Every now and then I wonder where SteamOS is. The obvious answer is: it's on the Steam Deck, dummy. But ever since Valve released the original Steam Deck it's been talking about creating a general install that would allow you to drop its impressive Arch-based Linux distro onto other, non-Decky devices. And finally, we have the first tantalising glimpse of a general SteamOS install almost within sight, because the latest beta release (via SteamDeckHQ) has one line that has got me rather excited: "Added support for extra ROG Ally keys."
That's exciting because every SteamOS release has been purely tailored for installation on Valve's own Steam Deck, with a general install being always frustratingly just out of reach. This, however, is the first time I've seen the patch notes referring to a fix being in place specifically for an installation of the operating system on a different company's device.
For many years all we've had on that front has been a recovery image file that kinda allows you to drop SteamOS 3 onto other devices. Valve says "for all the tinkerers out there" that this is not quite SteamOS 3 as a standalone install, and it "may not work properly" if you try and install it on anything other than a Steam Deck.
Basically, there has been no thought to support other gaming devices… until now. For reference, you have to read that last clause in Mr. Cinema Trailer voice.
There have been fixes made in previous SteamOS updates for third-party peripherals, and other things you might plug into a Steam Deck, but the added support for extra ROG Ally inputs is very new and rather pleasing. Sure, this isn't about to turn into an OS I can finally replace my Windows 11 install with on my regular gaming desktop, but it might hint a new SteamOS download designed for the raft of other handheld gaming PCs out there is coming soon.
Which would be a good thing, because as much as I've made peace with Windows on handhelds when I've been playing with the ROG Ally X and Ayaneo Kun, I always feel kinda envious when I pull the Steam Deck OLED out of my drawer and give it another whirl.
It's an incredibly satisfying experience, and one tailored to the handhelds. Which is exactly why you're going to see SteamOS 3 hitting other handheld gaming PCs ahead of any installation which tries to run the Linux distro on a standard desktop PC with myriad potential configurations.
When the OLED first came out I spoke with Valve's Deck designer, Lawrence Yang and asked specifically when a standalone install would arrive.
"Oh, man," sighs Yang, "it's very high on our list, it's on our list and we are working on it. But a lot of the same people that would make the general install of SteamOS available are the same people that are making Galileo [Steam Deck OLED] work.
"We're hoping soon, though, it is very high on our list, and we want to make SteamOS more widely available. We'll probably start with making it more available to other handhelds with a similar gamepad style controller. And then further beyond that, to more arbitrary devices. I think that the biggest thing is just, you know, driver support and making sure that it can work on whatever PC it happens to land on. Because right now, it's very, very tuned for Steam Deck."
That was in November last year, and we're now nine months later and it feels like that gestation period might finally be about to give way to the official birth of a version of SteamOS you can jam on another AMD-powered handheld. Here's hoping it's not just the Ally and we get support for devices across the board. Though I wish you luck if you're hoping for a version that runs on a Meteor Lake handheld…
I've reached out to Valve to see if there might be some more concrete confirmation coming soon, and will keep you posted.
