# Ubuntu is dropping 32-bit support, so Valve is dropping official support for Ubuntu



## s3thra (Jun 23, 2019)

Original Ubuntu mailing list post:


			i386 architecture will be dropped starting with eoan (Ubuntu 19.10)
		


Reports of Valve dropping support for future versions of Ubuntu:








						Steam will no longer support Ubuntu, say Valve
					

Steam is dropping official support for Ubuntu, which is currently the world's most popular desktop Linux distribution. The bombshell news was delivered by




					www.omgubuntu.co.uk
				








						Valve Will Not Be Officially Supporting Ubuntu 19.10+ - Phoronix
					






					www.phoronix.com


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## lexluthermiester (Jun 23, 2019)

I wonder how this is going to affect Mint as it's based on Ubuntu..


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## Nuckles56 (Jun 23, 2019)

Welp, time to find a new distro for my htpc then...


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## Paganstomp (Jun 23, 2019)

So I guess people like running less then 4 GB of RAM? 

Also note. I don't buy games anymore from Steam.


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## Aquinus (Jun 23, 2019)

This sort of bums me out. I really hope Ubuntu isn't going to shove this down our throat or I might have to stick with 18.04 LTS until it's out of support then look elsewhere. I really do like using Ubuntu as a distro and I can understand why they're doing this. So I'm more upset with Steam not getting their ducks in a row and deciding to just drop support over this.


Paganstomp said:


> So I guess people like running less then 4 GB of RAM?


People like using software that's 32-bit, like games, within a 64-bit installation of Linux. Steam itself is 32-bit iirc. So instead of all of this whining, I would expect valve to make Steam a 64-bit application instead of literally saying "Sorry, we can't make our platform 64-bit so, chio!"


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## ShurikN (Jun 23, 2019)

Aquinus said:


> People like using software that's 32-bit, like games, within a 64-bit installation of Linux. Steam itself is 32-bit iirc. So instead of all of this whining, I would expect valve to make Steam a 64-bit application instead of literally saying "Sorry, we can't make our platform 64-bit so, chio!"


You totally missed the point. Valve can port Steam to 64-bit without any issues. But Ubuntu will drop the entire 32-bit library support which means all of the 32-bit games will stop working. That's probably 95% of the entire Steam library. And there's nothing Valve can do, as they are only selling and not making them. (apart from a handful of titles here and there)


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 23, 2019)

Forget about x86, half of all ARM boards out there are still 32-bit only, including the RPI, as they've got a weird hybrid kind of CPU thing going.
That might not matter for Valve, but it would suck for those using Ubuntu on those platforms.


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## Wyverex (Jun 23, 2019)

I'm pretty sure Valve uses parts of WINE on Linux, and WINE devs explicitly said they require 32-bit support for WINE to work properly


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## Aquinus (Jun 23, 2019)

ShurikN said:


> You totally missed the point. Valve can port Steam to 64-bit without any issues. But Ubuntu will drop the entire 32-bit library support which means all of the 32-bit games will stop working. That's probably 95% of the entire Steam library. And there's nothing Valve can do, as they are only selling and not making them. (apart from a handful of titles here and there)


Isn't the steam common runtime supposed to solve that particular problem by shipping with the 32-bit binary that most people don't even have installed on a 64-bit install on Linux?


Wyverex said:


> I'm pretty sure Valve uses parts of WINE on Linux, and WINE devs explicitly said they require 32-bit support for WINE to work properly


WINE is the biggest pain in the ass to configure with their own apt sources specifically because it's 32-bit then dependencies conflict and nothing works right. It is undoubtedly one of the worst parts of WINE.


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## rtwjunkie (Jun 23, 2019)

Aquinus said:


> This sort of bums me out. I really hope Ubuntu isn't going to shove this down our throat or I might have to stick with 18.04 LTS until it's out of support then look elsewhere. I really do like using Ubuntu as a distro and I can understand why they're doing this. So I'm more upset with Steam not getting their ducks in a row and deciding to just drop support over this.
> 
> People like using software that's 32-bit, like games, within a 64-bit installation of Linux. Steam itself is 32-bit iirc. So instead of all of this whining, I would expect valve to make Steam a 64-bit application instead of literally saying "Sorry, we can't make our platform 64-bit so, chio!"


