Canonical has posted a job offer with which you intend to hire a Desktop Video Game Product Manager (newly created role) “to make Ubuntu the best Linux desktop to play“. Undoubtedly a declaration of intent by the company, which is possibly aware that 2022 may be a turning point for the company. Linux Gaming.
Canonical gets chest out when explaining in the offer that it works “With partners in the silicon world to ensure the latest graphics drivers and settings are incorporated to achieve optimal latency and frame rates, as well as partners in the video game industry to ensure mechanisms such as anti-aging capabilities. -traps are available to ensure equity and product availability “. Nothing to object here, because if you want to attract talent, obviously the company has to sell.
Regarding the functions and / or responsibilities that the possible future employee would exercise, it is worth highlighting that of leading the product and the launch of video games to the market oriented to the Ubuntu desktop. Being more specific, this person would be in charge of define product strategy and commitments around Ubuntu desktop and will try to drive adoption. We doubt that this leads to any kind of exclusivity, but rather to make the Canonical distribution the reference operating system of the Linux Gaming.
The company founded by Mark Shuttleworth explains that “The position requires an analytical storyteller with a strong sense of message and a deep understanding of Linux communities and desktop, video game and graphics technologies”. In terms of curriculum and characteristics, college graduates with experience in software engineering and software engineering management with aspirations to be executives and entrepreneurs are preferred.
Apart from promoting Ubuntu as a reference for the Linux Gaming, the person hired would direct the options at the graphics level in the desktop-oriented version of the system; promote partnerships in the areas of silicon for graphics processing, desktop and games; tell the history and trajectory of Ubuntu to the players; in addition to directing development and design engineering.
Regarding responsibilities, among others, is that of “analyze market trends, define objectives, product themes and features, maintain the product portfolio and request the opinion of interested parties“. This is in addition to creating a “effective marketing content to attract enthusiastic audiences between consumers and sophisticated technicians “ and the responsibility for “Product roadmap, go-to-market execution, sales materials, case studies, training, blog posts, and community outreach”.
As we said at the beginning, it seems that Canonical is aware that the year 2022 may be a turning point for the Linux Gaming, and above in a panorama in which it has more and more competition.
Throughout the first quarter of the current year 2022 they would have start shipping the first units of the Steam Deck, Valve’s hybrid console that will be the starting gun for a SteamOS 3 that could arrive with more surprises than expected. Apart from that, we have an Arch Linux more and more consolidated in the landscape of Linux Gaming with the support of its more popular derivative, Manjaro, while on the other hand it would be good to remember that GNOME 42 aims to offer great improvements in the execution of video games, so its adoption could be important for Ubuntu.
Distributions most used by Steam users for Linux according to the December 2021 survey.
Ubuntu was the great catalyst for Linux Gaming during the early years of Steam for Linux, but the competition has been improving over time, with Arch Linux and Manjaro up front if we take into account the results of the Steam survey. If Canonical is currently moving to position its distribution it means, at least apparently, that it has competition, which would be good for users as there are several options that in theory they would have to constantly improve as products to improve or at least maintain their position.
