Valve’s recent Steam Survey shows exciting news for Linux users. In March 2026, Linux gaming on Steam surged past 5%, reaching an impressive 5.33%. This marks a significant rise from just 3.5% at the end of 2025 and even lower figures in previous months. For context, Linux gaming was around 1% before the introduction of the Steam Deck.
What’s driving this growth? It appears Valve’s adjustments to Steam China numbers played a part. Simplified Chinese language use saw a sharp decline of 31.85%, while English use rose by 16.82%. This shift indicates changing user preferences on the platform.
Interestingly, around a quarter of Linux gamers are now using Steam OS, thanks in part to the custom AMD hardware powering the Steam Deck. AMD’s CPU popularity on Linux remains strong, with nearly 70% of Linux gamers relying on AMD products. This is largely due to AMD’s support for open-source drivers, which makes it a preferred choice for many users.
Windows, meanwhile, lost some ground, dropping to 92.33% market share, a decline of 4.28%. MacOS also saw a slight rise to 2.35%, but it remains far behind both Windows and Linux.
Recent data reinforces the growing interest in gaming on Linux. A trend observed in social media indicates that more gamers are sharing their switch to Linux platforms, often highlighting the benefits of open-source gaming and the flexibility it offers.
To sum up, March 2026 has been a landmark month for Linux gaming on Steam, showcasing a clear upward trend that could redefine the gaming landscape in the coming years. For more details, you can view the full Steam Survey results here.
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