I feel like this would be easier to draw conclusions from if I had absolute counts rather than percentages. Was the change in the Linux share due to other platforms (Windows) increasing their numbers, or did the total number of Linux users dip and then return? The latter seems difficult to explain.
this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2026
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Some people dual-boot to play games with anti-cheat that doesn't work on Linux, so a recent "AAA multiplayer" release might skew the numbers for a bit as people boot Windows instead.
Linux installations are slightly higher in the US than in Europe, and much much higher than in China. The "use of Linux online" has a bit of a sinusoidal pattern every day depending on who's awake. But a big Chinese release - Fallen Feathers, for example - will suppress the Linux percentage for a while as well.
Steam do publish the number of concurrent users as well, it should be possible to multiply through to get roughly the "absolute numbers" you want. I think they publish the numbers of players online for multiplayer games too, and since those are the games that Linux will be locked out of, it might be possible to point fingers at the specific games causing the problems?
Anti cheat is the only reason my boys run windows.
Maybe just margin of error. Since the machines surveyed are different each time