Great news for gaming diversity and open-source enthusiasts! Valve's December 2025 Steam Hardware & Software Survey has revealed something truly exciting: Linux gaming has reached its highest share ever, climbing to an impressive 3.58% of all Steam users.

This achievement represents a significant milestone in the evolution of gaming platforms. While Windows still dominates at 94.23%, followed by macOS at 2.18%, the steady upward trajectory of Linux demonstrates that gamers are increasingly embracing alternative operating systems and that the barrier to entry for Linux gaming continues to diminish.

The revised figures, which Valve updated after correcting some initial data inconsistencies, paint an encouraging picture of a thriving and diverse Linux gaming ecosystem. What's particularly heartening is the variety of distributions gamers are choosing, showing that there's truly something for everyone in the Linux world.

Leading the charge is SteamOS Holo, Valve's own gaming-focused distribution, which accounts for 26.32% of Linux users. This isn't surprising given the popularity of the Steam Deck handheld gaming device, but what's truly exciting is the rich diversity beyond that. Arch Linux users represent 9.54%, while newcomer-friendly distributions like Linux Mint (showing strong growth at 7.85%) and Ubuntu (3.93%) continue to welcome new gamers to the platform.

The survey also highlights emerging stars in the Linux gaming space. CachyOS has captured 7.20% of Linux gamers, while the immutable gaming distribution Bazzite has attracted 5.89% of users. These specialized gaming distributions demonstrate how the community is innovating to create even better gaming experiences on open-source platforms.

Perhaps most encouraging is that the Steam Deck, while certainly contributing to Linux's growth with its AMD Custom GPU appearing in 13.37% of Linux systems, isn't the only story here. The diversity of distributions and the growth across different flavors of Linux shows that desktop Linux gaming is genuinely thriving on its own merits.

This growth reflects years of dedicated work by countless developers, the gaming community, and Valve's own investment in technologies like Proton, which has made thousands of Windows games playable on Linux. It's a testament to what's possible when open-source communities and industry leaders work together toward a common goal.

For gamers considering making the switch, these numbers should be reassuring. A growing user base means better support, more attention from game developers, and a vibrant community ready to help newcomers. The data shows that Linux gaming isn't just surviving—it's genuinely flourishing.

As we move forward, this upward trend suggests a future where gaming isn't locked to a single platform, where users have genuine choice, and where open-source solutions can compete on quality and performance. That's something worth celebrating, regardless of which operating system you call home.

The gaming world is becoming more diverse, more accessible, and more open—and that benefits everyone who loves to play.