SteamOS expands beyond Steam Deck
The Legion Go S - Powered by SteamOS is the first officially licensed third-party handheld powered by SteamOS
Here’s hoping it matures enough for desktop use by the time my Win10 desktop is EOL.
My man, have you heard of Bazzite?
I hate to go against the flow here, but I absolutely do not recommend Bazzite as a desktop OS. Surely as a living room or handheld PC thing, but not your main OS.
Immutable distros create a lot of pain when you need a package outside of the also problematic Flatpak world, and whilst there are ways to install them on Bazzite, regular users with no Linux knowledge would scream.
Or literally any other distro.
Pop is probably much easier to be up and running vs. Bazzite.
It's just arch isn't it?
I didn't think it's just Arch , though. IIRC it's also immutable.
Yeah I don't see any need for desktop use, except for making a Steam console under your TV.
You can use Steam with Proton on whatever distro you want.
It's built on top of Arch. The distro I'm using is Garuda, which is also built on Arch, and there's a gaming version that includes everything you need to play games immediately. No one should use SteamOS probably for a desktop. They should use something like Garuda. SteamOS is for a console-like experience.
I really want to switch my main desktop to Linux, but use it for remote work too, so I have MS Teams… is there a way to reliably virtualize it?
Teams can run as a chrome app, I use it daily.
I'm on W11 with my daily driver.
I don't like it. I didn't like it from the start.
So why?
Because W10 will hit EOL sooner than later; and I have to support that shit professionally.
Doesn't matter that no one is testing or building applications for W11, no security patches mean any employer worth their salt will switch over to W11, despite not having the infrastructure to do it.
Admin VS IT. I'm nearly 40, and that story is older than I am.
I already jumped to linux and I abandoned adobe as a graphic designer. I feel so free now. The tool don't make the profesional.
Dude, you don't need SteamOS for a desktop. Just download a more widely used desktop distro. I use Garuda, and it's great for starting up gaming.
SteamOS will be great for a console-like experience out of the box, which is not what you want for desktop.
Don't use SteamOS as a desktop OS, that's not what it's meant to. You might be used to Windows and think that a different distribution of Linux is just a different customization of the OS, but it's almost an entirely different OS that happens to run the same binaries.
If you're interested in getting an alternative to Windows, try some beginner friendly Linux distros on a Virtual Machine or an old laptop. I recommend Linux Mint to newcomers, but if you're used to the desktop mode on SteamOS maybe Kubuntu. The closest you can get is Bazzite but that's also not a desktop OS so I wouldn't use that unless it was for a Steam Machine. The second closest (that's also somewhat beginner friendly) is Manjaro K DE version, but being Arch based I don't tend to recommend it to new Linux users, but of you're dead set on getting something as close as possible to SteamOS that's it.
It originated as a desktop os and you can download it right now
I'm still holding onto the dream that we'll get SteamOS onto something small enough to fit in my pocket and run all my favorite 2D indie games. First manufacturer to do it gets all my money.
I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus a while back, purely an impulse buy for how cheap it was on sale, and ended up putting far more time into it than I ever did with my deck. This is the cozy form factor I need.
I'ma be real: It fucking kills me that Steam on Android has been mostly used for 2FA and the idea of it being an alternate game store for Android somehow just... doesn't exist?
Especially, out of all companies to take the fight about that kind of stuff to Apple and Google, Valve has the punching power, and they've literally already had Epic forge a path for them in this regard.
Why is my Android copy of Balatro unable to use the same cloud save system as Steam? Why am I stuck in Google's fucking lame gaming ecosystem? It just makes me heave and sigh because I'd way rather be purchasing games for Android via Steam on the Steam Android app. It just feels like such a missed opportunity.
I wonder if Valve plans to release an Arm version of SteamOS. They'd have to for it to ever show up on a device like the Miyoo Mini Plus, which uses an Arm based CPU, instead of the x86 based CPU in the Steam Deck, and other Windows handhelds.
Right now I think the OS of choice for Arm based devices is Android, which works well enough, but I don't think very many PC games are ported to Android.
Running x64 Windows games on x64 Linux with Proton is way easier than running x64 binaries on arm. That said, Apple have managed it so maybe one day!
