With the announcement of the , the gears are well and truly turning. Revealed to be the first officially licensed third-party device to be running Valve's Linux-based OS, we finally have more details about what to expect from the future of SteamOS—chiefly, Valve is opening the floodgates.
In a recent , Valve announced that SteamOS will expand "beyond Steam Deck," with a beta version of the operating system becoming available for users to download ahead of Lenovo's handheld shipping. Considering the Legion Go S is slated for a May release, that beta could be even closer than we think. At any rate, .
We got an inkling more recently that SteamOS was in reach for non-Deck handhelds when support for the ROG Ally handheld's keys was detailed in a Beta update. Yono all app Refined wording of strengthened the theory—turns out we weren't just blowing smoke!
Groaners aside, it seems highly likely that both SteamOS and by extension, the Steam Deck itself will . Versatility is the name of the handheld game; even though SteamOS is Linux-based, Valve's Proton compatibility layer ensures games made for Windows work on Steam Deck, so development studios don't also have to worry about creating a Linux port.
Furthermore, SteamOS' desktop mode on Valve's Yono all app own handheld affords plenty of room to tinker and customise your device. This means that even on the Steam Deck itself, you're not locked into only playing on Steam and can install competitor clients to your heart's content. For another example, downloads over desktop mode were also how many turned their Steam Decks into stream decks—, though dedicated apps like .
For these reasons , we still rate Valve's original handheld. But with the , it certainly doesn't hurt to see a few more SteamOS-compatible options on the horizon.