Linux now accounts for over five percent of Steam’s active user base, a milestone that reshapes the economics of PC and console gaming.

In March 2026 the share crossed that threshold[^1][^2][^3][^4][^5], while Microsoft’s October 2025 end‑of‑support deadline for Windows 10 forced a wave of users onto alternatives[^6][^7][^8]. The Steam Deck, which shi…

Kernel‑level wins give Linux a performance edge

The most visible win came from a tiny driver called NTSYNC. Unlike previous workarounds such as esync and fsync, NTSYNC lives inside the Linux kernel and implements Windows‑specific synchronization primitives natively…