With the widespread support for Steam/Valve on this forum because of their contributions to making Linux gaming easier, I’m now confused as to why people here are using Linux in the first place.
I personally do so out of support for FOSS software, the customizability, and actual ownership of software, which I thought were most people’s primary reasons for using any Linux distro. Steam seems antithetical to all of these. The software in the first place became popular as a form of DRM, and it gets publishers to use it for the allowance of DRM on the platform. The Steam client has the absolute minimum customizability. Your account can be banned at any point and you can lose access to many of the games you have downloaded.
Whenever I game on Linux I just use folders to sort my game library and purchase any games I want to play on itch.io or GoG. On my Linux PC I stay away from clients like Steam because I want a PC that works offline, and will work if all of my accounts were banned. It’s more of a backup PC.
Since Steam has every characteristic of Windows, 0 customizability, DRM, plenty of games that are spyware, I see no reason to really not use Windows instead for the much easier time I can have playing games.
Yes, I prefer many of the features of Linux distros, but using a client like Steam defeats the purpose of them. Ridiculous storage requirements due to unoptimized dependencies, having to have a background client running for some games and wasting resources on doing so.
So, why use Linux and support Steam, or use Linux and use Steam?
I was using Linux before there was a Steam, and I’m still here. You speak as if the “default state of being” is being on Windows.
Disregarding that, why would a single launcher/client/whatever dictate what OS I use? What I enjoy while using steam is not the openness of steam, what I enjoy is the freedom of choice on my home turf. I enjoy living in an age where I can boot up my trusty Linux rig, finish my work, and contemplate three or four launchers before picking one and facing choice paralysis while picking from hundreds of games (yes I’m very excessive and haven’t even finished 0.01% of them) that actually run like a charm.
This is a reality I love and celebrate. This is the year of the Linux desktop for me.
I don’t love the Steam store, but I love Valve, because they made all of this possible. Even if all of the above is incidental in their pursuit to build their steamdeck. At least they did it the right way by contributing back upstream to the FOSS community at large.