Dude off the top of my head Balatro (won many Game of the Year awards), Vampire Survivors, Terraria, and Minecraft all have Android ports.
I wonder if Valve plans to release an Arm version of SteamOS
The problem here is you'd be relying on a translation layer similar to Proton, but would probably have to be built off of something like Box64 for it to work. There just may not be enough horsepower on these small devices for that to do well.
I would kill for something like the Miyoo Mini in a GBA form factor.
I get that there's a lot of nostalgia for the Gameboy / Gameboy color layout but the GBA/SD layout is definitely more ergonomically friendly.
I have an rg35xx h (just a generic square thing) and I'm pretty happy with it. I play mostly GBA and some PSP games on it
The miyoo flip is a GBA SP form factor and it’s more powerful. It can run n64 and Dreamcast games
Anbernic recently released the RG 34XX. It doesn't have SteamOS, but it's still Linux.
The GPD WIN 2 fits perfectly in a pocket, I hope the new one keeps those dimensions since it's already confirmed that it will be Steam OS compatible.
Get bigger pockets?
The flip has some great ports apparently. Balatro being one of them. I'm hoping for the same as you. I want a steam Gameboy like.
Hadn't come across the Miyoo before so went to have a look... looks like a really good little product but wow what an annoying website constantly popping up the chat box over the whole mobile screen whilst browsing!
Anyway, how have you found it ?
You could look at this: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-4-2025-amd-apu-handheld-console
I have one of their older products and I’m happy with it. I’m considering this one.
Comes with Windows 11 but says it supports SteamOS. Should certainly run at least older games well. They say it’s 220x92x28 mm (7.87x3.62x1.1 in) which is a bit chonky for something I’d put it my pocket but not unmanageable.
I love my Steam Deck but it’d be an i stant purchase if they released a Steam Deck lite with half the size and the same capability
All the talk the last few months about SteamOS and Bazzite (plus Windows 10's imminent death) got me to finally let up a Linux dual boot. Choosing a distro is a fairly contrary process with half the review lists being useless "tech media", half AI buzzword word salad, and half distro stans trying to sell you on their version by pointing out flaws in the others.
I jumped in and am now on Manjaro as I use my computer primarily for gaming and media consumption. I originally planned this because of Manjaro Gaming edition, but Manjaro Gaming edition hasn't been updated in years so looks like abandonware. Regular Manjaro it is, and add what I need as I go. I hope.
I decided to try Manjaro over PopOS due to enough anecdotal reviews about PopOS stability issues to make me second guess it. I have used Mint on old hardware in the past, and it was ok but I was concerned about gaming support and Nvidia drivers (accidentally jumped from Nvidia to Amd anyway, but that's another story). Ubuntu has the same issue as PopOS on top of being the corporate distro. I also still have a bad taste from trying Ubuntu years ago and gaming attempts on it sucked.
I do not want to distro hop to find the promised land or just to see what the other grass is like, it's just not something I am interested in and never have been. As bad as Windows can be, I have usually been able to ride an installation for multiple years barring external incident. I want to primarily sit down and use my computer. Reinstalls should be reserved for hardware refreshes and new builds.
If SteamOS can eventually simplify the decision paralysis involved in making the jump to Linux, it is going to be an absolute win. As a hard core techie with decades of experience building PCs, if I had this much trouble making the switch then I expect an even worse experience for the regular Joe.
That's great if you don't care about playing online games and are okay with games you buy becoming incompatible.
Said the person who did no research has no idea what they're talking about. Steam OS has been pushing game devs and publishers to be more compatible with Linux, not less. Additionally, the only online games that really have problems with steam OS are ones that require kernel level anti-cheat, and we all should be pushing for the downfall of that. It isn't necessary.
And so Cod works now? Yeah, that's not a thing. Does Paladins work? Oh, yeah crap. Was GTA V online compatibility killed? It was? Oh, damn. Does Destiny 2 work? Oh, you mean the developers threatened people with bans if they tried to play the game on Linux? Oh, oh crap. How is VR going on Linux? Not well.Oh, damn. 🤔
