Is it to be less reliant on Microsoft and to create a more open system for their marketplace and gaming?
Is it to be less reliant on Microsoft and to create a more open system for their marketplace and gaming?
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Cuz linux go vrooom.
open source, free, gaben himself uses linux, gives better performance
valve started the steamOS project when microsoft announced that with windows 8 all the apps and games would be downloaded through the MS app store
so yes their intent is to stop being reliant on microsoft, and if through that they can also get steam into the living room then that’s a huge win too
Microsoft can just say “you can only download the microsoft store in your eindows machine” and there is absolutely nothing valve can do about that. Linux is their backdoor if microsoft goes rogue and tries to lockdown the windows ecosystem to themselves
Microsoft creates dependency and introduces random instability. By creating their own OS they remove competition from other game launchers selling you a game and eliminate random issues creating by Microsoft while gaining market insight on hardware for creating their own games and selling that data to developers. If your business is selling games and you created something where gog , epic games store, EA games are gone wouldn’t you invest in it.
Sell more games.
Linux is faster, but it’s also used a lot on mobile systems — so having a strong OS optimized for gaming means they can use it on Steam Machines, portables, etc.
Open source. And at this point allot of games run better on Linux than windows so maybe they understood this would be the case early on when windows announced all games were to be downloaded on ms store around the time of windows 7 8. They don’t wanna rely on a another ecosystem to sell their games. And why should they, screw Microsoft.
I am desperately looking for a windows alternative.
Need to decide between bazzite and drougr.
Any advice for someone like me?
Bazzite kicks ass, it’s still got some Linux quirks, but everything runs so much smoother than windows because it doesn’t absorb processing for random BS like cortana
Minimizing dependency on other tech giants. (like Microsoft mainly)
Also increasing profits (because free and open source without licence requirements) and increasing performance and customization options (which a device like Steam Deck seriously needed).
Basically he just wanted his own OS, and instead of putting even more money and time into one that he builds from ground up, he chose Linux because it’s basically the same outcome, but saves a bunch of development cost.
To simply not have their store front be dependent on one platform.
If Windows does something that pushes people away or ruins their experience, having an alternative is ideal. So ensuring Steam Games can work regardless of what you install them on is a good call.
Wouldn’t be surprised if after Linux is done we’ll see Mobile and Apple products next.
Just more flexible. You don’t have to rely on Windows licenses, which means you can offer a gaming environment yourself without having to deal with Microsoft’s arbitrary decisions. Long-term, the value is basically the whole market. You get Linux dominance, and suddenly people will just go with SteamOS out of pure convenience.
Linux is already better for most people (assuming they learn how to use it as their first OS), since few people use specific software that doesn’t work on Linux (and that is usually just a work thing, so you don’t necessarily need access to it on your home system anyways). And if Steam can make anti-cheat support on Linux a widespread thing, there’ll be almost no reason for casuals to default to Windows.
If SteamOS replaces Windows, Valve will profit by shipping their Steam Store on those machines.
Now there are handhelds besides XBOX and PlayStation. They earn most of their money with their game stores. If SteamOS becomes the dominant OS for handhelds, they will make a lot of money with Steam.
The same way Google is the default search engine on iPhones and Firefox. Google pays billions for this.
It has nothing to do with openness. Steam is a massive moat for Microsoft Windows, and for Valve too as a co-conspirator. It doesn’t have to be.
Valve started working on this when Windows 8 launched and was dogshit. They realised that they couldn’t rely on Microsoft to always provide an OS that people want to use, and they got to work on SteamOS. It’s all an effort to get PC gamers to be no longer reliant on Windows, for the benefit of Stream.
Would be great if we could ditch Windows with a Steam OS
I mean, with the upcoming Windows 11 debacle, I will be navigating my gaming PC to Linux. I can’t be alone.
you just answered your own question
Windows is expensive to put on a gaming console and also bad for performance on gaming consoles so it made sense just to just make a optimised Linux distro.
Another side effect is that it completely removes Microsoft (arguably their main competitor) from the market unless MS ports gamepass games to Linux which they obviously won’t
Like many others said, it’s a move to not rely on Microsoft (and other tech giants)
Imagine Microsoft doing what Apple does on their iPhones/iPads locking everything down through their store all while charging the industry “standard” of 30% for “hosting” 3rd party comment. It becomes a huge issue when there is not a realistic option to compete without having to lose 30% off the top just to have access to a 10’s of millions customer base.
