Valve’s SteamOS is here to take the reins for your favorite mobile gaming machines. The company’s latest update enables anybody to load up Valve’s native handheld software onto (almost) any handheld PC, providing a much cleaner, console-like experience for a smaller screen. We’ve already seen how the change in operating system can increase gaming performance on familiar handhelds. At this rate, Valve is in a good position to give every PC—not just handhelds—the Steam Deck treatment.
SteamOS version 3.7.8 is finally out of beta. While it’s built with Steam Decks in mind, it also adds compatibility with the Lenovo Legion Go S. The extra step this takes is creating compatibility with any handheld PC running an AMD chipset. That includes devices like the original Lenovo Legion Go, as well as the Asus ROG Ally and Ally X. Valve doesn’t care about having its own proprietary software tied to hardware. It cares more about proliferating the Steam marketplace on every gaming machine, big or small.
Getting SteamOS installed on a separate handheld involves downloading the SteamOS recovery image. Valve offers instructions for how to do that on its website, which includes separate instructions for both the Legion Go and ROG Ally. While there’s a possibility you may be able to install SteamOS on other handhelds from smaller brands like Ayaneo and GPD, there are a few major handhelds missing from this list. Both the MSI Claw 7 and Claw 8 AI+ use an Intel chipset and run on Windows 11. Earlier this year, Valve told French tech outlet Frandroid it was working with Intel on SteamOS support, but the makers of Half-Life haven’t revealed when it might add that support. At least MSI’s upcoming Claw A8 with its AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme should be compatible when it finally sees the light of day.
Valve made it clear that SteamOS working on other handhelds isn’t as clean as it should be when it arrives on the Legion Go S. At least, Valve explained how its “Steam Deck Verified” will work on non-Steam Deck devices. Anything that is supported on SteamOS will get a “SteamOS Compatible” label, of which around 18,000 titles should work on handhelds. However, this won’t tell you if the game is built for a small screen or if it will run at a playable framerate.
SteamOS is based on Linux, though it currently isn’t built to run on any regular PC. There are certain functions, like the sleep and wake modes, that are tuned specifically for handheld. The recovery image released Friday won’t work on any full laptop or desktop. As for whether we’ll be able to turn any Windows PC into a newfangled “Steam Machine,” we may not have to wait too much longer. Valve has previously stated it was planning to ship “a general installer for SteamOS available for other manufacturers who wish to make a gaming device of their own.”
The days of Windows’ dominance of PC gaming may be coming to an end—or at least we may finally have some competition. Though we’ve already wrapped our mitts around the Windows version of Lenovo’s 8-inch single-body handheld, the SteamOS version is set to launch May 25 for $600 compared to the $730 version with Windows 11. Gizmodo will have its own review of the new edition of the Go S, and we’re hoping the new price point and potential performance uptick may finally offer an alternative to Valve’s own handheld. Windows-based handhelds have to run more background tasks compared to SteamOS, and that impacts performance. Microsoft has hinted its working on to make its operating system better on handheld, and it may even tie itself to Asus to launch an officially licensed Xbox handheld PC.
Even if Microsoft can make headway on a handheld mode, Valve has a head start. Steam is still the largest game distribution platform on PC, and—despite Game Pass’ reported growing popularity—Microsoft can’t come close to Valve’s overwhelming dominance. Either way, comfort and ease of use are the big reasons to make the switch. It’s not exactly seamless to get non-Steam games on Steam Deck, but if the alternative is navigating Microsoft’s increasingly ad-filled OS, most would choose the more-seamless option.
