Valve reignited interest in the portable console market with the release of the Steam Deck and its operating system, SteamOS, last year. Following suit, Lenovo and Asus entered the scene with their own devices, the Legion Go and ROG Ally, respectively. Microsoft has also committed to this growing market by adapting the Xbox app on Windows 11 to support these portable gaming devices.
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, has emphasized the significance of the portable console market for the company. He has pointed out that it’s not just about the future with Xbox Cloud Gaming, but also about the present, with the entire Windows 11 game catalog being accessible on these devices.
Valve confirms SteamOS support for ROG Ally
However, Microsoft’s plans might face challenges as Valve continues to focus on SteamOS as the go-to gaming platform for portable consoles. Interestingly, it looks like SteamOS might not be limited to just the Steam Deck and could soon be available on more devices.
Valve has always made it clear that SteamOS wasn’t meant to be exclusive to the Steam Deck. Recently, the operating system’s changelog included a note stating, “Added support for ROG Ally extra keys.” This wasn’t just about Steam supporting the extra keys on Asus’ ROG Ally; it hinted that SteamOS would fully support running on Asus’ portable console.
However, it seems that users will need to handle the installation process themselves, as Asus currently has no plans to sell a ROG Ally version preloaded with SteamOS.
There’s also speculation ahead of the launch of SteamOS 3 that the operating system could be installed on any portable console or even any computer. This would allow gamers who primarily use their devices for gaming to switch from Windows 11 to Valve’s SteamOS, offering an alternative tailored specifically for gaming.
