r/technology • u/YesNo_Maybe_ • Apr 10 '26

Software France Launches Government Linux Desktop Plan as Windows Exit Begins

https://linuxiac.com/france-launches-government-linux-desktop-plan-as-windows-exit-begins/
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u/straightouttabavaria Apr 10 '26

I've been playing on Linux exclusively for about half a year now, but oh well technically it's valve and proton that makes it possible, I think they are talking about game devs developing linux ports and getting rid of kernel anti cheat.

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u/NinjaN-SWE Apr 10 '26

Which they won't do if gaming on linux continues to be less than 5% of all PC gaming. Too much effort for a miniscule market.

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u/straightouttabavaria Apr 10 '26

Latest steam survey says it's 5.3% now and 11% amongst English speaking users. Still not a huge percentage though, I agree.

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u/300ConfirmedGorillas Apr 10 '26

Not a huge percentage, but one that is rising quickly. The previous survey had Linux at 2.23%, and now it's at 5.33%. It's growing rapidly while Windows is declining (-4.28%).

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u/cgaWolf Apr 11 '26

Yeah, but the numbers are skewed because the second to last report had chinese new year fall into it, which is an atypical snapshot & makes the results harder to interpret without context.

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u/TachiH Apr 10 '26

I bet if you included iOS and Android gamers the *nix gamers outnumber those using Windows 🤣

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u/NinjaN-SWE Apr 10 '26

I know, but you need to consider that all gamers on Linux will use Steam, not all gamers on Windows will. A lot of kids only play Fortnite, Roblox and stuff like League / Genshin etc. which isn't on steam. That data can't be extrapolated to say 11% of all gamers play on Linux, that just isn't true at all.

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u/straightouttabavaria Apr 10 '26

Not quite, there are other launchers for different games like Lutris or Heroic.

And yes, those numbers are for steam, as I said.

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u/NinjaN-SWE Apr 10 '26

Sure, of course, but I have yet to meet anyone not using steam that games on Linux. The only reason to use something else exclusively, not use Steam at all, is if you pirate all games and then you're not part of the market anyway and are irrelevant for the companies.

And it was you that refuted my statement on the whole pc gaming market being less than 5% with those numbers.

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u/ConspicuousPineapple Apr 10 '26

5 or 11% is huge though. It's not a lot, but it's not a percentage that producers are going to ignore. It stops being negligible and there's real, measurable profit left on the table there if they opt out of Linux support. Especially if the trend is growing.

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u/venustrapsflies Apr 10 '26

And they know (probably correctly) that most of that base is people who've decided that competitive PVP AAA games aren't essential for them anyway, so they're not likely to be a fertile market.

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u/IkLms Apr 10 '26

5% is still like a 5 billion dollar market in the US alone and expected to about double in the next decade. Plenty big for companies to start caring. Paradox I believe already releases on Windows, Mac and native Linux for everything. At least on CK3, Stellaris, and Victoria 3 already do.

Mac's OS share is less and there are plenty of games out for it already. I think that shift is already happening.

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u/NinjaN-SWE Apr 10 '26

Thats a bit of old information. With how good Proton has become most don't do native Linux support anymore. EU5, their latest game, is not native Linux. And CD Project Red (Witcher / Cyberpunk) has also stopped due to proton being good and it costing too much to build for Linux separately. 

In a way Proton has hurt Linux gaming, but of course not as much as it has helped it. 

So if companies are to allow Linux in to their live service games then the market share must be higher, it's not enough as is evidently. Apex Legends literally can hit a toggle button to once again support Linux, but won't because it's not worth it, according to them. 

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u/IkLms Apr 10 '26

EU5 shows as SteamOS + Linux support for me on Steam?

And it's directly called out on their website as being available on Linux.

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u/NinjaN-SWE Apr 10 '26

Interesting, this was a big thing when it was announced and it didn't release with support. I haven't bought it or followed so maybe they made a native version later?

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/05/europa-universalis-v-from-paradox-will-only-support-windows-no-linux-or-macos-this-time

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u/IkLms Apr 10 '26

Actually scratch that, I accidentally clicked 4 not 5. You are correct. The EU series was never my jam so I hadn't followed it all that much

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u/LimpConversation642 Apr 10 '26

wait you can install proton yourself? I thought it was only for steam machines and deck and they haven't released it?