Over two years after Valve released the Steam Deck and helped mainstream a new sub-genre of PC gaming, the company confirmed that it would allow rival PC handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally to run SteamOS.
Speaking to The Verge, Valve designer Lawrence Yang confirmed that the company intends to allow competing portable gaming PCs to run its Linux-based operating system. The news comes just days after a new SteamOS patch notes revealed that the update "added support for extra ROG Ally keys."
"The note about ROG Ally keys is related to third-party device support for SteamOS. The team is continuing to work on adding support for additional handhelds on SteamOS," Yang told The Verge. However, don't expect SteamOS to be running on a device like the ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go anytime soon, as Yang explained that the team is "making steady progress," yet the OS "isn't ready to run out of the box yet."
Once Valve gets a final build of SteamOS running on non-Steam Deck PC handhelds, it will mark the first time the operating system is available as an option to competing portable gaming PCs. Earlier this year, Ayaneo claimed its handheld, the Next Lite, would come preinstalled with SteamOS in the press release before later changing it to reveal the operating system is actually a clone based on SteamOS.
What about dual-boot support for SteamOS and Windows?
Yang also provided a small update to The Verge regarding the option to dual-boot SteamOS and Windows. Yang explained that the team is "preparing to make the remaining Windows drivers for Steam Deck OLED available," but despite not having an ETA on when dual-boot support will arrive on Steam Decks, he insisted that the feature is "still a priority" the team just hasn't "been able to get to it just yet."
The Steam Deck has offered support for Microsoft's Windows operating system. Although the experience has slowly improved, it is still not the ideal way to fully experience the Steam Deck, as SteamOS benefits like system-level gyro control and the option to suspend games are removed when the device is running Windows.
Yet, once the Steam Deck is capable of dual-booting both operating systems instead of just one or the other, it will allow device owners to switch between the two operating systems on the fly, making it easier to access games in digital libraries such as the Epic Games Store or the PC Game Pass library.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