That would be assuming Steam had any desire to adapt and progress in a changing software and game environment.  Steam has become stagnant in nearly every way.


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## Deleted member 158293 (Jun 23, 2019)

Hmm, not sure why change?  On x86 just run a VM with whatever you need to run whatever you want.

Is it that people still don't grasp the concept of running VMs with different operating systems?

Worst case, just go with another Linux distro then, choice is one of the beauties of Linux.


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## blobster21 (Jun 23, 2019)

For those gamers whom Ubuntu is the favorite distro, they will switch to debian + desktop environment of their choice and will feel at home again.

Sure they won't get the most recent softwares, but if Steam is a "must have, no matter what" for them, then this is the most logical move.


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## GoldenX (Jun 23, 2019)

Good, more people on Manjaro/Arch.


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## StrayKAT (Jun 23, 2019)

I posted awhile back about ClearLinux. It's progressing nicely. If you have an Intel chip, check it out.


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## Darmok N Jalad (Jun 23, 2019)

blobster21 said:


> For those gamers whom Ubuntu is the favorite distro, they will switch to debian + desktop environment of their choice and will feel at home again.
> 
> Sure they won't get the most recent softwares, but if Steam is a "must have, no matter what" for them, then this is the most logical move.


That was my thought as well. 

I’m sure this is a dumb question, but could Valve add 32bit support back in somehow?


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## GoldenX (Jun 23, 2019)

StrayKAT said:


> I posted awhile back about ClearLinux. It's progressing nicely. If you have an Intel chip, check it out.


It even works as good with Ryzen.


Darmok N Jalad said:


> That was my thought as well.
> 
> I’m sure this is a dumb question, but could Valve add 32bit support back in somehow?


A flatpak package could solve it.

ARM32 is not compromised, only i386.


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## Aquinus (Jun 24, 2019)

Darmok N Jalad said:


> I’m sure this is a dumb question, but could Valve add 32bit support back in somehow?


I'm still confused as to why it's an issue since Steam ships with a lot of the required 32-bit libraries within the steam common runtime.


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## Darmok N Jalad (Jun 24, 2019)

Aquinus said:


> I'm still confused as to why it's an issue since Steam ships with a lot of the required 32-bit libraries within the steam common runtime.


That's what I thought. Linux doesn't load a lot of stuff unless you need it, but I wasn't sure if 32bit libraries was a bit more complex than everyday packages.


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## lexluthermiester (Jun 24, 2019)

Aquinus said:


> I'm still confused as to why it's an issue since Steam ships with a lot of the required 32-bit libraries within the steam common runtime.


Kernel compiler problem maybe? Still, this is a bonehead move on Canonical's part. Now if they were going to move forward with a 64bit base while maintaining 32bit compatibility that would be different.


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## Aquinus (Jun 24, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Kernel compiler problem maybe? Still, this is a bonehead move on Canonical's part. Now if they were going to move forward with a 64bit base while maintaining 32bit compatibility that would be different.


Absolutely nothing is changing with the kernel. All Ubuntu said is that they're pulling 32-bit support which they clarified does not mean that there are no 32-bit libraries. It's that 32-bit libraries are *no longer going to receive updates*. ...but you know, lets cherry pick the news.   



			
				Steve "vorlon" Langasek said:
			
		

> I’m sorry that we’ve given anyone the impression that we are “dropping support for i386 applications”. That’s simply not the case. What we are dropping is updates to the i386 libraries, which will be frozen at the 18.04 LTS versions. But there is every intention to ensure that there is a clear story for how i386 applications (including games) can be run on versions of Ubuntu later than 19.10.


https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-Steve-32-Bit-Comments


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## lexluthermiester (Jun 24, 2019)

Aquinus said:


> It's that 32-bit libraries are *no longer going to receive updates*. ...but you know, lets cherry pick the news.


