Valve, known for the Half-Life series, is expanding its presence in the hardware market with its Steam Deck and associated software. The company has announced that it will allow other manufacturers to install SteamOS on their devices.
SteamOS for Third-Party Devices
Pierre-Lou Griffé, a developer at Valve, confirmed that the company will enable SteamOS to be installed on other devices. He also stated that a beta version of the OS for portable gaming devices would be released after March. The first third-party device to officially support SteamOS will be the Lenovo Legion Go S.
Valve has officially announced this news on Steam, highlighting the collaboration with Lenovo:
Following the announcement of the Lenovo Legion Go S at CES 2025, we are delighted to share that this “Powered by SteamOS” model is the first portable device from a third-party manufacturer with an official license to use SteamOS from Valve. We have created an operating system that is convenient and optimized for gaming, while retaining access to the power and breadth of a personal computer. SteamOS is the same operating system used in the Steam Deck. Our team is releasing updates to ensure full support for the Lenovo Legion Go S and to ensure the ease of use that our users have come to expect.
Beta Release and Future Support
Valve’s work to support the Lenovo Legion Go S will also enhance compatibility with other portable devices. Ahead of the Legion Go S release, a beta version of SteamOS will be made available, which should improve the performance of SteamOS on other portable devices, allowing users to download and test it. Valve plans to further expand support and improve usability in future updates.
According to Valve, the integration with Lenovo is just the beginning, with plans to port SteamOS to other manufacturers’ devices in the future. No specific names have been announced as of yet.
Lenovo Legion Go S Launch
The Lenovo Legion Go S is expected to launch in May 2025 and will be priced at $499.
Community Projects
Steam Deck developers have also commented on Bazzite, an optimized Fedora Linux distribution for running games. Lawrence Yang, an engineer for the Deck, considers it an “excellent community project that provides many possibilities.”
Source(s): Steam
