Valve put up their Steam Year In Review 2025 and initially, they made it seem like their hardware plans were a lot more uncertain but they've since clarified.
I am waiting for SteamOS Desktop. I want to ditch Windows, but also want a company dedicated to gaming to provide a distro. Odds are, it will be user-friendly and standardized enough for power-casuals to allow me to do what I want, without worrying about obscure Linux technical stuff.
Nobody tell this user about Linux Mint or Ubuntu, okay? We’re saving it for the surprise party.
Joking aside, I understand wanting a company like Valve to directly provide strong support.
I also think that’s why it won’t happen, though. I think it is just too far outside of Valve’s core business.
Valve does contribute to other projects, here and there, to help Steam succeed on Linux. I doubt they’ll go beyond that, at least until the Steam Machine releases.
In the mean time, the closest option I can think of is buying a PC with Linux pre-installed, from System76 or Tuxedo, and then just search up “Steam” in the software center.
I prefer Valve. 800lb gorilla, main driver of Proton, not likely to suddenly vanish or change leadership, brand recognition means many people will develop extensive documentation and implementation specifically for SteamOS. I want to install an OS once, and never be forced to change it on that machine.
I want to install an OS once, and never be forced to change it on that machine.
I’d be wary of putting all your eggs in a single basket, many people believed Windows was the be-all OS until Microsoft started making funky decisions ultimately changing people’s perspective of their business.
Steam is great now but consider who is going to replace Gabe Newell when he retires or passes away. Think about Steam as a business in 10-20 years and what will change in their policies.
I prefer Valve. 800lb gorilla, main driver of Proton, not likely to suddenly vanish or change leadership, brand recognition means many people will develop extensive documentation and implementation specifically for SteamOS
Under the hood SteamOS/Bazzite are Arch based whereas Ubuntu/PopOS/Linux-Mint are Debian based, the documentation that really matters is going to come from these base gorrillas.
I am waiting for SteamOS Desktop. I want to ditch Windows, but also want a company dedicated to gaming to provide a distro. Odds are, it will be user-friendly and standardized enough for power-casuals to allow me to do what I want, without worrying about obscure Linux technical stuff.
Nobody tell this user about Linux Mint or Ubuntu, okay? We’re saving it for the surprise party.
Joking aside, I understand wanting a company like Valve to directly provide strong support.
I also think that’s why it won’t happen, though. I think it is just too far outside of Valve’s core business.
Valve does contribute to other projects, here and there, to help Steam succeed on Linux. I doubt they’ll go beyond that, at least until the Steam Machine releases.
In the mean time, the closest option I can think of is buying a PC with Linux pre-installed, from System76 or Tuxedo, and then just search up “Steam” in the software center.
Mint yes, Ubuntu no. It really is not easy to not be able to install applications with nothing but command line
I’ll mention bazzite despite the tone in case someone reads this and might like that.
PopOs?
I prefer Valve. 800lb gorilla, main driver of Proton, not likely to suddenly vanish or change leadership, brand recognition means many people will develop extensive documentation and implementation specifically for SteamOS. I want to install an OS once, and never be forced to change it on that machine.
I’d be wary of putting all your eggs in a single basket, many people believed Windows was the be-all OS until Microsoft started making funky decisions ultimately changing people’s perspective of their business.
Steam is great now but consider who is going to replace Gabe Newell when he retires or passes away. Think about Steam as a business in 10-20 years and what will change in their policies.
Under the hood SteamOS/Bazzite are Arch based whereas Ubuntu/PopOS/Linux-Mint are Debian based, the documentation that really matters is going to come from these base gorrillas.