It’s not perfect and still a ways from being complete but Steam for Linux is finally available for download.

I was able to download and install the 64-bit deb file with no problems but ran into an issue with a video driver package and the performance was lackluster on my little laptop but I’m planning on giving it another shot when I have time to diagnose the package issue.

The game selection seemed adequate with plenty of options available in the Demo and Free Play sections. For a limited time all the Linux games are 50 to 75 percent off.

While it still feels like an advanced beta more than a release app, but I give Steam major props for even working on a Linux client. I’ll drop some cash with them even if I don’t play the games a lot, just to encourage further development.

It also has come to light that Blizzard is nearly ready to test the waters with the release of at least one of their titles as a native Linux game later this year. Most of their titles run reasonably well in CrossOver but the idea of having Linux native games is cause for celebration in Linuxland.