Valve Teases SteamOS Expansion To Power Rival Gaming Handhelds

Since the launch of the Steam Deck, PC handheld devices have become a hot segment in the gaming market. Though, the only one capable of officially running SteamOS has been Valve’s device. However, it appears as if this might not be the case for much longer. The company has introduced some changes to its brand guidelines that opens the door to third-party manufacturers being able to use SteamOS.

The section titled “steam family of brands & feature designations” has a new logo that say, “Powered by SteamOS.” It’s described as being available “for hardware running the SteamOS operating system, implemented in close collaboration with Valve.” It seems as if Valve will have a say in how SteamOS is implemented for a handheld to sport this badge.


This is great news for hardware makers who operate in this space. Many gamers have looked for ways to dual boot SteamOS on devices that don’t natively come with it, although it can be a time consuming and tedious process for less technical users. That manufacturers can just have SteamOS from the start will likely make their products more appealing to a key segment of mobile gamers. The ideal scenario is one where devices can natively dual boot SteamOS alongside Windows for maximum game compatibility.

It's not too surprising Valve is making these moves to prepare for more devices being able to run SteamOS. Earlier this year the company released updates to SteamOS that made it more compatible with other handhelds, which excited the gaming community for the potential of future updates.

Hopefully devices already on the market and in customers’ hands can still benefit from these changes, and that future devices are able to deliver the best handheld gaming experience possible.