Linux gamers will get some Steam

First Apple gamers get the goods, now Linux users can enjoy the magic of a good Steam sale weekend.

Steam, Valve's game distribution network, appears to be headed to Linux.

Information gathered by Phoronix, most importantly proof of Steam's Linux client existence discovered via Steam's Mac OS X launcher, indicates that this will happen in the not too distant future.

Valve is already sure to bring the Steam distribution to Apple and this has been heavily advertised, but this could confirm that the application, games and service are being porting to Linux.

This is a big deal, as Steam is a pioneering game platform that distributes and manages over 1,100 games to a community of more than 25 million people.

A real problem with Linux has been the reluctance of games companies to support it, so this could change the landscape for Linux gaming.

As Phoronix mentions, Linux users might be highly sceptical about this, as last year gamers were eagerly anticipating the promised release of Unreal Tournament 3 on Linux that never materialised.

There shouldn't be any reason why there is a platform check for Linux if Valve wasn't going to do it, but then again would-be Linux gamers have learned not to count their chickens.

But it is reportedly also possible for those with some technical expertise and patience to assemble the program themselves and run it, although they will likely encounter problems logging onto the online service, as it has not yet been certified for testing on Linux.