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Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

(arstechnica.com)
445 points _JamesA_ | 3 comments | 25 Jun 25 19:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.709s | source
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sitkack ◴[25 Jun 25 22:53 UTC] No.44382539[source]▶
Given that Windows games run faster via Proton on SteamOS, developers should prioritize targeting SteamOS APIs—not Windows. This ensures compatibility with Windows while maximizing performance. Game engines like Unity and Unreal must adopt SteamOS as the primary target, with CI systems rigorously testing both platforms. SteamOS, not Windows, should be the baseline for optimization.

Does Valve run a SteamOS CI/CD farm? I could see a Rust based template and library for calling into this set of APIs that you could upload your well structured project and it would build and test for all platforms. Rust would just be the skeleton, your game logic could be in anything Rust could link to.

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MindSpunk ◴[26 Jun 25 01:38 UTC] No.44383474[source]▶
Ignoring that, you know, 99% of users are running Windows and not SteamOS. Test on what your users run. Proton is just an implementation of Win32, you're still just targeting Windows.
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1. Jach ◴[26 Jun 25 02:36 UTC] No.44383759[source]▶
Only 95.45% now (https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey) but yeah.
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2. sitkack ◴[27 Jun 25 13:02 UTC] No.44396483[source]▶
Over what time period? 99 -> 95.45 is a huge absolute number. Is most of that attributable to SteamDeck? Would that mean that 4.5% of active Steam users own a SteamDeck?
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3. Jach ◴[27 Jun 25 14:14 UTC] No.44396962[source]▶
If you click on Linux only and expand the details, SteamOS accounts for 31%. "Other" is the next biggest at 23%, and Arch (which SteamOS is built on) at 10%. Someone probably has made a comprehensive historical spreadsheet but the internet archives save the page frequently if you want to see trends. Even historically though Mac has commonly been known for being around 2%, at times more, it's only recently (like in the last couple years) that it fell below 2% and Linux passed it. SteamDeck did have a big impact for sure, though. I've seen estimates for around 4 million sold so far after three years, that's not bad. Putting some extra effort into your game's release to get it "SteamDeck Certified" seems worth it to me just to get that little bit of extra attention from those customers.