1. this is looking a lot like an exponential growth not a linear growth trend that was slow before the Deck then faster after the Deck

2. the percentage of linux machines with Deck-exclusive GPUs is now smaller (iirc it reached ~50% for a while) so linux growth is now driven by actual linux distros installed on PCs, laptops, etc, not a niche console that happens to have linux in it but you might never realize it, if seen as just a console

3. the Desktop/Laptop market is pretty saturated, definitely slowed growth and maaaaybe shrunk a little but is not as likely to shrink to oblivion as to contract and stagnate... also mobile games aren't as convergent to Steam games as console games are, so the risk of people giving up on Steam in favour of Google Play Games is pretty slim and wouldn't happen quietly and overnight... heck, even if Android for Desktops appears and Google Play starts selling games that work both on Android mobiles, Android TV and Android PCs, it would need *a lot* of muscle to move every conceivable game and PC gamers into its ecossystem

4. meanwhile Valve gave gamers plenty of reasons to move from consoles to Steam (and keeps giving more)

5. eyes peeled for signs of Valve's total userbase growth, which traditionally is very high (and might have slowed a bit but still be growing)

6. Windows users with old hardware being locked out of Win11 while Win10 goes EOL would maybe push people into upgrading hardware, but those same prohibitive RAM prices might make them more prone to try linux for free on their current hardware

7. there is just way more talk about linux now, that even aloof gamers have a fair chance of hearing about linux from their non-linux-niche gaming streamers

8. there is now comparable (or better overall) polish in the linux side (including for games) so first contact might bring people in more than scare them away

9. Valve is banging the drums of shiny new VR + Console that's actually PC + Controller and at its heart the new team is all based on SteamOS