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Valve has confirmed it will extend SteamOS support to third-party handheld gaming devices, including the Asus ROG Ally.
Valve designer Lawrence Yang confirmed the news after the appearance of a mention in the latest SteamOS patch notes. Yang informed The Verge that the note regarding ROG Ally keys was about third-party device support for SteamOS. He mentioned that the team was actively working on adding support for more handhelds on SteamOS but noted that the software was not yet ready to run out of the box.
This represents a notable advancement for Valve, which launched its handheld device, the Steam Deck, in 2022 to increase the popularity of portable PC gaming.
The inclusion of the ROG Ally and potentially other devices under SteamOS could broaden the user base for Valve’s Linux-based operating system and improve the gaming experience across different hardware.
Yang also discussed the progress on dual-boot support, which would enable devices to run both SteamOS and Windows.
He said that the company was preparing the necessary Windows drivers for the Steam Deck OLED, but there was no specific timeline for when dual-boot support would be available. He explained that while it remained a priority, they had not yet been able to achieve it.
Despite the improvements Windows has brought to portable gaming, users have noted that the operating system does not fully capitalize on the potential of handheld devices like the ROG Ally. SteamOS is seen as a more suitable option, offering features such as system-level gyro control and the ability to suspend games — functionalities not available when using Windows.
The expansion of SteamOS to devices like the ROG Ally suggests that Valve is increasingly and strategically positioning itself to lead in the portable gaming market, converting rival handhelds into Steam Deck-like experiences through software innovation.
In other Valve news, the company has recently unveiled new Steam rules prohibiting the inclusion of external links in store page descriptions.
