It peaked at 4.05% in March. The last 2 months it went just below 4% as the Unknown category increased. For June the reverse happened, so 4.04% seems to be the real current share of Linux on Desktop as desktop clients were read properly/werent spoofed.
I see multiple posts on reddit everyday asking for advice for migrating to linux. I think linux userbase is increasing a lot since Window’s questionable recall announcement.
And the valve steamdeck But some people install windows on it which defeats it’s linux purpose
I feel like both “people who install windows on the steam deck” and “people asking for advice for migrating to linux on reddit” are just vocal minorities which you encounter on the internet but don’t really influence the Statcounter’s results in a meaningful way. Generally (from my view) it’s the kids who got a steamdeck for xmass and the coders who use ubuntu for work influencing the numbers.
Nevertheless, Valve’s work with proton has pretty much crushed the argument that Windows is needed for games. That use to be a major sticking point, preventing people from leaving Windows - but now not so much.
If you play games that requires anti cheat It’s gonna be harder to switch
Also vr support
Halflife alyx?
There’s some other good ones too, but fair point
I just found out halflife alyx is windows only but maybe proton
VR as a whole is pretty borked on Linux so far.
A lot of mods are also windows locked too.
Nexus mods is working on a Linux client which is really exciting! Also Steam Workshop works on Linux. This covers a ton of use cases.
Not saying everything is 100% perfection, but it’s easier than ever to switch, and only getting easier.
I imagine “Windows locked mods” would probably also benefit from just disconnecting the internet and keeping it set up just the way one likes it, since MS is gonna drop Win10 soon.
That’s the case with WMR VR headsets. Sadly don’t see those getting cracked to work on Linux any time soon. :(
I just saw the news for Nexus mods like 20 minutes after I posted that. Hopefully it can be integrated well soon.
But yes, over time, things will continue to get better. Even Nvidia finally started working on open drivers for their GPUs.
Almost all anti-cheats work on linux or offer linux integration or builds. It’s the scummy unethical publishers who run the typical games that uses anti-cheat who refuse to pay engineers to make the minimum effort to support linux. Because it would undermine some of their bullshit claims used to manipulate their players. Fortunately for some people like myself, the typical game that requires anti-cheat is not a game they would want to play anyways.