It finally happened. Linux gamers on Steam as of the Steam Hardware & Software Survey for October 2025 have crossed over the elusive 3% mark. The trend has been clear for sometime, and with Windows 10 ending support, it was quite likely this was going to be the time for it to happen as more people try out Linux.
As of the October 2025 survey the operating system details:
- Windows 94.84% -0.75%
- Linux 3.05% +0.41%
- macOS 2.11% +0.34%
The snapshot chart from our dedicated Steam Tracker page shows the clear trend:
Overall, 3% might not seem like much to some, but again - that trend is very clear and equates to millions of people. The last time Valve officially gave a proper monthly active user count was in 2022, and we know Steam has grown a lot since then, but even going by that original number would put monthly active Linux users at well over 4 million. Sadly, Valve have not given out a more recent monthly active user number but it's likely a few million higher, especially with the Steam Deck selling millions.
And if we look at the distribution breakdown chart from our page:
The overall distribution numbers for October 2025:
- SteamOS Holo 64 bit - 27.18% (-0.47%)
- Arch Linux 64 bit - 10.32% (-0.66%)
- Linux Mint 22.2 64 bit - 6.65% (+6.65%)
- CachyOS 64 bit - 6.01% (+1.32%)
- Ubuntu Core 22 64 bit - 4.55% (+0.55%)
- Freedesktop SDK 25.08 (Flatpak runtime) 64 bit - 4.29% (+4.29%)
- Bazzite 64 bit - 4.24% (+4.24%)
- Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS 64 bit - 3.70% (+3.70%)
- Linux Mint 22.1 64 bit - 2.56% (-5.65%)
- EndeavourOS Linux 64 bit - 2.32% (-0.08%)
- Freedesktop SDK 24.08 (Flatpak runtime) 64 bit - 2.31% (-3.98%)
- Fedora Linux 42 (KDE Plasma Desktop Edition) 64 bit - 2.12% (+0.19%)
- Manjaro Linux 64 bit - 2.04% (-0.31%)
- Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS 64 bit - 1.93% (-0.04%)
- Fedora Linux 42 (Workstation Edition) 64 bit - 1.75% (-0.43%)
- Other - 18.04% (-4.28%)
The numbers are still being massively pumped up by the Steam Deck with SteamOS Linux, which is not surprising considering that the Steam Deck is still in the top 10 of the global top sellers on Steam constantly. And with all the rumours and leaks surrounding the upcoming Steam Frame, which will hopefully be a SteamOS Linux powered VR kit, we could see the numbers just continue to jump higher.
Source: Valve