![[OC] Popularity of gamer Linux Distros over time](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xu7bq3w22z4g1-1536x1047.png "[OC] Popularity of gamer Linux Distros over time")
I created this chart from the ProtonDB data: https://github.com/bdefore/protondb-data/ which doesn't represent all Linux users or all gamers using Linux for that matter but it can be indicative of where trends are going. The data is from the last 6 years. CachyOS surpassed the more known distros a few months ago, while Bazzite has the biggest increase in adoption for the past 3 months consecutively. I was inspired by Boilingsteam but I didn't like that they excluded SteamOS. On top you see the amount of entries per month. Some people said I should post it here as well. So hope people can enjoy it or even use it.
Posted by Beginning-Complex821
14 Comments
Very beautiful, does the data include absolute numbers? That could be even more insightful!
What’s the lore on CachyOS?
Damn, Arch Linux and derivatives more that 44,4% (can’t see manjaro). That’s a lot
Why is ubuntu so low isnt that the default linux distro people use?
There must be some errors in the data source. I doubt SteamOS dropped from over 35% to under 25% in one month.
i wish just fewer of them would win
Huh, surprising to see how much Manjaro share shrunk over the years. Same for Pop_OS that was hyping for some time and now barely noticeable.
Wow, I really would’ve thought Bazzite would be in at least the top 3. I feel like almost every ‘gaming on linux’ thread has people recommending Bazzite.
In addition, Arch Linux is known for more a difficult installation process. Which made me expect Arch Linux to be much lower on the list
That drop off for Manjaro when everyone woke up and realised it’s awful.
Why is ‘flatpak’ there? that aint no distro
I changed to Bazzite and it’s working wonders for gaming.
Arch being so high is absolutely wild to me
I’m rather happy that I’m down in the “other” catagory. Means I’m not low-hanging fruit for security holes.
To all people gaming on NixOS, may god have mercy on your soul