In this tutorial, we will install Steam on Linux mint 21 using two of the available options. Either using software manager or directly via .deb file.
Steam is the perfect software for all of your gaming needs. It is cross-platform and can run on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS.
Valve has also developed its own steam-based gaming operating system called SteamOS.
You can download and play thousands of free and paid games using the steam store.
Install Steam on Linux Mint 21
There are two ways to install Steam on Linux mint. We can install steam using the Software manager or we can install it by downloading and installing the steam file via its official website.
Official repositories are almost always outdated, so the best way to install steam on Linux mint is to install it by downloading its installation file.
Method 1: Install from the Steam website.
Step 1: Go to the Steam website and click on Install steam.
Visit the official website of steam and click on the Install Steam button in the top right corner.
Step 2: Now on the download page click INSTALL STEAM to start downloading steam.
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This will download the steam installation file to your system. If you are on Linux, then it will automatically start downloading for Linux, but if you are on Windows or Mac, then you will have to manually choose the Linux version of steam.
Step 3: Navigate to the installation file and open it by double clicking on it.
Usually this is in your downloads folder, but if you chose it to save to another directory, then navigate to that directory and open it by double clicking it.
Step 4: Click on the green button that says Install Package.
You will see a missing dependencies option if you don’t have all the dependencies installed.
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It will automatically download and install all the required dependencies while installing Steam.
Step 5: Now give it the required permissions by filling in your password and clicking Authenticate.
To install steam we will require administrative permissions for this, it will ask you to fill in your password. Click Authenticate after filling in your password to start installing Steam.
Step 6: Close the installation dialogue.
After installation, it will say that the same version is already installed. Close this dialogue box.
Step 7: Now find Steam in the mint menu or on your desktop and open it.
You can find Steam in the menu under the Games section or if you see a Steam icon on your desktop, then double-click it to open.
Step 8: Now Steam will update itself. Wait for the installation to complete.
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The file we downloaded earlier was just an online installer, so after installing it we need to download the actual package as well. The download size will be around 300 M.B.
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This will happen automatically when you open Steam for the first time, or there is an update available.
Step 9: Log into Steam using your Steam account.
Log into steam using your account name and password if you don’t have an account already then create one.
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You will need to pass some security checks to log into your account, so be ready with your mail account open.
Step 10: Browse and Install software from Steam.
Now browse and download your favorite games easily from Steam.
Method 2: Install Steam from Software Manager.
Step 1: Open the Software manager from the menu.
Search for the software manager in the Linux mint 21 menu and open it by clicking on it.
Step 2: Search for steam and click on it.
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Search for steam using the search menu in software manager or if it is available on the homepage, then click on it as shown in the picture above.
Step 3: Click on the Install button to start installing Steam
You can see the Steam version and download size under the Details section. Remember this is just the online installer, actual steam will be downloaded after installation.
Step 4: Fill in your password and click Authenticate.
It will ask for your password as root permissions are needed to install Steam. Fill in your password and click on Authenticate.
Step 5: Click Launch to launch steam
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You can launch steam directly from the Software Manager or go to the Mint menu and search for steam and launch it from there.
Step 6: Wait for the download to finish, once finished log in with your username and password.
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Now wait for the update to finish, download size will be around 300 M.B and the download time will vary depending on your internet speed.
From here, the rest of the steps are the same as in Method 1. Just log in to your steam account, download games, and enjoy.
Method 3: Install using the Terminal
This method is for little advanced users who have introduced themselves to the Terminal.
Just put the command below in the terminal to start downloading and installing Steam.
sudo apt-get install steam
Follow the instructions shown on the screen to easily install Steam via just one click and follow Method 1 for the rest of the setup like logging in.
Be sure to update your repository cache before installing steam via terminal by entering the below command in Terminal.
sudo apt-get update
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