Install Steam on Ubuntu 24.10

[joepesci]

Hi everyone. Im a newbie to Ubuntu and Id like to install Steam.
I dont know what the safest and most reliable way to install it is.
Ive seen that there are several options:

• Directly with the .deb from the Steam website
• From Flatpak
• From Snap
• Using apt install steam-installer

I thought Flatpak would be a really good idea, but im worried that it isnt officially supported by Steam.

I dont know what the safest and most reliable method to do it is.

Ive tried with:
apt install steam-installer
Then I ran steam and a new installer popped up where it says
“Steam will be installed into: /home/user/.steam/debian-installation.
Install or cancel”

Does this mean that it will install by downloading a .deb package? Does it install directly from apt? I’m not clear on that at all.

Thank you very much and sorry for the inconvenience.

[soumyadghosh]

Just use the snap, it works fine and good, without any problem

[rubi1200]

Tested on Kubuntu 24.10:
sudo snap install steam

Installs and runs flawlessly.

[ian-weisser]

Advice for new users:

Always look first for new software in the App Center that came with your install.

The software in there is tested for compatibility with your system.
It’s the software we provide support for.

Here’s how to find Steam in there:

Super easy. No confusion. Fully supported.

[joepesci]

My doubt comes because Valve itself said this:
"Valve is seeing an increasing number of bug reports for issues caused by Canonical’s repackaging of the Steam client through snap.

The best way to install Steam on Debian and derivative operating systems is to follow the instructions at http://repo.steampowered.com/steam/ and use the official .deb

We are not involved with the snap repackaging. It has a lot of issues.

If you don’t want the .deb, please at least consider the flatpak version."

[ogra]

Yes, Valve said that nearly a year ago… the snap has been developed by a full time team in Canonical and within the last 11 months most of these bugs have been fixed, also if you encounter any bugs with the snap, make sure to not file them at Valve but at the issue tracker for the snap:

Issues · canonical/steam-snap

EDIT: You might also find this thread interesting (it has a nice and scientific comparison of deb, flatpak and snap):

Ubuntu 24.04 Boosts Gaming Performance

Here is the video and some of points I was mentioning about the overall improvements between past Ubuntu versions and Ubuntu 24.04 (Including 23.10, 23.04 and 22.10 which were the ones used for testing games like Cyberpunk). So basically it is the total amount of tests and the performance benefits between October 2022 and April 2024. Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCpvexMQLfU (If you would like to help, the only thing you can do is subscribe to the channel so it does not look like an …

[linus-soidinlaakso]

This (Install Steam on Ubuntu 24.10 - #4 by ian-weisser) is the correct answer. Deb’s are no longer up to modern times computing needs either: they have full access to users Home folder. Not saying that Valve’s deb is dubious, but generally they can’t no longer be recommended.

This is why we need universal and more secure packaging methods such as Snap. It had its troubles in the beginning (like any new tech and software) but is now very good. Flatpak installation on Ubuntu then again is a hassle and requires excessive terminal codery.

Steam Snap also has all the additional goodies included too that any gamer would need. MangoHud and GameMode are already integrated in the Snap, as well as controller support.

Snap uses security mechanisms like AppArmor to isolate applications. AppArmor blocks access to critical directories and system functions (enhancing security).

If you encounter any problems still, please bug report them to Canonical as also stated above!

[joepesci]

Thank you all very much for your advice and help.
I will try to install it from Snap and see how it works.
Thanks.

[ian-weisser]

@joepesci

The best way to install Steam on Debian and derivative operating systems is…

@linus-soidinlaakso

This is why we need…

@romactu1

Except with…

Moderator Hat On

This topic is about how a new user with a properly-functioning average system should install Steam.

Bug reports, opinions, and other discussion are interesting, but not relevant to this topic. Please open a new topic (or find a different existing topic) to discuss those worthy advanced subjects.

This new user has already been misled and confused by too many opinions.

[romactu1]

Good news is that feedback according to Valve is out of date, back in August 2024 Canonical has fixed an issues for Steam Snap making were we can play lots of Steam games like on a DEB version or Flatpak version.

So no reason to switch to DEB version or Flatpak version unless you want to run snaps as a non-steam like VLC or Geforce NOW (on Chromium).

I’m always excited to see they’ve fixed some issues for Steam Snap but they’re closer.

[joepesci]

Hi everybody. Finally i installed Steam Snap, but was really disastrous experience. In the end i couldt play because i always receive error message when i ran my games. But thanks for your help-

[soumyadghosh]

Which game did you try? Was that game playable in Linux?

[joepesci]

Hi the game was Total War: Warhammer 3. I had problems with Feral and was impossible play it. Thanks

[soumyadghosh]

Would you mind sharing some screenrecordings of the errors, because the game is very big for me to download and test.

[Gre0]

Total War: WARHAMMER III is a game developed for Linux (its a native game, no Proton is needed). So it should work very well under Linux out of the box.
Do you know ProtonDB? Before i buy/run any games I always take a look there what others say about the game.
https://www.protondb.com/app/1142710?device=pc

“problems with Feral” Sounds like it’s not Steam Snap’s fault.

Btw. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Dragons Dogma 2, Firewatch, Disco Elysium, … I recently didn’t notice any problems with the ‘Steam Snap’.

Thanks to everyone who is involved in the development.