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As of Tonight, 1900 Steam Games For Linux (phoronix.com)
New submitter KGIII writes: "After a recent Steam change, there were more than 1,900 Steam Linux games listed as Valve ended up including yet-to-be-released Linux game ports. That total including unreleased Linux games is now up to 2,009! But in terms of released Linux game titles available for download right now, the 1,900 threshold was crossed tonight to end out February." It's getting there. All of you gamers might just be able to make the choice to move to Linux soon. It looks like there are quite a few more games coming down the pipe. This is a good thing as it gives gamers more options for their operating system. I imagine this bodes well for the SteamOS project and for the dedicated SteamOS devices.
I know several people who dual boot, and only keep Windows around for game playing. The sooner more people can ditch Spyware 10, the better.
How does this work when one of the chief complaints about Linux is the 3D drivers are so terrible?
(Yes, this is a serious question.)
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
(Quickly scans list....) STILL no Half LIfe 3.
The nVidia OpenGL driver is top-notch. Of course getting a game that uses OGL is another matter.
Steam carries a lot of good games for linux now but there are still a number of big franchises that haven't made it across. I don't think they will make the move until they move to their next major engine release.
That said I suspect that game developers are going to be watching microsofts movements with their push for a windows store again and won't want to be stuck in windows if microsoft starts putting in over the top requirements.
Valve just needs to make HL3 and Portal 3 exclusive for Linux. ;)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Valve just needs to make HL3 and Portal 3
FTFY.
Seriously though, Gabe, get to work already.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
If you are a gamer that wants to know you'll be able to pick up the Big New Thing on Linux... we aren't there yet. That day may come soon-ish, but we aren't.
But if you are someone who is primarily interested in--or at least sufficiently satisfied by--the wide indie game market, Linux has been there for a little while now. Hungry indie game studios generally build with tools that make building for Linux easy, don't build games that hit driver edge cases, and they are hungry for the money the smaller Linux market provides.
I know one minimally technical gamer who uses Linux exclusively for work and games. He's very satisfied by the indie game market. He's an exception... but he's a sign of times to come.
Balrum, Gloiath, And So It Was, Soul Axiom, and Fairies vs. Darklings: Arcane Edition were among the latest Steam Linux game releases. Meanwhile, the Steam Windows game count is at 7,560 and OS X is at 2,900.
It is not hard to imagine 10,000 Windows games being distributed through Steam in the not too distant future.
But there are at least two numbers that matter more that a simple count of games. The first is sales. The second is the breakdown between casual Indie games and the somewhat more ambitious and demanding AA and AAA titles --- another $3 gem-drop game like "Fairies vs Darklings" takes Linux gaming only so far.
That would be the fastest way to make them commercial failures.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
If there was tier one games that exclusively used OpenGL then there might be something to compare. Until Vulcan is mature and many experienced big-budget developers deploying for exclusively Vulcan then there will continue to be nothing fair to compare against.
I will install windows 10 for Half Life 3. I will hate myself, but I'll do it.
I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
In the short term. Maybe not so much in the long term. These things are not so simple.
I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
I switched to Linux as my main operating system when Windows ME came, and stopped dual-booting around the time Vista came. During the past 8 years without dual-boot, I haven't bought a single new game; just played a few old ones in Wine, and a few open-source ones from time to time. But a couple of months ago I installed the Steam client for Linux, and have so far paid for 22 new games in those two months. So I'm definitely one of those customers that simply wouldn't be using their products if it wasn't for their Linux support. I also have many friends who dual-boot Windows and Linux, but only use their Windows install for gaming; most of them still have a few games keeping them on Windows, but seem ready to move to Linux-only in the near future, and that is mainly thanks to Steam. If one thing is gonna lead to much-predicted "year of Linux on the desktop", I think it's Steam.
out of 1900 games, there may be 100 good ones and there may be 10 AAA ones. We dont need many games, we need a few good ones, AAA titles.
In the short term, and in the long term. People will not switch operating systems just for those games. Most people won't even switch given the current size of the Linux catalog. Get it out of your head right now.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
I often get snooty comments from work colleagues about how I'm playing Triple A, or Double A (or some such arbitrary designation of gaming quality) late. Then when some AAA game comes out on Linux I get comments along the lines of "well you haven't got (insert arbitrary game) on Linux"
I am happy with my game collection (177 of 210 games in my library play natively on Linux) and with quality ports coming from companies like Feral on an increasingly regular basis and newer engines like Unreal 4 (and I assume Source 2) supporting Linux natively things can only get better.
I have more than enough quality games still to play I'm currently playing XCom2 and when I want to take a break from that I'm part way through Alien Isolation, SpecOps: The Line and Metro Last Light. When I finish them I'll have Saints Row 4, ARK: Survival Evolved and I may replay Bioshock Infinite since I've got a better graphics card for XCom. I'm sure by the time I've worked my way through those there will be more games available.
