Since the late 90s, Valve has been a force to be reckoned with in game development, as well as being the dominant global superpower in the PC storefront market. With the company's Aperture Desk Job game continuing to tease future projects, it's clear that Gabe Newell and the team at Valve still have a lot up their metaphorical sleeves. On top of that, the Steam Deck has been impressing a lot of people in both the industry and the community at large, and it's possible that this may have led to an increase in gamers using alternative operating systems.
According to official Steam statistics from April, there has been a rise in the number of people using Linux on home PC, going up to 1.14%. A recent report from TechRadar says that while this is only a small increase, with previous stats showing Linux accounted for exactly 1%, this is quite significant, especially with the Steam Deck having been released just a couple of months ago. It's therefore possible that it may have had a direct influence on this rise in gamers opting for the open-source OS.
Given that the Steam Deck itself uses Linux-based software known as Proton, it would make sense that the statistics show an increase in numbers as more and more people get hold of the portable device. However, the report goes on to say that Steam only surveys hardware while in Desktop Mode. If most Deck users are in Gaming Mode, then it won't count these in the statistics. Having said that, there's every reason to suspect that the device alone has inspired more people to switch to the alternative OS anyway, especially considering that companies like Valve have been working to make Linux more compatible with gaming.
This is also not the first time something like this has happened. Back in August 2021, when the developer was promoting its mobile gaming PC, Linux popularity increased shortly after the Steam Deck was announced, with figures showing that more than 1.2 million gamers were active Linux users. Despite how it looks, the increase from 1% to 1.14% is a fairly large leap, and it suggests that the device may have influenced the movement.
Despite Valve having a rocky history with hardware projects, the Steam Deck is already proving its worth. With close to 2,500 games now playable or verified, and with the option to install any operating system on it, including Windows, it's become apparent that this is more than just a mobile gaming device.
Source: Steam Survey, TechRadar