I'm really glad that Valve is going to put Steam on Linux.
Gives me an excuse to stop using Windows.
Steam beta for Linux opens to 5,000 more users
By
Zorine Te, Community Manager
Valve invites 5,000 more users to try Steam on Linux.
Valve’s digital platform Steam is continuing its beta testing phase on the Linux operating system, with the company announcing plans to invite an additional 5,000 users before the Thanksgiving weekend kicks off in the US. Newly invited beta testers will receive an email notification.
Valve announced its plans to port Steam to Linux in July this year, revealing that it is starting with Ubuntu and a work-in-progress Left 4 Dead 2 port. The external beta began in October this year, and included Steam, one Valve game, and support for Ubuntu 12.04 and above. The initial round of invitations went out to 1,000 users.
The project, which began in 2011, aims to allow Steam to work with a functioning Ubuntu build of Left 4 Dead 2. Valve's 11-person Linux development team wants to make the game run on Ubuntu as well as it does on Windows, and has plans to accommodate other distributions of Linux.
Steam on Linux would add another notch on the digital distribution service's already large platform base, which spans PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, Android, and iPhone.
By
Zorine Te, Community Manager
Zorine is the Community Manager at GameSpot Australia. She enjoys competitive gaming, eating and winning. Is prone to gamer rage.
37 comments
Might not be too long before we start seeing some nicely polished gaming optimized linux distros.
Only time will tell, but Valve have a potential here to make waves in PC gaming and PC usage overall. Windows 8 IMHO is a huge mess. I don't even know where to begin. Maybe the fact that it takes 5 or so clicks to do something simple... like shutdown the pc. Or maybe the ads that show up in FIRST PARTY pre-installed MS apps? There's no better time to strike than with a wounded Microsoft OS release.
2 Like Good, anything to shake Microsoft up. This is their wake up call.
Right now they can get away with everything, at worse, people will still use a windows, just not the latest, that's why Windows 8 is born, to see how much crap we, the pc users, are willing to put up with, and how close the platform can get before we say "stop".
W8 is the begining, and things will get worse if we don't react.
So go for it steam. I support anything you do in this topic.
Nah, that doesn't cover all the linux users. But if you only count the linux gamers that can't already play games better/easier under Windows - yeah, that's pretty much all of them.
@mav_destroyer It would be an understatement if there were 5000 Linux users in the US alone. Especially considering the many Linux distribution such as Debian, Fedora and openSUSE, Ubuntu (and its sisters Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc), and more. Running a cheap server on IRC use, direct downloads, or for BitTorrent seeding, would require the knowledge of one of these.Almost all programmers would have some knowledge of the use, are already using, or have used Linux in the past. So irrespective of whether they still use Linux today, they are still considered a Linux user.Sadly, I don't think most mainstream Windows users realise that the Linux OS is not like the standalone Windows OS. The Linux OS is more so like a back-end (the Linux kernel) to its distributions. There is hardly ever a case where something developed for Ubuntu, would not work for openSUSE. If something is available on one distribution, it is most certainly available on another - or any easily be ported with the know-how. And that is what defines Linux apart from mainstream OS. Users are able to customise and use any distribution they want and would not experience incompatibly issues with programs they want or need.
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1 Like While I agree that it will take a lot to dethrone Windows for PC gaming, it's quite possible a turning point has been reached. Should all the negativity surrounding Win 8 turn out to be true, you might start seeing more and more devs setting their sights on Linux.
As for the hardware manufacturers, they'll follow should the devs make that choice.
2 Like Word.
It's cool to see Steam openning up to Linux users. I think the biggest problem for gaming on Linux has been the focus on Windows over the past decade or so. Same for Mac.
Showing L4D running silky smooth on Linux may very well help encourage devs/publishers to port some of their catalogs to Linux. Of course, for many Linux users, there's always the Wine app. On GOG.com, the GOG mixes often feature user created lists of Linux and Mac friendly games and whether they'll run natively or via Wine.
1 Like @nate1222 To be fair, Microsoft actively took measures to make sure that Windows was a viable gaming platform. Linux has historically had problems getting hardware makers to write highly optimized drivers for the OS, and Apple has never shown any real interest in promoting the Mac as a gaming platform. Microsoft's long roots with DirectX have helped to keep it as the leader in computer-based gaming.
Those GOG mixes are great, but they're often DOS games or older Windows games running under some level of emulation. If Linux can be shown to support more complex games remains to be seen. If Epic made an Unreal Engine 4 port for Linux, for example, that would be huge.
It will still take a lot to convince present-day developers to target Linux (like a comprehensive set of tools and libraries that spans multiple environments) but having Valve port Steam and L4D could be major steps in legitimizing Linux as a gaming platform.
The other question mark is whether people who got their OS and most of the applications for free are willing to shell out real money to play games. That "freeware mindset" has been a problem for app writers on Android compared with iOS and WinPho...it could be an obstacle for Linux gaming on the desktop as well.
2 Like wow I only use windows for games now. If this happens then good riddance windows
** hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha **
fantastic
2 Like But the games will be as limited as Mac support. Very few publishers would actually fund games to be made for Windows AND Linux.
No, this will be even more limited. The vast majority of linux gamers actually have Windows and can play their games just fine there. They would rather not but they can. There are a lot more Mac users that are stuck on a Mac that doesn't have Windows at all. So porting to Mac gives you quite a few people that won't be able to play the game without the port. That makes it a lot easier to make money on a Mac port than a linux port.
@bakasora Sadly,as long as Windows has the monopoly over the Operating Systems then this will always be the case
2 Like if there were Equal Windows games on linux i would be Damn happy to Uninstall windows :)))
Well maybe now Steam will get some solid sales now that they've found an impressionable category of customers...and they can leave the rest of us alone.
I will sure enjoy what's coming :D Microsoft killed Linux long ago... now Linux has another chance
What's life without some fun, huh? ^^
soo much fun is the Tech world :D
GG to Linux and Ubuntu if they grab the PC gaming market ^^
@Lithoon But that aside of embbeded devices market is what kepping Linux alive :) also since Ubuntu there a lot more Linux users then before
2 Like Can't wait till its fully released. I know its going to be a while until I can get it and it will be even longer until I completely abandon Windows 7 BUT its still going to be awesome having Linux which is all in all the superior OS and only held back by its lack of users.
1 Like @PSYCHOV3N0M @vault-boy One is its free, which is a HUGE deal for someone like me who makes there own PC (am actually overhauling one today) and since the only way to legally get an OS onto a new Hard Drive is to buy a new copy or use a copy you already have (which I do not have) that's big bonus points. Its also pretty damn user friendly and it runs much faster and smoother than Windows for gaming which is what we're all here for. The biggest thing Windows has over Linux is its third party support which, unfortunately, is a huge problem for Linux because until it gets a large following not many developers make games compatible for it, whether it be video game devs or regular software. Either way, Linux is cool but shouldn't be your only OS, have a copy of Windows too even if its just XP.
I'd probably switch OS's if there were more than just the one game available. Let me know when ALL games within Steams library run under Linux.
@Scorpion1813 I think I read on omg ubuntu that there were as many new linux users in 2011 as there were new mac users in 2007 or something
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@Gelugon_baat @Scorpion1813 not in desktop sadly... but Steam on Linux might boost the number ;]
big picture can be launched straight from the login screen..so its the first thing that can happen when you turn the pc on
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