14 DAY TRIAL // The Linux distribution developed by Valve, SteamOS, has been in the works for quite some time and it seems to be almost complete. Now, an idea has been put into circulation by developer Rich Geldreich, a former Valve employee, who says that SteamOS was nothing more than a scare tactic for Microsoft.
There can be no doubt that the majority of the revenue for Steam is derived from the Windows platform. The Linux gamers represent only a mere pittance of the entire pie and it will remain like this for a few years at least. Linux might seem like a sure bet with its free and open source policy, but there is still much work to do in order to improve it.
Most of the Linux features that have nothing to do with graphics, like security, usability, customization, package management, file system, you name it, are better in every way than what we find on Windows. Unfortunately, when we get to gaming, things are the other way around. The Linux user community hasn’t had any interest in games until recently and there is a great gap between Windows and Linux in terms of technology.
It's also useful to remember that there are thousands of developers and engineers committed to improving Windows gaming, who are either working for hardware companies like NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel, or for gaming studios. The same numbers don't apply for Linux. There are very few developers out there who dedicate their time to improving Linux gaming and even fewer that are actually paid to do it. So, what's with all the effort put into SteamOS and all the other products? Could they be just for show?
Should we believe a former Valve employee?
We need to clarify something right from the start. Rich Geldreich doesn't say that Valve is just showing Microsoft the stick, he only puts together some information and some facts in such a way that his theory seems correct, but he points out to a comment on Slashdot from a user who has a wild idea. He hints at the fact that Valve only made SteamOS in order to scare Microsoft.
Some pieces of the puzzle do seem to fit right in. There is little actual support for Linux, although some things have been improved in the last couple of years, including the drivers. The main problem is that Linux is still pretty far behind Windows and the touted Steam Machines haven't been mentioned in a long while.
This is what the user says: "Steam OS will probably putter along, we'll probably see a few things be trotted out to keep the dream alive, after all the hype train did build up a lot of steam (pun not intended). Eventually a few of these AAA developers will say 'it's really just not ready for the prime time' and we'll go back to getting a few wine ports and indie games from hardcore dedicated guys who just really love Linux."
The problem is that someone who used to be a Valve employee and who backs this kind of rhetoric is getting much more press than they should. Maybe he's right, but the chances of that are pretty slim.
Valve has invested too much money and time in Linux and the theory might still hold if other companies hadn't done the same thing. NVIDIA, for example, is porting some of its tools and technologies to Linux, big gaming studios are porting the engines, and publishers are paying other companies to port games to Linux. Simply put, there is too much money involved for this to be just a simple scare tactic from Valve.
In addition, people need to keep in mind that Valve has really long-term plans. They have been around long before broadband internet was really a thing and they survived because they planned for the long run. The same is happening right now. Maybe their plans are not transparent at the moment, but they will become clear in a few years.
