Alienware says Steam Machines will spur "20, 30-fold" growth in Linux gaming

For years, PC gaming was synonymous with Windows gaming. DirectX was the go-to API, and if you wanted to play the latest and greatest games on your killer rig, you did it under the auspices of Microsoft's operating systems. But Alienware Product Manager Marc Diana expects that situation to change dramatically once Steam Machines (and, more specifically, the SteamOS that drives them) are finally unleashed.

SteamOS is Linux, you see, and as Diana pointed out, it's not smart to underestimate Valve. "There's more games that are Linux-powered today than have ever been available in the market, and that continues to grow," he told PCGamesN . "It's projected that whenever SteamOS comes out, there's going to be 700-plus titles on SteamOS that are OpenGL games."

It's a big transition, but it has the unique advantage of being driven by Steam Machines, the Valve-blessed gaming PCs that will be produced by various manufacturers. They'll ship with SteamOS installed and assuming they're a success, that means a very large and sudden uptick in the number of Linux gamers running around on Steam.

"Imagine how many people are gaming today on Linux, and how many people will be gaming once Steam Machine launches," he said. "It's going to be 20, 30 fold [growth]. Overnight."

I've had a few Linux proponents push me to try their weapon of choice over the years, and each time my response has been the same: Why? The answer has typically been vague promises of "better" and mumbled anti-Microsoft vitriol, but perhaps in the near future they'll have something more concrete to fall back on. Not right away, though; Valve recently delayed the Steam controller , and by extension Steam Machines, until sometime next year. Somewhat ironically, that means Alienware's debut Steam Machine, the Alpha, will actually come out of the box bearing Windows 8 .

TOPICS
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in Linux
Valve Steam Deck OLED handheld PC
Valve continues to improve the gaming performance of Linux open source drivers for AMD GPUs, as part of the Mesa project
Asahi Linux on a mac book.
Developers finally get Linux running on an Apple M1-powered Mac
Three companies making DLSS possible on Linux OS
Nvidia DLSS is coming to boost frame rates for Linux gamers this month
https://pixabay.com/photos/linux-laptop-screen-wallpaper-wood-1962898/
Research scandal sees Linux Kernel ban 'all future contributions' from University of Minnesota
Cloud computing is making Linux a more tempting target for hackers
Watch this 90-year-old tech turned Linux terminal create ASCII art
Latest in News
A screenshot from SaGa Frontier 2, showing one of the protagonists wandering through a quaint fantasy village
One of Square Enix' most underrated PlayStation-era JRPGs just shadow dropped on Steam
The titular character from Princess Mononoke is depicted riding the wolf goddess Moro and carrying a spear.
Studio Ghibli AI image trend floods social media, cheered on by OpenAI and denounced by critics as an insult to Hayao Miyazaki
Marvel Rivals tier list - Wolverine
Marvel Rivals director says a future patch will reduce the shooter's insatiable hunger for RAM: 'It's a very big problem'
Hogwarts Legacy potions professor holding a potion
An unannounced Hogwarts Legacy expansion and 'definitive edition' have reportedly been cancelled
Story of Seasons - A cahacter in a purple tuxedo stands outside in a town square talking to the player
Story of Seasons is doing another Harvest Moon remake and it might be the best the series has ever looked
Assassin's Creed Shadows change seasons - An upper-body shot of Yasuke looking cheerfully up into the distance.
Assassin's Creed Shadows puts up the 'second highest day-one sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history'