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Games: Steam Phone, GNU/Linux Growing on Steam, and Making a "Steam Machine" With GNU/Linux
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#127: I want a Steam Phone now
Hi, hello, and welcome to a new edition of the overkill digest newsletter.
A little PSA before we start. Next week's newsletter will be the last of the year, as I plan to take a few weeks off from writing... well, anything. I have one more review I want done by then, but I have yet to start writing it, so wish me luck!
And in case you are taking notes, I am still using Linux, still playing with Bazzite on my Gaming PC. I have a portable machine coming my way to test for a few months, and here I plan to install Fedora KDE, and see if this experiment is actually viable. If it is, the plan is to buy a laptop and retire my MacBook. I'm currently thinking of an Intel-based ThinkPad P14s Gen 6, though I'm open for other suggestions (I'm aware of Framework already).
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XDA ☛ Linux achieves the highest user count it has ever reached on Steam — again
Last month on the dot, we saw Linux breach 3% of Steam's market share for the first time ever. Given how long Linux has been sitting at the bottom of the rankings without much progress, it was a huge occasion for open-source gamers. With SteamOS's Linux base acting as the beating heart of so many handhelds, combined with the PC gaming market turning to the almighty penguin to see what the fuss is about, it has been a good year for people who enjoy open-source apps.
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For this month, Linux has jumped 0.15% in the latest Steam survey, up from 3.05% to 3.20%. It's the biggest share we've ever seen Linux take in the Steam userbase, and it doesn't show any signs of stopping.
So, how fast is this 0.15% increase compared to records? Fortunately, Phoronix has been keeping a close eye on Linux's position on the gaming platform. Last year exactly, Linux had a 2.03% share. In November 2023, it was at a 1.91% share, and a decade ago, it was 0.98%.
From these numbers alone, you can see just how fast things are going for Linux right now. It took the OS eight years to gain just under 1% of the share, and then one more for a 0.12% bump. Now we're seeing a 0.15% increase in a month. Sounds small on paper, but compared to prior records, it's essentially going at rocket speed.
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Make Use Of ☛ You don’t need to wait for the Steam Machine — you can build your own today
Valve recently announced the Steam Machine, and like pretty much everyone else, I was instantly excited. It sounds like the perfect “console killer”. But once the hype settled a bit, I had a very obvious realization: I already use Linux for gaming … so what’s actually stopping me from building my own Steam Machine right now?
With all the speculation around pricing, and memory prices shooting up again for absolutely no good reason, waiting until 2026 for Valve’s box to drop didn’t feel worth it. Instead of sitting around in limbo, I decided to take matters into my own hands. And honestly, you can too.