Valve has been in the spotlight with its popular gaming platform Steam and its portable device Steam Deck, and now it is preparing to extend its operating system SteamOS to a wider hardware ecosystem. The company has introduced a new “Powered by SteamOS” logo, signaling official support for third-party hardware running SteamOS. So what does this mean? Details in our news…

Valve is gearing up big for new gaming hardware and SteamOS

In fact, we can say that this move shows that Valve is planning to revive its previously failed Steam Machines initiative. Of course, this time with a much more mature strategy. According to Valve’s new guidelines, the “Powered by SteamOS” logo will only be used for hardware running the SteamOS operating system and manufactured in close collaboration with Valve.

They will also have a different category than the “Steam Compatible” logo, which identifies only Steam-compatible peripherals. Valve executive Lawrence Yang has expressed interest in expanding SteamOS since 2022. Yang has stated that they plan to make the adaptation of SteamOS to other portable devices more accessible. As a result of this effort, Valve’s current hardware ecosystem is rapidly expanding.

2024 was a year of explosive growth in the portable gaming device market. For example, the adoption of SteamOS on Windows-based devices such as Asus’ ROG Ally was already a major clue to Valve’s new strategy. Also, thanks to Proton technology, SteamOS can now offer game compatibility across more platforms. This largely overcomes the software support issues of the past.

Meanwhile, some manufacturers didn’t wait for official support. Manufacturers like Ayaneo have already started developing their own Linux-based systems without waiting for official SteamOS support. So, what do you think about this? You can write your opinions in the comments section below.