Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
I've been used to Linux usage in single digits for years. Before you get too excited, Linux hasn't cracked a double-digit market share on the global desktop scene. However, two metrics that could have a meaningful impact on the future rise of Linux's popularity.
First, Steam on Linux is inching closer to 2%. The first month of 2024 saw Linux reach 1.95% for Steam usage, which is almost back at the open-source OS's highest point of 2.0%. That climb dropped a bit in February but then climbed back up to its current percentage of 1.94.
That's the overall numbers. If you go with English only, it hits a high of 4.66%. To get an idea of the actual numbers, according to Valve, as of March 2022, there were 132 million total "monthly active users," which would equate to roughly 2,640,000 Linux users.
But Steam wasn't the only Linux metric to see a climb. According to Statista, the percentage of Linux usage on Steam with AMD processors was 33.66% in December of 2023.
Fast forward to now, and Phoronix states that number is now 72.10%. Compare that to Linux users with Intel CPUs at 27.9% and the picture becomes quite clear.
Of course, these numbers reflect gamers and not average users. According to Statcounter, the Linux desktop market share is holding steady at 4.05%. That is the highest market share Linux has seen to date.
Hopefully, if gaming on Linux continues to rise, we'll finally see it hit double-digits within the next five or ten years.
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