I want to install steam to play games on my machine, sudo apt search steam gives me:
...
steam/bionic 1:1.0.0.54+repack-5ubuntu1 i386
Valve's Steam digital software delivery system
steam-devices/bionic,bionic 1:1.0.0.54+repack-5ubuntu1 all
Device support for Steam-related hardware
steam-installer/bionic,bionic 1.0.0.54+repack-5ubuntu1 all
Installer for Valve's Steam digital software delivery system
...
So when should one use steam and when should one use steam-installer?
3 Answers
steam-installer just installs steam. The Ubuntu Software store will only show you 64bit programs if you're on a 64bit OS. So steam-installer is just a workaround to show it in Ubuntu Software since steam is 32bit
If you download the steam_latest.deb from the official website and install it (using gdebi if you like) you will end up with steam-launcher installed and a Steam ppa added.
It appears the first option of:
steam/bionic 1:1.0.0.54+repack-5ubuntu1 i386
is the 32bit version and the other is the 64bit version so pick based on your OS
