One of the Steam Deck’s Best Features May Soon Go Third-Party

One of the Steam Deck's Best Features May Soon Go Third-Party

Key Takeaways

  • Recently-unearthed Valve documents suggest a full release of the Steam Deck’s SteamOS for third-party devices may happen soon.
  • The Valve documentation reveals a new “Powered by SteamOS” logo, as well as branding guidelines for third-party devices that will use SteamOS.
  • Valve might prefer that third-party devices ship with SteamOS pre-installed, much like the Steam Deck.

As a seasoned gamer with years of experience under my belt, I can’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the prospect of SteamOS becoming available for third-party devices. The Steam Deck has been a game-changer for me and many others, offering an intuitive, seamless gaming experience that Windows simply cannot match on handheld devices.

A new finding indicates that Valve might be preparing to make its SteamOS operating system compatible with third-party devices, following the release of the Steam Deck. Previously, Valve had mentioned its intentions to expand the distribution of SteamOS beyond the Steam Deck, and it appears the software is about to be expanded to accommodate devices outside this device family.

Although the Steam Deck may seem less powerful compared to competitors such as the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion GO, it holds a significant advantage with its operating system, SteamOS. This Linux-based OS is admired by Steam Deck users for its user-friendly controls, swift interface, and overall simplicity. In contrast, competitors run on Windows, which hasn’t been fully optimized for a handheld design yet. It’s rumored that Microsoft is developing a handheld mode for Windows 11, but there’s no clear timeline for when this feature will be accessible to users.

It looks like Valve might soon release a full version of SteamOS, which could enable Steam Deck-like experiences on other devices. A recent update to their branding guidelines on SteamDB suggests this possibility. The 45-page document includes a “Powered by SteamOS” section with guidelines for a specific logo. This logo will be used on devices that can run SteamOS and boot into the operating system upon startup.

SteamOS May Soon Be Available on the Steam Deck’s Competitors

One of the Steam Deck's Best Features May Soon Go Third-PartyOne of the Steam Deck's Best Features May Soon Go Third-PartyOne of the Steam Deck's Best Features May Soon Go Third-PartyOne of the Steam Deck's Best Features May Soon Go Third-PartyOne of the Steam Deck's Best Features May Soon Go Third-Party

The article goes on to explain that any devices from external partners or manufacturers that utilize SteamOS must include a Steam logo, which is either provided by or developed in tandem with Valve. This underscores the fact that these branding rules for third-party hardware specifically concern devices capable of running SteamOS. Furthermore, it seems that Valve encourages these partners to preload SteamOS onto their devices, rather than offering a separate standalone release that users can install later. However, until an official announcement from Valve regarding the full launch of SteamOS, it remains unclear if both options will be available.

It’s unclear when we might hear about this announcement, but there’s a strong possibility that Valve is secretly collaborating with external hardware makers to enhance SteamOS for their products. It’s intriguing to consider how Microsoft might react if SteamOS becomes a popular operating system for future handheld PCs. If this happens, manufacturers could choose SteamOS over Windows, which could potentially lead to Microsoft losing business. With Microsoft also developing its own Xbox handheld, they might speed up their efforts to improve the Windows experience on portable devices to remain competitive.

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2024-12-04 23:13