SteamOS on ROG Ally confirmed

SteamOS update revealed that Valve is working on supporting 3rd party hardware officially.

The SteamOS update listed as 3.6.9 Beta: Megafixer is a new patch for gamers on the preview channel for the latest updates. This update addresses various hardware and software issues, including Steam installation problems, improved cold boot times, fixes for OLED refresh rates, and new firmware.

There’s also support for new gaming controllers, including the ASUS ROG Raikiri and Machenike G5 Pro. Interestingly, in the “Input” section, Valve mentions “ Added support for extra ROG Ally keys ,” suggesting that the operating system will support gaming handhelds other than the Steam Deck.

Steam OS 3.6.9 update, Source: Valve

The Verge reached out to Steam for comment, and the company’s designer, Lawrence Yang, confirmed that work is indeed underway to enable ROG Ally support.

“The note about ROG Ally keys is related to third-party device support for SteamOS. The team is continuing to work on adding support for additional handhelds on SteamOS”.

— Lawrence Yang, Designer at Valve Corporation

This change might put pressure on Microsoft, as its Windows operating system will now compete with one of the largest gaming platforms and perhaps the most optimized OS for gaming handhelds. In the meantime, users can explore projects like ChimeraOS or Bazzite, which are considered suitable alternatives to SteamOS.

However, SteamOS lacks support for PC Game Pass and some popular MMO games like Fortnite, so running two systems in dual-boot might be the only option for some users. Valve has not yet confirmed support for other gaming handhelds, such as Lenovo Legion GO, AYANEO, or OneXPlayer systems.

Source: The Verge