Linux usage hits an all-time high in Steam Hardware Survey—and AMD processors continue their march against Intel
WIndows 11 seems to be good at making enemies.
Most folks in tech enthusiast circles have heard of - or own - a Steam Deck and have possibly even installed SteamOS-based Linux distributions like Bazzite or Chimera. The small but growing backlash against Windows 11's strict hardware requirements and forced upgrades may have become evident in the latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey, which shows an all-time high of 3.20% for Linux.
That figure is a 0.15% rise in just one month, quite an impressive figure once you consider that for years on end, Steam Linux usage was under or barely over 1%. The launch of the Steam Deck in 2022 naturally increased that figure, but the gaming community seems be rallying around SteamOS derivatives, as the OS family had a 1.9% share in 2023, 3.05% in 2025, and now 3.20% as of this writing.
Although the Steam Deck is a worthy product on its own, it's not hard to imagine that Linux's rise is partly justified by Windows 11's shenanigans, like machine-breaking updates, a notification- and pop-up-riddled user experience, forced integration of Copilot and OneDrive, and, of course, the forced upgrade from Windows 10.
Over on the hardware side, AMD processors continue their steady march against Intel. AMD now commands 43.56% of the gaming processor market, versus 56.44% for Team Blue. Save for one month, Intel's CPU share has been steadily dropping for nearly one year straight and shows no signs of stopping.
The CPU core breakdowns also tell an interesting story. Over the past month alone, CPUs with 8 physical cores or higher saw a combined 1.18% uptick (under Windows, at least), meaning that gamers are buying or upgrading their machines at a pretty rapid clip, and potentially that folks are opting mostly for AMD systems.
As for gaming graphics cards, some surprising developments have arisen. The RTX 5070 is now the most common Blackwell GPU among the systems surveyed, posting a 0.33% gain to hit 2.12% of the overall pool. That's about as many users as those of the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti put together, which isn't the development we were expecting given the apparent pace of RTX 5060 adoption.
The RTX 5060 grew its share by 0.30% to hit 1.54% of systems surveyed. Meanwhile, the RTX 5070 Ti put up a 0.19% share increase to hit 1.09% of the pool, while the RTX 5080 grew its numbers by 0.14% to hit 0.96%.
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Meanwhile, AMD's RDNA 4 cards remain notably absent as distinct data points in the survey. Whether this is a reporting issue on Valve's side or AMD's is unclear, but nine months into the life of RDNA 4, we'd expect at least token representation of these products in Valve's results. If it's not a technical issue, the implications for AMD's graphics division remain troubling.
While the Steam Hardware Survey isn't a rigorous examination of the market, it remains interesting to see how the broader market is responding to 2025's hardware launches. We'll continue to see what its tea leaves portend for gaming in 2026 as time rolls on. Be sure to check out the survey results for yourself.
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Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals.
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LordVile Reply
Just after sales where the steam deck was discounted? You don’t say.Admin said:Linux usage has hit an all-time high in the latest Steam hardware survey, indicating the small but growing popularity of SteamOS and its derivatives.
Linux usage hits an all-time high in Steam Hardware Survey—and AMD processors continue their march against Intel : Read more -
edzieba ReplyAlthough the Steam Deck is a worthy product on its own, it's not hard to imagine that Linux's rise is partly justified by Windows 11's shenanigans
It's not hard to imagine it, but is is hard to back that up with data from the Steam Hardware Survey. Since it claims that, along with the 0.15% growth in Linux usage since the previous survey, there was a 2.02% growth in Windows 11 usage over the same period. -
mitch074 Reply
At the expense of Windows 10.edzieba said:It's not hard to imagine it, but is is hard to back that up with data from the Steam Hardware Survey. Since it claims that, along with the 0.15% growth in Linux usage since the previous survey, there was a 2.02% growth in Windows 11 usage over the same period. -
ezst036 Reply
Windows 11 64 bit 65.59% +2.02%Windows 10 64 bit 29.06% -2.08%edzieba said:It's not hard to imagine it, but is is hard to back that up with data from the Steam Hardware Survey. Since it claims that, along with the 0.15% growth in Linux usage since the previous survey, there was a 2.02% growth in Windows 11 usage over the same period. -
LordVile Reply
Also remember the hardware survey isn’t all users it’s a randomised sample.edzieba said:It's not hard to imagine it, but is is hard to back that up with data from the Steam Hardware Survey. Since it claims that, along with the 0.15% growth in Linux usage since the previous survey, there was a 2.02% growth in Windows 11 usage over the same period. -
Forge64 AMD GPUs, you meant.Reply
Got to be a technical issue. I know there are lots of 9060/9070 users on the ground.
All the other numbers match up with what I’ve been seeing. The EOL got a lot of Windows 10 users moving, many pursued the extended support option for a year of delay, a few decided to gut it out, install Windows 10 IOT, or other hacky solutions, but many have been flooding the Linux reddits for support/assistance as well.
And a truly shocking number of “Not My OS” or “Never Linux” people have been tackling Linux installs, since the Linux game support is now approaching Windows levels, aside from kernel anti-cheats and intentional lockouts.
The future is coming, and the responses are entertainingly varied. -
edzieba Reply
Windows 94.79% -0.05%OSX 2.02% -0.09%Linux 3.20% +0.15%ezst036 said:Windows 11 64 bit 65.59% +2.02%Windows 10 64 bit 29.06% -2.08%
Even if we assume the percentage changes are purely from switching (with overall sample size unchanged, which is not the case), then we can only conclude that whatever Apple have done recently (er... return to 2006 and copy Aero?) pushed twice as many users to switch to Linux than the changes in Windows 11 have. -
ezst036 Reply
Your terms are acceptable.edzieba said:Windows 94.79% -0.05%OSX 2.02% -0.09%Linux 3.20% +0.15%
Even if we assume the percentage changes are purely from switching (with overall sample size unchanged, which is not the case), then we can only conclude that whatever Apple have done recently (er... return to 2006 and copy Aero?) pushed twice as many users to switch to Linux than the changes in Windows 11 have.
Though, I will say that it is more plausible that those who are comfortable enough with Apple's walled garden but decided to move away from it anyways likely just went and purchased a replacement. While System76 or some other boutique Linux vendor is possible, the most plausible is that the -09 Mac all goes to Windows on the one side and Windows loses .15 on the other side leaving a net negative of -.05.
We're still at the beginning of the Linux growth though. Two years ago we were discussing is Linux as a whole in the 2-3% range but now we're discussing is Linux 2-3% just with gamers/only with gamers while on the desktop as a whole Linux discussions are is it 5 or 6% and pushing into 7%?
A year or three from now we might very well be discussing is Linux comfortably in the 10% range. We can all discuss how fast or slow the Linux growth will be but even the most pessimistic anti-Linux person will admit that Linux's trajectory is unquestionably upward based purely on the evidence. -
Eximo Should be still a lot of Mac users still on Intel hardware. Last model was like 2020 or something? Mostly laptops that face damage and wear and tear and battery degradation. Probably a lot of hold outs that didn't want to switch to Apple silicon?Reply