Linux sees growth on Steam thanks to continued adoption of SteamOS

The October 2025 Steam hardware and software survey shows that Linux gamers have surpassed the 3% threshold for the first time, while Windows' share dropped by almost 1%.

According to the new data, Linux user share rose by 0.41% to hit 3.05%. This growth comes at the expense of Windows, which dropped 0.75 percentage points to 94.84%. macOS also saw a bump, rising 0.34% to 2.11%. This trend has been visible for some time, likely accelerated by the end-of-support for Windows 10, pushing more users to experiment with alternatives.

Based on GamingOnLinux Steam Tracker, the primary driver for this growth in Linux users is the Steam Deck. The handheld, which runs on SteamOS Holo, remains a top 10 global seller on Steam and accounts for the most significant chunk of Linux users at 27.18%.

The rest of the Linux landscape shows significant fragmentation. Arch Linux holds second place with a 10.32% share. The survey also reveals considerable movement, with notable new entries for Linux Mint 22.2 (6.65%) and CachyOS (6.01%). Interestingly, Flatpak runtimes, such as the Freedesktop SDK, are now appearing in the breakdown, alongside other gaming-focused OSs like Bazzite.

Valve has not provided an updated monthly active user (MAU) count since 2022, but even based on that old figure, the Linux user base would be well over 4 million. Given the millions of Steam Deck sales since then, the actual number is likely higher.

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