That's not true. Ubuntu stated in the article in the OP;


> we took the proactive step to disable upgrades from 18.04 to 18.10 for i386 systems[2], to avoid accidentally stranding users on an interim release with 9 months of support instead of letting them continue to run Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with its 5 years of standard support.


This directly implies that the LTS 32bit versions will continue getting updates and patches until support ends for them. They stated in a following paragraph;


> While this means we will not provide 32-bit builds of new upstream versions of libraries, there are a number of ways that 32-bit applications can continue to be made available to users of later Ubuntu releases


But we don't know the details of what is involved to make that happen, nor do we know what kernel-level changes are being made. It's possible that making Steam work in such a way might be a huge hassle.


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## Aquinus (Jun 24, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> That's not true. Ubuntu stated in the article in the OP;





lexluthermiester said:


> This directly implies that the LTS 32bit versions will continue getting updates and patches until support ends for them.


LTS packages tend to get security and backported bug patches, not version updates. By using LTS sources, you're basically ensuring that version won't change since very few packages with LTS sources will update to newer versions. That's part of the guarantee you get with an LTS version being stable and well tested. It's not going to be stable if versions are changing all the time in which case, go use Arch or something that's a rolling release.


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## lexluthermiester (Jun 24, 2019)

Aquinus said:


> LTS packages tend to get security and backported bug patches, not version updates.


That's kinda what I meant. No worries.


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## s3thra (Jun 25, 2019)

*An update has been issued by Canonical* - they are reverting their decision to drop 32-bit binaries entirely, and are now developing a community driven process to determine which 32-bit packages are required for popular legacy software to run properly.

Thankfully they have been listening to the huge outcries from, as they put it "WINE, Ubuntu Studio and gaming communities". Hopefully by deprecating support for the wider 32-bit package library we don't end up with too many wrinkles running Steam games in future releases of Ubuntu.

Statement from the Canonical blog:








						Statement on 32-bit i386 packages for Ubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 LTS | Ubuntu
					

Thanks to the huge amount of feedback this weekend from gamers, Ubuntu Studio, and the WINE community, we will change our plan and build selected 32-bit i386 packages for Ubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 LTS. We will put in place a community process to determine which 32-bit packages are needed to support...




					ubuntu.com
				




Other reports:








						Ubuntu Changes Its Mind, Says it WILL Continue to Support 32-bit Apps - OMG! Ubuntu!
					

Canonical has issued a statement on Ubuntu's 32-bit future — and gamers, among others, are sure to relieved! The company says Ubuntu WILL now continue to




					www.omgubuntu.co.uk
				








						Ubuntu To Provide Select 32-Bit Packages For Ubuntu 19.10 & 20.04 LTS - Phoronix
					






					www.phoronix.com


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## lexluthermiester (Jun 25, 2019)

s3thra said:


> *An update has been issued by Canonical* - they are reverting their decision to drop 32-bit binaries entirely, and are now developing a community driven process to determine which 32-bit packages are required for popular legacy software to run properly.
> 
> Thankfully they have been listening to the huge outcries from, as they put it "WINE, Ubuntu Studio and gaming communities". Hopefully by deprecating support for the wider 32-bit package library we don't end up with too many wrinkles running Steam games in future releases of Ubuntu.
> 
> ...


And this rarely happens with companies like Microsoft. Well done Canonical! Now we just need Valve to chime in and offer their input.


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## johnspack (Jun 25, 2019)

Well,  thank god.  I'll bet winehq put some pressure on canonical.  The first thing you do before installing wine is enable 32 bit arch support.  95% of games out there are still 32 bit.  I still think Kubuntu is one of the best linux distros to step away from windows,  it did it for me.   I felt it would have been a huge mistake for them to do this and ruin that.  We need to entice people away from windows,  not back to it!


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