We've known for a long time that Valve planned to get the newer SteamOS that's on the Steam Deck out for more systems, but they've been a bit quiet on it. Now, they've confirmed it's still the plan for the likes of the ROG Ally and other systems.
Just recently I pointed out the curious mention of the ROG Ally in a recent SteamOS update note. A lot of other sites caught onto this as well, and so The Verge actually got word from Valve on what the update note meant and got a reply from Valve designer Lawrence Yang to mention: "The note about ROG Ally keys is related to third-party device support for SteamOS. The team is continuing to work on adding support for additional handhelds on SteamOS."
Additionally Yang noted they're "making steady progress" but it's not ready yet. On top of that Steam Deck OLED drivers for Windows are also being prepared and dual-boot is still planned to come at some point too.
The thing is, you don't need to wait for SteamOS to get Linux on many different handhelds like the ROG Ally, ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go, and various devices from GPD, AYANEO, OneXPlayer because there's multiple versions of Linux out there designed and supported on those devices already like ChimeraOS and Bazzite.
Nice to know Valve are still working on it all, but naturally none of it is a priority, since most of their work is to support their own devices with the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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thekraken8him Aug 14
Valve's commitment to be truly platform agnostic never ceases to impress me. While most tech platforms work tirelessly to build walled gardens, Valve seems to be constantly building new paths and still making boatloads of money. I really hope the rest of the industry takes note.
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Well… the walled garden is the shop with the games. The device is just a gimmick to sell more games, so it makes sense for them to supported other hardware.
8 Likes, Who?
Oh, it's just Valve casually putting in work to fix and improve their competitors' products. Nothing big. 
(Yes, I know the reason they do it is because their main business is the game store and not the hardware. Still impressive and unusual for these days of platform lock-in)
(Yes, I know the reason they do it is because their main business is the game store and not the hardware. Still impressive and unusual for these days of platform lock-in)
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This reads like thesis, antithesis, synthesis. ;)
Quoting: thekraken8himValve's commitment to be truly platform agnostic never ceases to impress me. While most tech platforms work tirelessly to build walled gardens, Valve seems to be constantly building new paths and still making boatloads of money. I really hope the rest of the industry takes note.
Quoting: KlaasWell… the walled garden is the shop with the games. The device is just a gimmick to sell more games, so it makes sense for them to supported other hardware.
Quoting: eldakingOh, it's just Valve casually putting in work to fix and improve their competitors' products. Nothing big.
(Yes, I know the reason they do it is because their main business is the game store and not the hardware. Still impressive and unusual for these days of platform lock-in)
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NathanaelKStottlemyer Aug 14
Let's go!
Let's just hope some people (EHHM Linus Sebastian) won't try to use this to daily drive on their PC and say that the Linux ecosystem is "locked down" and confusing.
I got my hands on a steam deck a few weeks ago and played around with it. Great console OS, awful computer operating system.
Let's just hope some people (EHHM Linus Sebastian) won't try to use this to daily drive on their PC and say that the Linux ecosystem is "locked down" and confusing.
I got my hands on a steam deck a few weeks ago and played around with it. Great console OS, awful computer operating system.
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Quoting: NathanaelKStottlemyerI got my hands on a steam deck a few weeks ago and played around with it. Great console OS, awful computer operating system.
What did you expect from an immutable OS? The desktop computing is going to be limited because the only thing that would never get wiped whenever a new SteamOS update get installed is the Home directory. You can use distrobox or Nix if you ever need software that's not available on the Discover store but anything you want to do with it would still have to be done on the Home directory.
Last edited by ToddL on 14 August 2024 at 4:07 pm UTC
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Quoting: eldaking(Yes, I know the reason they do it is because their main business is the game store and not the hardware. Still impressive and unusual for these days of platform lock-in)
Not really that - people are generally going to get their games from Steam regardless of whether they're using Windows or Linux. The strategic aim of the Deck is as a Linux gaming demonstration device so that Valve's own customers aren't the handcuffs that tie Valve to Microsoft. The other handhelds coming with Linux out of the box is the best scenario, but Linux being easy (and desirable) for customers to put on themselves is a pretty good second choice.
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Quoting: CatKillerQuoting: eldaking(Yes, I know the reason they do it is because their main business is the game store and not the hardware. Still impressive and unusual for these days of platform lock-in)
Not really that - people are generally going to get their games from Steam regardless of whether they're using Windows or Linux. The strategic aim of the Deck is as a Linux gaming demonstration device so that Valve's own customers aren't the handcuffs that tie Valve to Microsoft. The other handhelds coming with Linux out of the box is the best scenario, but Linux being easy (and desirable) for customers to put on themselves is a pretty good second choice.
I got the impression that Linux actually is the better base for handhelds, so this decision would be independent of showing off an alternative to Windows.
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thekraken8him Aug 14
Quoting: KlaasWell… the walled garden is the shop with the games. The device is just a gimmick to sell more games, so it makes sense for them to supported other hardware.
I know why they are doing it. Steam is their money maker. Valve recognizes that less friction will lead to more purchases, so they absolutely have a financial interest in making their platform as accessible as possible.
However, I wouldn't call Steam a walled garden at all. Valve doesn't do anything to prevent developers from selling on different platforms. They just made a platform that has so many good features, people generally prefer to use their product. I think that's a good strategy for a company to have. It actually encourages innovation in the market.
Valve is by no means altruistic. Companies exist to make money and they aren't your friend. However, I think a lot of the tech world would be better off if more companies operated like they do... well maybe not game developers... >_>
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Quoting: thekraken8himHowever, I wouldn't call Steam a walled garden at all. Valve doesn't do anything to prevent developers from selling on different platforms. They just made a platform that has so many good features, people generally prefer to use their product. I think that's a good strategy for a company to have. It actually encourages innovation in the market.
It works out that way anyways… All the games on GOG with missing Linux versions and missing updates. I don't think store exclusivity is a good thing and while they don't pay developers/publishers (unlike Epic) it often ends up that way.
What I don't like is that they apparently prevent deeper discounts on other stores.
The sentence about innovation… I don't see any innovation in the market at all. Humble has turned into a Steam key reseller from an innovative concept – drm free, cross platform, real pay what you want, charity donations. Epic with the barrage of free games and exclusivity bought by endless milking of Fortnite players. GOG is getting worse all the time – partly because their own mistakes (e.g. the timeout when not using the ‘optional’ client caused by bad programming in their Steam crack that is used by most releases in the last years) and partly by the publishers/developers abandoning their customers.
The only real innovation (i.e. investing lots of money into Linux) is happening because Valve is afraid of Microsoft destroying the market. Obviously this has huge benefits for us, but it is dangerous when it all depends on one company (or really one person that controls the company).
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