Valve is making SteamOS available for and use on a competitor's device for the first time. Asus ROG Ally owners should soon be able to the streamlined, Linux-based operating system following confirmation by Valve that the update is in the works.
The Asus ROG Ally is set to be the first handheld outside of the Steam Deck to receive official SteamOS .
Valve designer, Lawrence Yang, confirmed this news to Tom Warren of The Verge in an exclusive interview, stating "The note about ROG Ally keys is related to third-party device for SteamOS. The team is continuing to work on adding for additional handhelds on SteamOS."
The note in question was a line spotted in the most recent SteamOS patch notes, which mentioned "added for extra ROG Ally keys." We covered this recent "Megafixer" Steam Deck update when it was released, and it certainly raised eyebrows given how the rest of the update focused so heavily on Steam Deck-specific fixes.
It's not clear when the will be available and how easy it might be to install but the implication is that it might not be too far away.
As exciting as this news is, we're still far from seeing SteamOS implemented in competitor handhelds publicly. Yang also notes that this isn't a step towards Valve just offering SteamOS as a default installer for all rival handhelds, but it fulfills a previous commitment when it stated it could allow others to use SteamOS in the future, be it for handhelds, desktops, or other projects.
The future of gaming handhelds was already exciting, but this latest development could see the likes of the ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go overcome their Windows limitations, which makes for sterner competition to the Steam Deck, ironically at Valve's behest.
For a look at what games you should be playing on your gaming handheld, check out the best Steam Deck games currently available.