As things heat up in the realm of PC gaming, Valve isn’t necessarily out to convert users.
That’s according to Pierre-Loup Griffais, one of many developers at Valve working on SteamOS. Speaking with French outlet Frandroid (thanks, PC Gamer), Griffais notes that the team is trying to provide a great experience for players and developers, but not to take a certain amount of the market away from Microsoft and Windows.
“I don’t think the goal is to have a certain market share, or to push users away from Windows,” says Griffais. “If a user has a good experience on Windows, there’s no problem. I think it’s interesting to develop a system that has different goals and priorities, and if it becomes a good alternative for a typical desktop user, that’s great. It gives them choice. But it’s not a goal in itself to convert users who already have a good experience.”
Valve found success in the gaming handheld space with the Steam Deck, with the first iteration launching back in 2022. At CES 2025, we learned that Valve is bringing SteamOS support to other devices outside of the Steam Deck, starting with a version of the Lenovo Legion Go S that’s slated to launch at some point later this year. The device made such a splash that my colleague Zachary Boddy found it to be one of the coolest pieces of tech at the entire show.
Griffais also notes that the development teams don’t really have a timeline in mind for specific SteamOS features and improvements, but instead are continuing to chip away at needed work whenever and wherever possible.
“With the completion of our hardware, we were able to free up time for SteamOS to open up to other handheld consoles,” he explains. “And little by little, it will flare out while a lot of efforts are made in parallel for the benefit of office use. But we don’t operate under a schedule, everything is done little by little.”
An exciting space for competition
With SteamOS expanding to new devices in the near future, I’m curious to see what Microsoft plans to do. Xbox VP of next gen Jason Ronald spoke at CES 2025 about how the team would have some things to share later in the year, with plans to better bring Windows and Xbox together. Microsoft is also working on dedicated Xbox handheld, though that device is still a ways away from being ready to show.
I’m all for more competition here, as Microsoft and Valve both innovating in this space can bring benefits to users and game developers alike. All of that also comes as Nintendo is set to finally unleash a successor to its Nintendo Switch console.
That device will certainly take a very different approach compared to something like the Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally, but like its predecessor, it will be a driving force in the handheld space, and will easily be the most accessible device for the mass market to grab.
