Linux gaming just hit a major milestone — is Windows in trouble?

Reported on by VideoCardz, the latest Steam Hardware Survey shows Linux reaching 3.05% of all Steam users for the first time. That is up from around 2% this time last year, which is a solid jump for a platform that has historically struggled to crack mainstream gaming adoption.

Windows has seen a small decline, dropping from roughly 95% to 94.84% of Steam users. macOS currently sits at 2.11%, which is slightly higher than I expected, given macOS isn’t particularly known for gaming.

Linux still has a long road if it hopes to become a true competitor to Windows in gaming. However, milestones like this suggest that more players are paying attention, and the conversation around PC gaming operating systems could be shifting.

What’s driving Linux’s gaming surge?

SteamOS now accounts for roughly 27% of all Linux installs on Steam. This is an impressive achievement and reflects how the Steam Deck continues to bring more players into the Linux ecosystem without needing them to actively choose it. It is still going to take a long time before Linux can make any meaningful dent in Windows, but momentum is kind of building, albeit slowly.

Microsoft’s ongoing AI push, the end of life for Windows 10, and several unpopular user-experience decisions could encourage more PC gamers to explore alternatives. Linux is also becoming surprisingly performant in certain titles, and it already delivers strong results on handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and even the Xbox Ally.

RELATED: How to install SteamOS on your Windows handheld

The Steam Deck is not hitting Nintendo Switch 2 sales numbers, but it has still sold millions since launch. It is also widely respected in the space and continues to be a reference point every time a new handheld PC arrives.

SteamOS is not perfect, though. Many competitive multiplayer games rely on kernel-level anti-cheat systems, which Windows supports, and that means some players avoid SteamOS if their library includes titles that require it. For everyone else, SteamOS remains a strong option for handheld gaming.

For players who mostly enjoy single-player games, indie titles or do not play many competitive multiplayer games, it is hard to ignore how far Proton has come. Proton allows Windows-only games to run on Linux, and nearly 90% of games on Steam now work on Linux in some capacity. Not every game runs perfectly, but the fact that most of the Windows library is playable shows how far Linux gaming has progressed in a short period of time.

Is Windows in trouble? Not yet

Windows is still by far the dominant platform at almost 95% share, and Linux hitting 3% does not threaten that position any time soon. Still, it does show a real shift in momentum.

That momentum may be one of the reasons Microsoft is paying more attention to gaming on Windows. The introduction of the Xbox Ally, which runs a stripped-down version of Windows with a more console-like interface, is the closest partnership we have seen between Windows and the gaming ecosystem so far. It is not perfect, and it still feels like a beta for what could eventually be a polished gaming-first Windows experience, but it shows Microsoft understands it needs to adapt.

The question is not whether Linux overtakes Windows soon, but whether rising gamer frustrations and a rapidly growing handheld market can give Linux its biggest opportunity yet.

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