SteamOS is at the head of a big shift in the gaming industry. It is first of all Valve’s Linux-based gaming operating system called SteamOS that was designed for the Steam Deck and until now Valve has only released it for the Steam Deck. Now, the company is distributing SteamOS to other handheld gaming devices.
That means gamers will have more options, as SteamOS can be integrated in a different manufacturer’s hardware. SteamOS is tailored for gaming and unlike Windows, there is very little else, as it removes any extraneous background schemes that don’t need to be there and that can slow things down. This article will introduce SteamOS, its third-party support, its advantages, and more.
Lenovo Legion Go S and Third-Party Support
Lenovo announced the Legion Go S, a handheld gaming device that is capable of running Windows and SteamOS at CES 2025. Adopting SteamOS is the first time a major third-party manufacturer has ever officially embraced SteamOS, as the gaming industry changes.
Offering both operating systems serves the purpose of increasing users’ flexibility, by giving more options to a game-optimized one, or to a more general-purpose one. But Lenovo’s move here proves that other companies will be moving to join that bandwagon soon, and means more SteamOS hardware will soon be shipped as handheld gaming PCs.
The operating system will only thrive if more companies adopt it, breaking the Steam Deck monopoly for all gamers who wish to enjoy the perks of it.
Advantages of SteamOS Over Windows
The biggest advantage of SteamOS is that it is completely integrated into the Steam ecosystem. Immediately they can start logging into that Steam library and all of their cloud saves and all of their updates are there. However, SteamOS has been built from scratch for gaming and it boasts a far better battery life and performance than Windows, which is intended for more everyday use.
SteamOS differs from Windows in removing unnecessary background processes, and as a result, systems are running games with less of the system overhead. It also has a more basic, console interface.
Challenges in Expanding SteamOS
It is exciting to expand SteamOS to other handheld gaming devices, however, there are challenges one must tackle. Hardware compatibility is one of the main hurdles. Since the Steam Deck is designed to run SteamOS, various adjustments are required to make it usable on other devices with different processors, GPUs, and controls.
For SteamOS to function properly on a range of hardware, Valve must work closely with manufacturers. Another challenge is game compatibility. Thousands of games can already be played on SteamOS with Proton, but occasionally certain games need extra tweaking still.
Since some games are not compatible (due to anti-cheat software, or other technical limitations), a handful of games are listed below, which users may choose from, whenever they want to play something differently. Additionally, some gamers may choose Windows because it is more than capable of running other types of software beyond gaming.
The Future of Handheld Gaming with SteamOS
However, the more SteamOS thrives on the Steam Deck, the more diverse, and potentially competitive, the platform will become in the world of handheld gaming. The addition of more manufacturers may include SteamOS integration, offering gamers better choices and more in terms of device performance. It could encourage further development to improve compatibility and gaming experiences for third-party devices to succeed on SteamOS.
With this, Microsoft may also be pushed to enhance the performance of Windows for handheld gaming and compete to healthy OS competition. SteamOS, if it proves successful, has the chance to dramatically change portable gaming: it could become the first place portable gamers turn to.