That’s the end game steam has now avoided by pushing Linux. Microsoft had been rapidly pivoting in that direction for years. (Windows 8 forward forcing more and more through their sub par Microsoft store.)
At least now steam has some negotiation power if and when Microsoft goes full anti compete demanding all or nothing from Steam going through their store.
Let’s be clear, left unchecked, that’s exactly what Microsoft (or any company) would do since it’s massive profit increase while simultaneously limiting any real competition to challenge those profits.
to bring more compatibility to linux, and competition is good. steamos currently is kicking windows ass in performance,
Access to MacOS
Erm….money lol, they want steam in as many places as possible
I probably wont ever get windows again on any future PCs I build with the amount of progress linux made in gaming. which is great, because windows is just an ad platform at this point.
Make emulation really efficient so they can merge and eventually engulf consoles.
Back when windows 8 was new, Microsoft announced they wanted to close their OS so only apps installed through the windows store would work. To be on the windows store, you’d have to pay Microsoft.
Gabe felt like this was risky. He didn’t want to be held hostage like that, and you gotta remember he left his position at Microsoft to create Valve back in the day.
So, that’s why. Gabe didn’t want Steam to become limited by Microsoft like that.
Less reliant on Microsoft, more control over the user experience.
basically to have a backup plan (and maybe hoping for it to the main one).
if steam games only worked on Windows, they’d be dependent on Microsoft, and they don’t want their whole business depending on a third party company
its probably because valve isn’t fully trusting microsoft also its far easier to tailor linux for gaming handheld devices than windows is. Valve was able to build steam os from ground up cant probably build os based on windows like that unless you are microsoft
I feel like Mint really doesn’t belong there. If you want a gaming distro that’s Debian based, the guys over at PikaOS are doing a great job
You’re seeing it. The steamdeck. Valve is so rich that getting linux more gaming friendly is a drop in the bucket for them.
You answered your own question.
Vulkan too…
Because Gabe is not short sited, he understands that linux is just superiour to windows, build by community and not by corp, is open source and free. You migjt be willingly giving Your data to MS with win11, but it is a big deal breaker for lots of people. I have more on the topic, if You would want to debate
>Is it to be less reliant on Microsoft and to create a more open system for their marketplace and gaming?
Yes, that’s literally it. Gabe Newell was famously not a fan of Windows 8 but more importantly, the Microsoft Store and Xbox PC because it was a threat to Steam.
Valve’s investment in Linux gaming over the last decade is to secure their future in case Microsoft ever does anything, for example, anti competitive, that hurts Steam.
Because remember, Microsoft itself is also heavily invested in the gaming industry with Xbox and a crazy amount of games and studios they own. Taking that into account, I don’t think Microsoft is happy about Valve’s PC storefront being so much more successful than their own PC storefront on their platform. Essentially, Valve has built their house/business on another company’s property that is trying to destroy them. Basically, Microsoft is Valve’s landlord, so understandably, Valve wants to move away from Microsoft and shift to an open platform like Linux.
Additionally, Valve wants to break into the console/handheld market and make couch gaming easier for their already existing customers, which is why they created SteamOS, the Steam Machine, and the Steam Deck. They want to have a lot of SteamOS OEMs, just like Windows and Android. The Lenovo Legion Go is just the first OEM of many to come. Making SteamOS an open, easily accessible platform is the best way to get new customers like console and handheld gamers to buy Steam games.
I Recommend reading this Articles and Watching the Video about Gabe Newell at Linuxcon to get a Better explanation
[Article from 2012 About Gabe Newell Stance on Windows 8](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18996377)
[Newell says TV PCs to compete with
consoles](https://www.gamesradar.com/living-room-pcs-compete-consoles-gabe-newell-says/)
[Gabe Newell, 2013 at LinuxCon](https://youtu.be/yeCuasjxsWk?si=oB1y-X3CGfBIzlMD)
to break microsofts huge and over reaching market dominance people don’t use windows cause they want to as much as have to cause they dont know any different if valve can make a linux transition more seamless for normies that’s great fort competition. i do however concede and appreciate the irony of discussing market shares when valve, a de facto monopoly, is involved.
If Linux became the main platform for gaming due to valve.. windows would lose a lot of its current user base.
Doesn’t Linux also have lower overhead so games can, theoretically, run better than the same PC running windows? Or is that just a myth?
I’m on the verge of moving to Bazzite because of some god awful BSoDs that have been happening after I did the Windows 11 upgrade. The only thing that is stopping me is Nvidia driver support for Linux still isn’t that good.