Steam for Linux is now in open beta. Holiday Gift from Valve

Just now, in the Steam for Linux group , an announcement has appeared about the event that everyone has been waiting for: the Steam client for Linux is now in open beta testing. Everyone who still hasn’t received an invite can now run the client completely freely and without hacks.

Steam for Linux Beta Test Now Open to Everyone! In order to participate in the beta, you need to download the latest version of the Steam Linux client ( here ) or update an already installed client to the latest version.
In addition, we are now tracking bugs on Steam for Linux using GitHub . This gives us a better interface than on the forums that were used during the closed beta. The Steam repository for Linux (now empty) is public, which allows anyone with a free GitHub account to create new tickets, change old ones, or track bugs in the bug tracker. The repository contains a readme-file (README.md) that describes how to create a new ticket (it contains the same format used for the closed beta).
The development team will continue to work on the problems already described on the forum , but it is strongly recommended to report new bugs using the GitHub bugtracker interface. The sub-forums will remain open so that people can join or continue discussions already started on the Steam client for Linux.
And finally, last but not least, we now have a repository with the Steam installation package . Also, there is a mailing list for announcements of package updates. To subscribe, use the public mailman’s page located here: https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/steamrepo .

And here are the changes for the current release:

• The Steam client for Linux has entered the open beta phase.
• Linux - Fixed increased consumption of CPU resources by the Steam client while playing Team Fortress 2.
• Linux - Fixed overlay crash when starting Cubemen.
• Big Picture - Improved backward behavior in the user interface.
• Big Picture - Discount timers and other interface elements have been added to the store.