I read on the AlternativeTo blog that Steam is planning to extend SteamOS support to the Asus ROG Ally and other Windows-based handheld gaming devices. I am not too on top of the market for current modern computer game handhelds because I do not personally have a use-case for one, although I am always happy to see how much Valve’s efforts to develop its own gaming ecosystem have benefitted Linux as a whole. Thus, I am not up to date on what Linux support is (if there is any real Linux support at all, that is) for the non-Steam Deck devices. The news update made me wonder whether Steam Deck support for these devices means that more general Linux options may soon follow.
Tag: steam
Microsoft and Valve
A friend told me about the likely ill-founded rumor that Microsoft is preparing to make a serious offer to buy Valve. As I suspected, it does not look like it is happening. One might think in light of the fact that I use Linux instead of Windows, have general criticisms of and personal grievances with Microsoft, and qualified praise for Valve’s Steam, that I would be relieved. Not so! Microsoft buying Valve would make some things much more convenient. For example, I use OBS to record gameplay. If Microsoft owns Valve, I could count on them to do it for me. I also trust that Microsoft would take steps to take the guesswork out of which Steam games are DRM-free. Where do I sign up? (I hope readers see that this is a joke.)
Contributing to Steam-Linux Trends
The Steam on Linux marketshare per Valve's official survey put it at 1.97% for December after hitting 1.91% in November -- continuing a slow upward trajectory seen in recent months thanks to the ongoing success of the Linux-powered SteamOS / Steam Deck ... In turn the CPU results for AMD continue to climb for Steam on Linux use in part due to the Steam Deck. AMD CPUs power 70.5% of Linux gaming systems on Steam.
From Phoronix:
“The Steam on Linux marketshare per Valve’s official survey put it at 1.97% for December after hitting 1.91% in November — continuing a slow upward trajectory seen in recent months thanks to the ongoing success of the Linux-powered SteamOS / Steam Deck … In turn the CPU results for AMD continue to climb for Steam on Linux use in part due to the Steam Deck. AMD CPUs power 70.5% of Linux gaming systems on Steam.”
I did my part to contribute to the positive Linux and Linux-AMD trends. My workstation has an AMD CPU. However, my mini TV-designated PC and laptop, both of which have Steam (although I never really run Steam on them), run Linux with Intel CPUs.
I just participated in the Steam hardware survey
I opened Steam because I am purchasing at least one visual novel while it is on sale. Steam prompted me to ask whether I wanted to participate in the Steam hardware survey. I said yes. I did my part to represent EndeavourOS. But what about my specs?
- OS: EndeavourOS
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core processor (3.60 GH)
- RAM: 32 GB
- Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER
- VRAM: 4 GB
I built my computer in 2020 and decided to go for a budget video card, but I have not had any issues since I have not done anything to tax it. My computer originally had 16 GB of RAM but I upgraded to 32 in 2021.