The Steam on Linux marketshare ended 2024 with a 2.29% against Windows at 96.1% and macOS at 1.61%. The Steam Survey numbers for January were posted this evening and they show a sizable dip for the Linux gaming use but there are also other odd discrepancies with the updated monthly figures.
The January 2025 Steam Survey results show Linux dipping to 2.06%, a 0.23% decline over the month prior. Apple’s macOS dipped 0.21% down to 1.4% and Windows icnreased to 96.55%.
Where things get odd though is that the January results show the English language use dropping by 8.17% down to 33.97%… Most other languages dropping too and no explanation where the 8%+ usage went from the English use. Typically when we see odd swings in the overall marketshare, it tends to be from a major uptick in Chinese use skewing the figures. But the January figures also show a slight dip to the Simplified Chinese use… So with language declines across the board and English down by 8%, it’s not clear what is happening with at least those numbers and if it’s affecting the accuracy of the other metrics.
When looking at the Steam Linux-only stats, it shows a 1.5% decline to SteamOS Holo use down to 34.9% for that Valve Linux distribution powering the Steam Deck. Debian Linux sees a significant uptick putting it on the board now and other Linux distributions seeing slight movement.
Further making the January figures looking questionable is the “AMD AMD Custom GPU 0405” GPU showing a 9.7% decline in use this month. That AMD custom APU is what powers the Steam Deck.
The Steam on Linux CPU marketshare showed a 4% drop on the AMD side taking it back to a 69% marketshare.
Something appears off with these numbers given some of these odd discrepancies, but at least the Linux marketshare is remaining above the 2% threshold even if being under-counted for the moment. These numbers are also still better than year-over-year where for January 2024 Steam on Linux was sub 2%.
Those wanting to dig through these latest Steam Survey numbers can find them on SteamPowered.com.
