Valve Will Officially Let You Install Steamos On Other Handhelds As Soon As This April

SteamOS was ever expected to beryllium bigger than Valve’s ain Steam Deck, and 2025 is nan twelvemonth it yet expands. Not only will Lenovo alloy nan first third-party SteamOS handheld this May, Valve has now revealed it will fto you instal a moving transcript of SteamOS connected different handhelds moreover sooner than that.

Pierre-Loup Griffais, 1 of nan lead designers connected nan Steam Deck and SteamOS, tells maine a beta for different handhelds “is slated to alloy aft March sometime,” and that you mightiness observe nan OS conscionable starts moving decently aft that happens!

Griffais and his co-designer Lawrence nan would not corroborate which handhelds mightiness conscionable commencement working, though location are immoderate evident candidates: nan institution confirmed to america successful August that it had been adding support for nan Asus ROG Ally’s controls.

Also, alternatively a less PC gamers personification too discovered that Bazzite, a fork of Valve’s Steam Deck acquisition that I loved testing connected an Ally X and vastly preferred to Windows, too useful wonderfully connected nan Lenovo Legion Go. There still aren’t that galore handhelds retired location astatine nan extremity of nan day, and I would deliberation Valve would return advantage of activity nan Linux gaming statement has already done connected both.

Speaking of Bazzite, Valve seems to beryllium flattered! “We personification point against it,” says Yang. “It’s a awesome statement task that delivers a batch of worthy to group that want a akin acquisition connected devices correct now,” says Griffais, adding later “In a batch of ways Bazzite is simply a bully measurement to benignant of get nan latest and apical of what we’ve been moving on, and proceedings it.”

But he says Bazzite isn’t yet successful a authorities wherever a hardware shaper could preload it connected a handheld, nor would Valve fto that. While users tin freely download and instal nan SteamOS image onto their ain devices, companies aren’t allowed to discarded it aliases modify it, and must partner pinch Valve first.

There are immoderate non-selfish reasons for that. Among different things, Griffais explains that nan Lenovo Legion Go S will tally nan aforesaid SteamOS image arsenic nan Steam Deck itself, taking advantage of nan aforesaid package updates and nan aforesaid precached shaders that fto games load and tally overmuch smoothly, conscionable pinch added hardware compatibility tweaks. Valve wants to make judge SteamOS is simply a azygous platform, not a fragmented one.

“In general, we conscionable want to make judge we personification a bully pathway to activity together connected things for illustration firmware updates and you tin get to things for illustration nan footwear caput and nan BIOS and things for illustration that successful a semi-standardized fashion, right?” says Griffais, regarding what Valve needs to spot successful a business that would officially alloy SteamOS connected different devices.

Valve isn’t presently collaborated pinch immoderate different companies beyond Lenovo to do that collaboration — nan tells maine nan institution is not moving pinch GPD connected charismatic SteamOS support, contempt that manufacturer’s claim.

Valve’s too not promising that whichever Windows handheld you personification will needfully tally SteamOS perfectly — successful a caller blog post, Valve only confirms that a beta will alloy earlier Lenovo’s Legion Go S, that it “should amended nan acquisition connected different devices,” and that users “can download and proceedings this themselves.”

As acold arsenic different style factors, for illustration imaginable SteamOS surviving room boxes, Valve says you mightiness personification a bully acquisition trying that. And partnerships are a anticipation location too: “if personification wants to bring that to nan marketplace and preload SteamOS connected it, we’d beryllium happy to talk to them.”

Valve wouldn’t show maine point astir nan rumors that it’s processing its ain Steam Controller 2, VR headset pinch wands, and perchance its ain surviving room box, but did show maine that we “might expect overmuch Steam Input compatible controllers successful nan future.”