Linux on more devices and associated with gaming is great. If it gets to the point where they work together with AlienWare to make gaming rigs powered by SteamOS, or even produce something together with Lenovo, HP, or Dell, and make it available in retailers, maybe then we’ll finally see it enter more people’s homes.
Android is Linux, but it’s so heavily modified that it’s a case of Theseus’s ship.
I already game on Linux because of Steam. It’s easy and works.
I want that so much.
Help dissuade (or confirm) a fear here. Could this be the first step to a sort of Androidization of steamos?
Probably not. Unlike Android, it doesn’t take away the Linux desktop features. It’s just Arch with a bunch of stuff pre-installed.
SteamOS will most likely be deployed on other handheld PCs, not desktop PCs. The handheld PCs that came out in response to the deck’s release (or before) usually run Windows.
Android is not bad because Android itself is bad (well… it kinda is but let’s just assume it isn’t), but because the phone manufacturers lock down their phones’ hardware. They do this to force you into their ecosystem. With SteamOS, you already have an ecosystem, which is Steam. There is (at least for now) a clear distinction between Hardware manufacturer and software provider.
For now at least Androidization is nothing you should worry about. Maybe in 10, 20 years. edit: and even then it’s never going to be as bad as with the smartphones
The thing we should be more concerned about are the parts that Steam haven’t opened up, for example Steam input. However they’ve done everything as openly as possible for the move to Linux and I applaud that. If steam goes away or stops being so open, we still have proton and wine and other projects that mean we’re not locked in to a Steam-specific OS, so we avoid the android problem there too.
Good to know! Thank you for explaining it.
Not desktop PCs
I would very much so run it on my laptop, tbh, if it used GNOME. Lol
You don’t need SteamOS to game on Linux. I’ve heard good things about Bazzite, and there other Linux distros that focus on gaming.
I’ve been considering switching my deck to bazzite, tbh, because I prefer gnome so much, and I like being to use desktop mode when I’m out. I got a tiny Bluetooth mouse keyboard combo that looks like a remote or flat controller. I’m the only one who drives in my family, so I spend a lot of time just sitting in the car, waiting at doctors and stuff. It’s nice being able to take just one device and work on school work or something.
What do you mean by “Androidization”?
That MB I just put in a box might be viable again? Wouldn’t upgrade to Win11 but worked great in every other way.
Just install Linux? SteamOS is just a Linux distribution based on Arch. My current distro is Garuda, which is also Arch based and has a gaming focused version with everything you need for gaming pre-installed.
How is CS2 working on it? I know I could just try to get it running myself on a spare pc, but I find that as I get older I dislike fiddling with things like this more and more. And while I’m fine with just playing games made to work properly on Linux, CS2 and it’s predecessors is something me and my real life friends have been playing for nearly two decades. It’s a way to keep in touch as everyone has kids and can’t come to the pub during the weekend.
Haven’t tried that distro specifically, but I have been gaming on Linux for at least 4 years now and Counter Strike is not a problem at all. It is my most played game and it works great for me on Linux mint.
I imagine running it on a distro that has a focus on gaming will only make it run even better and easier.
Give it a try!
I haven’t played in a while, but great! I assume this means Counter-Strike 2, not Cities Skylines 2, but both work well.
Basically everything works perfectly now. You can check ProtonDB to check specific games.
