It’s easy to forget that the Steam Deck is not just a PC gaming handheld, capable of playing the best Steam Deck games, but also a powerful desktop PC. And like with any desktop computer, the Steam Deck runs on its own operating system, which according to Valve, has overtaken macOS as the more popular choice.
The Steam Hardware and Software survey always reveals fascinating tidbits about the gaming platform’s user experience, and this month is no different. The Steam survey findings for July 2023 revealed that Linux has overtaken macOS as the preferred operating system with Steam users. While Windows will always reign supreme, with 96.21% of Steam users using a Microsoft-based operating system, 1.96% are now using some variation of Linux. While this isn’t a huge margin by any means, a 0.52% increase on the previous month is impressive nonetheless, and beats out macOS with its 1.84%.
It’s also not entirely unsurprising that Linux has had an increase in its Steam user base. Last month, all three models of the Steam Deck went on sale. The Valve handheld has its own operating system, SteamOS, which is based upon Linux. So it’s more than likely this increase in usage is down to the many Steam users now enjoying their brand new handheld device.
As spotted by GamingOnLinux, it’s likely we’ll see this trend go down come the next survey, especially now that a lot of the Steam Deck models keep selling and the sale is no longer active. Despite that, it’s still great to see more users discovering why the Steam Deck is one of the best PC gaming handhelds out there.
With Baldur’s Gate 3 Steam Deck compatibility making Valve’s handheld all the more enticing, it’ll be interesting to see if the Linux user base on Steam will continue to rise. Check out the Baldur’s Gate 3 system requirements if you’re opting to play the epic RPG on your Windows-based gaming PC instead.