Steam Ubuntu Support Ending

This tweet from Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais notes that Ubuntu 19.10 (and future releases) will no longer be officially supported by Steam: "Ubuntu 19.10 and future releases will not be officially supported by Steam or recommended to our users. We will evaluate ways to minimize breakage for existing users, but will also switch our focus to a different distribution, currently TBD." A post on How to Geek offers a little more detail on the reasons for this:
This is all because Canonical announced plans to drop 32-bit packages and libraries from Ubuntu 19.10. These packages enable 32-bit software to run on 64-bit versions of Ubuntu.

While most Linux applications will get along just fine, this is a huge blow to Valve’s Steam. Many Linux games on Steam are only available in 32-bit form—they work on 64-bit Linux distributions, but only with the 32-bit libraries. As Phoronix recently pointed out, this also affects the Wine compatibility layer that allows running Windows software on Linux—Wine won’t be able to run 32-bit Windows software anymore. Steam’s compatibility layer for running Windows games on Linux would also not work for 32-bit games.

After Canonical’s announcement, Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais tweeted that Ubuntu 19.10 and future releases “will not be officially supported by Steam or recommended to our users.” Valve will officially support and recommend a different Linux distribution in the future.

The good news is that your existing Ubuntu installation—whether it’s Ubuntu 19.04 “Disco Dingo” or Ubuntu 18.04 LTS “Bionic Beaver”—will continue running Steam and its Linux games for years to come.

The bad news is that Linux gamers who enjoy Ubuntu will likely have to switch to a different Linux distribution in the future—unless Canonical or Valve change course.
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No subject
Jun 23, 2019, 16:51
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No subject Jun 23, 2019, 16:51
Jun 23, 2019, 16:51
 
A similar thing will very soon happen on MacOS. The next version, MaoOS Catalina will also completely remove 32-bit support which means Steam and most of the games on Mac will no longer work once you upgrade to Catalina
6.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 16:34
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Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 16:34
Jun 23, 2019, 16:34
 
Burrito of Peace wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 16:08:
I can only surmise that Valve is ignorant, incompetent, or both when it comes to Linux.
Looks at Steam Machines, nods approvingly.

good info to know, thanks
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Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 16:08
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Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 16:08
Jun 23, 2019, 16:08
 
I do, indeed, dislike Ubuntu intensely for a number of reasons.

However, here I cannot fault them. It is time to shift away from 32bit packages for many reasons, not the least of which is that multilib and multiarch repositories have already been unwieldy for some time.

No, the real onus lies at the feet of Valve who have, thus far, steadfastly refused to provide 64 bit libraries and binaries for many titles on Linux even though those 64 bit equivalents exist on Windows for the exact same titles.

However, should Valve continue to shove their head up their ass as hard and far as possible, this isn't the end of anything. What will happen is that someone, quite possibly the distro creators and maintainers themselves, will provide Steam as either a Snap or as a Flatpak. Which one will depend upon which distro you use but you can, generally, use Snap and Flatpak on the same distro without issue.

This allows everything 32 bit that Steam requires (including those 32 bit Nvidia driver libraries) to be packaged up in a nice, self-contained environment that runs without dirtying up the rest of your installation.

I find it ironic that Valve is dragging their feet on this given how much they pushed for 64 bit binaries back in the day and in light of the fact that it's pretty rare for you to find a mainstream 32 bit binary or package on Linux today. This was true even when they started working on SteamOS. 64 bit was the default for most Linux distros back then and should have been Valve's target from the start. I can only surmise that Valve is ignorant, incompetent, or both when it comes to Linux.
"Just take a look around you, what do you see? Pain, suffering, and misery." -Black Sabbath, Killing Yourself to Live.

“Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains” -Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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4.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 15:50
4.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 15:50
Jun 23, 2019, 15:50
 

Note the last words in blues snippet unless Canonical or Valve change course.
What's Valve got to do with it?

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Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 15:28
3.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 15:28
Jun 23, 2019, 15:28
 

Jivaro wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 14:58:
Is this actually a big deal or is this just a sign that there are very few people using an Ubuntu distro with Steam?
I think you'll find that BoP luvs him some Ubuntu. /s

Take the following w/some salt as the numbers can be gamed.
Ubuntu has been a popular distro over the years

and recently its dropped a little. All numbers from distrowatch

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Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 15:00
2.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 15:00
Jun 23, 2019, 15:00
 
Jivaro wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 14:58:
Is this actually a big deal or is this just a sign that there are very few people using an Ubuntu distro with Steam?

It's in so far a big deal as Ubuntu shows again why you should not use it for anything.

By the way, the far greater joke is that Steam's entire fucking compatibility layer was made because Gaben feared MS would pull this stunt.. but now it's Ubuntu. Open source is better my ass.

This comment was edited on Jun 23, 2019, 15:29.
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1.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 14:58
Jivaro
 
1.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 14:58
Jun 23, 2019, 14:58
 Jivaro
 
Is this actually a big deal or is this just a sign that there are very few people using an Ubuntu distro with Steam?
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