This is the other big win for linux gaming, even though it's not direct. You can have a windows box somewhere else in the house and use the steam streaming to access your windows only games. It works extremely well and has allowed me to turn my laptop into a linux only machine that I can run games off my desktop rig sitting in the corner. Also means the laptop doesn't cook itself.
I will switch for HL3. I would install windows 10 to play it.
But I am one data point. What you're missing is that Valve is not targeting PC gamers right now. They're trying to break into the console market, where nobody cares what the OS is, as long as it works. Linux gaming is a fringe benefit. So you're both right and wrong. People won't change their OS, but they might buy steam machines...
I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
...by at least a decade.
Really? Valve isn't targeting Steam, their own platform?
Give me some of what you're smoking.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
That's impressive. Those 1900 triple Z titles outnumber the amount of Linux users by some margin... ... I'll get my coat :)
I am not sure where you get that idea from? Reading comprehension fail perhaps?
Valve's long term goal right now is clearly to compete in the console market. That is their target. It does not mean that they will ignore PC (as some suggest), but simply that their focus is on the console.
Since when did "Steam" = "PC" anyway? No, it is you sir who has access to the really good stuff, and you are clearly smoking it.
I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
Recently I've had a lot of luck with the windows version of steam running under WINE (1.9.2-staging) through PlayOnLinux. The games do suffer poor performance (generally 30fps rather that 60fps kinda thing) and a tad of input lag, but otherwise seem to run perfectly. For me, recent improvements to WINE are a more exciting and fruitful development for Linux gaming than the availability of Steam.
Since you've commented a couple of times in this thread regarding this exact issue: could you please link to a source? I've searched but came up empty handed.
No shit sherlock.
That's the point. What they are targeting like I said is breaking into the console market. That is they want to become a console platform (as well as a PC platform).
I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
Yes, I installed Steam on my Dell running Zorin Linux. Works great. I play Civ 5(yea I know...) and have a blast doing it. If I want to play a certain kind of cutting edge game then I will resort to Windows 7.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
I've actually cut over already, and Windows 10 is to blame. It wasn't just the terrible UI, but also how Cortana seemed to break constantly. When it did it forced a reboot that could require several more reboots to get running again. I was sick of buying a computer for Microsoft to use as they see fit, and instead opted to have a personal computer again. What was funny is that I managed to get all the games I play, short of Skyrim, to run under Linux. If the game can't be played on my Linux box or one of our game consoles it's not really worth the headache of playing it on such a terrible OS.
Unlikely, unless someone subsidizes steam machines hard. Because a steam machine really costs a TON of money compared to a PS4 or Xbone. Toss in a decade's worth of premium membership (PS+ or Xbox Live Gold) and you'll approach the cost of a decent steam machine.
You have to remember the goal is to have a machine last around 10 years or so for a console (both the PS3 and Xbox360 are around that age), so an equivalent steam machine should last just as long for that price. Unfortunately, the cheap steam machines with their i3 processors and midrange graphics are unlikely to do it. To get something better you have to spend over $1000+. Which is equivalent to a PS4 + 12 years of PS+, or an Xbone + 10 years of Xbox Live.
And even the legendary advantages of Steam are going away - the steam sales aren't all that great, and both Sony and Microsoft are giving away fairly decent games with their premium memberships (I will say Sony is more Indie-oriented, while Microsoft seems to give more mainstream games).
I suppose a question is - what is Valve working on? Given like the last game they released was years ago...
many developers either aren't convinced yet, or need more help, or something.
For many of them, the reality of Vulkan is all the help they needed.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
I don't know about i3s not lasting. Maybe not for the PC 'master race', but for the rest it might be fine. My last machine was fairly cheap (Phennom II X4, worse than an i3) and it still goes well. Still in use - my wife plays casual games on it just fine. Seems to perform OK for even modern titles (only thing I did was put a GTX750 in it, because the 460 died).
It may be ill advised, but they really seem to be pushing into the console market. Apart from Source 2, DOTA 2 and VR, which can fit that strategy. I don't see a valve game in the near future. Call me a pessimist, but I don't think they have been a proper games company in a while....
I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
There are stark differences between a PC and a console when it comes to how people perceive exclusives. Most AAA games come out for all the major consoles. With Linux, most AAA games don't get support at all. So, having a single exclusive isn't going to help you unless you can deal with the problem of large existing libraries which wouldn't work on Linux.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
I actually don't think they are targeting the console market. I think they are taking pre-emptive defensive moves against a microsoft led store being bundled with the primary PC OS.
So me this reminds me of the browser wars. Except this time it is where to you buy your software. Back when the browser wars happened and IE was bundled with windows Linux was not a viable option. Today, Linux is, it just doesn't have the market penetration. The software itself though is mature and easy to use. If through pushing linux compatability, 10% of the market share is non-windows, then they will have done enough to ensure their multi-platform market share is valuable enough.