Linux surpasses the Mac among Steam gamers

This is actually awesome to see. Sadly the main thing holding Linux back is still just momentum. And for a lot of people MS word. Even if the free suites are pretty good nowadays.

There are many things which are holding mass Linux adoption: hardware comparability, too many distros, hard to find and install software (no one cares about your package manager), lack of proprietary software, the list goes on. A lot of that could be resolved by third party developers, but Linux is a moving target and software development is a nightmare.
- I was on Slashdot circa 1998 and people back then kept saying mainstream adoption was right around the corner. Meanwhile, 25 years later, the core barriers to entry have yet to be addressed. But Linux is gonna hit the mainstream any day now!
  
  I think the reason for that disconnect is that what a typical Linux user wants is very different from the mainstream desktop user. Linux users want flexibility and freedom, and they don't mind getting their hands dirty and doing a little research to get there. They're also patient with setbacks because they believe in FOSS and their privacy.
  
  Now, the Steam Deck's success, I think, happens in spite of Linux. It's a closed environnement with a very specific target hardware, so none of the usual problems with a desktop distro are gonna show up. And I'm not even sure that many Deck users realize they're running games on Linux, to be honest. The Steam wrapper is really its own thing.
  
  I do wish Linux would make serious headway in the desktop space... It's just frustrating to see that, 25 years on, the main strategy remains crossing fingers and whispering "any day now."
- Don't forget accessibility. Vision, motor, etc. sorry but the state of most of that is not so good right now.
- Linux is a moving target
  
  Could you clarify what you mean with this?
The main thing holding linux back is a lack of federal contracts.

Until schools are issuing Linux machines to staff and students. Until military outposts are run on Linux servers. Until your average federal employee is being issued a Linux machine, Linux will always be 3rd place.
- Schools are handing out Linux to students...just not GNU/Linux; a lot of schools opt for Chrome OS which uses the Linux kernel.
  
  Linux is already the market leader in every computing segment except desktops (even mobile when you factor in Android.)
- And why are federal contracts being issues out for Linux for general users? Because of lack of Ms office
- I figured they just meant that people in government jobs don't like change.
  
  No MS office, no sale!

Honestly Apple sucks for not providing proper support for video games. People buy 3k usd laptops and can't run videos games on it because of lacking software. I don't understand how anyone with get invested with their VR when the hardware will be held hostage to whatever the overlords find it fit for.

Apple has absolutely cornered the mobile market, so that’s probably why they don’t seem to be in any hurry to seriously support the PC gaming space.

They tend to focus hard on niches they can overcome, and PC/console gaming is a little too established for them to stick their toes in. They tried with the Pippin and the pre-Halo era of gaming, but it didn’t work out for them.

If the Apple headset takes off, they may start pushing harder for VR game support, but who knows?
- Apple has absolutely cornered the mobile market
  
  Is this even true? I thought more people used Android phones?
  
  Perhaps you mean in the US, I hear things are different there.
- Apple has absolutely cornered the mobile market
  
  Can we finally get a proper linux alternative to ios and android? I was researching on linux mobile last week and from what I've found it's infinite times harder to get it to work than a linux pc. I just want a cheap, basic foss phone as a daily driver.
They provide lots of support for video games. Graphics support, controller support, everything you’d need
I bought my Macbook for working not for playing. Don't think anyone who buys a macbook cares that much that they can't play on it (which I am pretty sure is not true but I don't care to check how many of my steam games runs on it)

also if you can drop 3+k on a macbook what is dropping another 500 on a PS5?
- I agree with you that it's great for work. I got a MacBook with Apple silicon for $2.5k and it's been great. The games isn't that big a deal because A) i have a desktop computer with Linux and can run 98% of games just fine and B) with parallels you can run a lot of Windows games on Mac. Darkest Dungeon for example I play through that
  
  My main complaint is I can't install Linux on the laptop yet. I know Asahi Linux is working on it but it's not quite there. It'd be like putting an old engine in a sports car. So I'm stuck with MacOS for now. Not ideal but better than Windows.
  
  Having said all that, a PS5 is not a proper replacement for a PC. Most of the games I play are all strategy games.

I'm curious how big of a dip there was with macOS when they fully dropped 32 bit support. I'm just one person but a lot of the games I played through steam were older 32 bit games. I don't think I've opened steam on my Mac since that update.

Portal 1 was ported to macOS to celebrate that release, and now I’m pretty sure you can’t play it on M1 Macs. Speaks volumes…

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Apple's macOS has been the second most popular operating system on the Steam game distribution platform for a long time, but that has now changed.

Linux has surpassed macOS for the number two spot, according to Steam's July user hardware survey.

Steam regularly asks its users to give an anonymized look at their hardware, and the company makes the information it gathers available each month.

The Steam Deck was first released a while ago, but it only became widely available without a waiting list last October.

It worked with game publishers to see high-profile releases like Resident Evil Village and No Man's Sky in recent months, and those games run pretty well on modern Macs—certainly better than similar titles on Intel-based Macs with integrated graphics chips.

It also announced a new gaming porting tool in an upcoming version of macOS that works in some ways like Proton, as seen on the Steam Deck.

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Apple has never taken gaming seriously. Their new M chips are not going to hang with dedicated graphics cards in a gaming pc, but they are also not a slouch. Many games will run well. And Nintendo proves you can make fun games on modest hardware. Imagine if the had spent the $1-2 to include a game controller with every AppleTV. They could of built an ecosystem. They need a VP level person to push gaming.

Sure you can, but you must have quite an audience for devs and publishers to care enough to make and optimize games for your platform. Apple does not have it on Mac side as they are too pricey in terms of what they offer performance wise in case of games.

You will get a Windows laptop with much better performance for less money and most gamers (those interested in AAA games at least) usually care about the price, only a niche buys those Alienwares for 10k (and they on the other hand want the best of the best, which Apple also does not offer as their GPUs are at best around 3060/3070 level).

I don't see Apple changing the price structure anytime soon, so I don't see their market share changing. With current pricing they are too expensive for an average gamer and are not at the top of performance charts for a rich gamer.

Honestly, with the success of the steam deck, I would've thought this would've happened quicker

I think people underestimate just how many windows users are on Steam. Even if the Deck sold 5x more than they expected it still wouldn’t make a huge dent in the number of windows users.

Hopefully over time that changes though.

TIL that you could game on a Mac

and there was much rejoicing!

So does this mean there are 12 Linux users to Mac's just 10? Lol

That's what it feels like, though I'm sure there were at least a few dozen.

The Mac?

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