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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27 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
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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?
Avatar 55841
2.
 
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.
Avatar 54727
3.
 
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

Avatar 58135
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?

Avatar 58135
5.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 16:08
5.
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

Purveyor of cute, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers.
Avatar 21247
6.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 16:34
6.
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
Avatar 58135
7.
 
No subject
Jun 23, 2019, 16:51
7.
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
8.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 17:24
8.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 17:24
Jun 23, 2019, 17:24
 
You don't like Ubuntu. I'm not up to speed on all the different versions except for the web hosting small distros varations which are not good for gaming. If Ubuntu is not the answer who is? Who do you like?

I am very in shock because of their 32 bit pull here. Gonna probably change my distro to something else even though my laptop supports 64bit + I never game on it.
9.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 17:26
9.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 17:26
Jun 23, 2019, 17:26
 
You don't like Ubuntu? I'm not up to speed on all the different versions except for the web hosting small distros varations like RedHat + Centos, which are not good for gaming. If Ubuntu is not the answer who is? Who do you like?

I am very in shock because of their 32 bit pull here. Gonna probably change my distro to something else even though my laptop supports 64bit + I never game on it.



Burrito of Peace wrote on 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.
10.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 17:26
RaZ0r!
 
10.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 17:26
Jun 23, 2019, 17:26
 RaZ0r!
11.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 17:27
11.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 17:27
Jun 23, 2019, 17:27
 
Ubuntu needs to fix this if they want to stay the most relevant desktop distro. Keeping 32-bit support isn't such a big deal, so what if it keeps file sizes a bit larger.
12.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 17:57
12.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 17:57
Jun 23, 2019, 17:57
 
I think you will still be able to get this working on Ubuntu, it's just going to be a pain in the ass... like you might need to chroot a 32bit env and run steam that way.

I've been contemplating running my threadripper box on linux, but I definitely won't be using Ubuntu. There's some really interesting, well maintained distros out there, but I'm not sure what I would use.
Avatar 20018
13.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 19:27
13.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 19:27
Jun 23, 2019, 19:27
 
phinn wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 17:27:
Ubuntu needs to fix this if they want to stay the most relevant desktop distro. Keeping 32-bit support isn't such a big deal, so what if it keeps file sizes a bit larger.

Ubuntu isn't even in the top 3 FYI

https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=popularity

(And yes, I am being joky... ) While this backpaddling is hilarious (apparently Ubuntu devs only just realized that losing easy to use WINE and STEAM would kill their entire OS on the desktop market) Ubuntu is the best/least worst desktop version of this flavor.

The fact these distros are still using mailing lists to decide things like this feels like they fell out of time though.
Avatar 54727
14.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 20:31
14.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 20:31
Jun 23, 2019, 20:31
 
WebSoldier wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 17:26:
You don't like Ubuntu? I'm not up to speed on all the different versions except for the web hosting small distros varations like RedHat + Centos, which are not good for gaming. If Ubuntu is not the answer who is? Who do you like?

That's a tough call. Generally, if you have Nvidia hardware, I recommend Manjaro because the Manjaro Hardware Database is just flatout amazeballs. One click and done. This is also true of Realtek hardware, Broadcomm hardware, and other proprietary driver situations.

If you do not have Nvidia hardware, or don't mind using Gnome, I'd recommend Fedora Workstation 30. Seriously. I just switched back to it from Manjaro because Fedora Workstation Gnome DE has made massive strides in performance and usability. I also like that Fedora updates frequently for not being a rolling release distro. Also, my heart belongs in the RHEL world and DNF is probably the best package manager out there, period. Combine that with built-in Flatpak support and easy to install Snap support and you have my perfect Linux distro.
"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

Purveyor of cute, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers.
Avatar 21247
15.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 22:12
15.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 22:12
Jun 23, 2019, 22:12
 
I would imagine the linux community will probably create a compatibility layer or emulation to handle what was lost. Think DosBox or Wine or even VMware.

This problem will be solved sooner or later.
16.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 23, 2019, 23:48
16.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 23, 2019, 23:48
Jun 23, 2019, 23:48
 
eRe4s3r wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 19:27:
The fact these distros are still using mailing lists to decide things like this feels like they fell out of time though.

No one would ever accuse the Linux community of living in the future, let alone the present.
17.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 24, 2019, 00:40
NKD
17.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 24, 2019, 00:40
Jun 24, 2019, 00:40
NKD
 
Damn I better get some boot floppies for another distro...
Do you have a single fact to back that up?
Avatar 43041
18.
 
Re: Street Fighter V New Character & Patch Plans
Jun 24, 2019, 04:51
18.
Re: Street Fighter V New Character & Patch Plans Jun 24, 2019, 04:51
Jun 24, 2019, 04:51
 
Time for Steam to get off their asses and do something. It's not the only kid on the block anymore and can't just sit there wallowing in cash without doing anything

This comment was edited on Jun 24, 2019, 07:50.
19.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 24, 2019, 10:02
19.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 24, 2019, 10:02
Jun 24, 2019, 10:02
 
TheEmissary wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 22:12:
I would imagine the linux community will probably create a compatibility layer or emulation to handle what was lost. Think DosBox or Wine or even VMware.

This problem will be solved sooner or later.

That doesn't need to be done. You can simply repackage the binary and all necessary libraries in to a Snap or Flatpak which will literally cover every Linux distribution out there that has Snap and/or Flatpak support.

bhcompy wrote on Jun 23, 2019, 23:48:
No one would ever accuse the Linux community of living in the future, let alone the present.

And yet Microsoft just can't help itself from blatantly copying features from Linux and doing its best to integrate it via WSL in to their OS.

Surely were Linux so backward and antediluvian that Microsoft would see no reason to do either of those things.
"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

Purveyor of cute, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers.
Avatar 21247
20.
 
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending
Jun 24, 2019, 10:36
20.
Re: Steam Ubuntu Support Ending Jun 24, 2019, 10:36
Jun 24, 2019, 10:36
 
Well hopefully they move to Debian then. :>
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