Any would-be Linux gamers in the house?
Valve, as promised, issued a casting call of sorts on Monday for 1,000 "experienced Linux users" to help test out the OS version of Steam.
Steam, a digital distribution and social gaming platform, has been instrumental in the revitalization of PC gaming that's occurred over the last several years.
Bellevue, Wash.-based Valve worked hard to port the platform to Linux ever since Valve CEO and beloved gamer icon Gabe Newell famously called Windows 8 "a catastrophe" in July.
The rise of Linux
"We're looking for Linux gamers to install and test our new Steam for Linux client," read a new page at valvesoftware.com, though the note added that only experienced Linux users need apply.
One has to wonder whether there is any other kind.
Linux holds a distant third place behind OS X and Windows 8, coming in at five percent of total PC users as of August 2012, according to statistics from W3Schools.
Compare that to OS X's 8.7 percent, and Windows' hold on everyone else.
But with Valve trumpeting the death of Windows, Linux may be able to pick up steam by gaining Steam, leaving us to wonder: could Windows actually lose users to Linux?
A slow start
The answer eludes us for now, but either way, Steam for Linux is off to a humble start.
The beta will feature a bare-bones version of the platform, with only a single Valve game available to players. That game will likely be the multiplayer zombie shooter Left 4 Dead 2.
Newer Steam features, like Big Picture mode, won't be available yet in this version of Steam for Linux, and during this test phase players will be limited to that single game.
Linux is the third operating system to host Steam, as Steam for Mac OS X became available in 2010.
Via The Next Web
