Intel and NVIDIA drivers holding back a public SteamOS release, Valve not trying to compete with Windows

During CES, Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais spoke to Frandroid about SteamOS, Steam Deck and more and there's some interesting bits in there about the future. In case you missed it recently Valve announced a public beta of SteamOS is coming as 'SteamOS expands beyond Steam Deck'.

The interview on Frandroid is in French, but here's some Google-translated info for you. On the subject of SteamOS for everyone, it appears that issues with both Intel and NVIDIA drivers are part of what's holding up the release:

One of the promises was to release SteamOS for everyone, how difficult is it to release it now?

“I think there are a couple of factors. One is that on some platforms, the support is still very basic. Intel, it works a little bit better than before, but our driver teams and Intel are working on it. NVIDIA, the integration of open source drivers is still pretty nascent. There’s still a lot of work to be done on that side… So it’s a little bit complicated to say that we’re going to release this version when most people wouldn’t have a good experience.”

“And then there’s the ease of installation. We had an installer for SteamOS 2, but here we started with the Steam Deck so everything came straight out of the box, so the process right now is basic. Unlike some community alternatives that add this layer of installation that accompanies users. We haven’t done that yet.”

“It’s just a matter of priorities.”

So it's all in progress and they're working on it together with various driver teams. Eventually the situation should be solved.

Anyone who uses NVIDIA on desktop Linux will know how badly Steam Big Picture Mode currently works, so this is not exactly a big surprise to me. When I switched over to an AMD GPU, it was like a night and day difference.

As for the upcoming Legion Go S that will use SteamOS, an interesting note here is that Valve / Lenovo will be using the open source tool Input Plumber:

Are the works of Bazzite, ChimeraOS, Nobara also profitable for you?

“Sometimes yes. A lot of their work is integration, where they use things that the community has developed to create a much more streamlined installation and support experience than our development trees. But there are also quite a few components that are originally developed by the community that we use. For example, on the Legion Go S, we use a component called Input Plumber to manage the controller.”

"We're not too interested in inventing our own sauce [sic]. If something is already done and meets our standards of performance and functionality, we use it."

If you're hoping that SteamOS is going to be the Windows-killer that other news sites keep reporting on, Valve have much calmer words to say about that:

Back in the Windows 8 days, Gabe Newell accused Microsoft of killing the PC ecosystem. Is SteamOS the Windows killer developed by Valve?

"I don't think the goal is to have a certain market share, or to push users away from Windows. If a user has a good experience on Windows, there's no problem. I think it's interesting to develop a system that has different goals and priorities, and if it becomes a good alternative for a typical desktop user, that's great. It gives them choice. But it's not a goal in itself to convert users who already have a good experience."

Valve are also leaving the door open for a future Steam Machine:

Are Steam Machines still in sight, or are portables your priority?

"Right now, we're focused on handhelds. But as our work expands our ability to work on other platforms and have a good experience in different form factors... We've already done a lot to make these consoles connectable to screens, connectable to a controller..."

"We're not there yet to give priority to a Steam Machine. But in collaboration or internally, it's an open door to the future."

So in other words, they're just focused on providing a good experience for their own Steam ecosystem. Users moving over if they see it works better for them is nice to have, but they're not trying to directly compete against Windows completely (yet…).

You can also follow the interviewer on their YouTube channel.