Valve to quit support for Ubuntu over 32-bit block

Lack of support for 32-bit games in future versions of Ubuntu means many Steam games will no longer run

Valve is to discontinue support for Ubuntu following Canonical's decision to ditch the 32-bit architecture.

Pierre-Loup Griffais, a developer for Valve, has confirmed on Twitter that the company will cease support for the Ubuntu desktop Linux distribution for by its popular gaming platform 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.

The announcement comes not completely out of the blue, as Ubuntu had already revealed to subscribers of its mailing list that its 19.10 release, due October, will not support 32-bit software.

Many of the games that run on Steam are designed for 32-bit architecure. As reported by omgbuntu.co.uk, this move is unusual because, while most computers today are 64-bit, the majority allow 32-bit software to run on the desktop. However, for Canonical restricting the operating system to 64-bit applications will simplify the development and support processes.

All may not be lost for 32-bit gamers. The June 18 email from Ubuntu software developer Steve Langasek states that "there are a number of ways that 32-bit applications can continue to be made available to users of later Ubuntu releases", implying there may be workarounds to allow Steam games to run on Ubuntu 19.10 and subsequent releases.

However, Griffais' statement that all "future releases will not be officially supported" suggests that performance will not be guaranteed. This means that, come October, Linux-based Steam users will have to make a decision on whether to keep running a LTS (long term support) version of Ubuntu, find a new distribution altogether or else look for 64-bit alternatives for their favourite games.