41.6 million concurrent players, suggesting around 1.25 million active Linux gamers hypothetically.
User reactions on Hacker News are mixed. One commenter noted, 'Almost all modern games work fine through Proton. The only ones that don't work are multiplayer games that don't have anti-cheat support.' Another highlighted easing barriers: 'The biggest barrier to Linux is disappearing: knowing how to use the command line... thanks to large-scale language models.' Speculation includes Valve potentially releasing a Linux desktop, leveraging Steam Deck refinements for gaming and AI development.
This growth predates newer devices like the Lenovo Legion Go S, launched in May 2025 with official SteamOS support, pointing to broader momentum possibly fueled by Windows frustrations.