With SteamOS, Valve encouraged developers to incorporate Linux compatibility into their releases to better support Linux gaming options. SteamOS was originally built to support streaming of video games from one personal computer to the one running SteamOS within the same network, though the operating system can support standalone systems and was intended to be used as part of Valve's Steam Machine platform. The initial versions of SteamOS, versions 1.0 and 2.0, were based on the Debian distribution of Linux.

It is open source with some closed source components and is the primary operating system for Steam Machines and the Steam Deck. The older version based on Debian is available to download from the official site.SteamOS is a Linux distribution developed by Valve. You won’t find the new SteamOS version available to the public yet, but it is essentially free to use. So, you cannot find the source code or any progress of it available to the public. It is worth noting that SteamOS 3.0 is still a work in progress. The operating system is open-source, and you can find the source code in its official repo.īut, the Steam client that you will be using on it is proprietary. If you are looking to play supported games and Linux-only games, you can consider trying it.

Of course, Gaming on Linux has been made possible with the same underlying tech, but at the time of writing this, you cannot make all the games available in Steam work with it.Įven though many games should work on it, that does not guarantee that all games you have in your library will work as expected. SteamOS relies on the Proton compatibility layer to make most of the Windows-exclusive games work. While it was primarily tailored to play games, there are many caveats to know before you proceed. SteamOS is not a proper replacement for Windows or other Linux distributions. Hence, there is a possibility that you should find it available soon enough for your desktop. However, Valve is actively working on SteamOS 3.0 for its Steam Deck hardware. So, if you are looking to install it on your personal machine, the version available to the public (SteamOS 2.0) is not actively maintained. SteamOS is based on Debian 8 for a long time now with no updates whatsoever. In short, it is not suitable to replace a desktop Linux OS. While you have the ability to install Linux applications, it supports a limited number of packages. But, unlike some others, it is not meant for a full-fledged desktop experience. SteamOS is technically one of the gaming Linux distributions available. Is SteamOS just another Linux distribution? It should theoretically work on every PC, but there’s no official support for the latest and greatest hardware. SteamOS (version 2.0) comes with drivers and chipsets that support a specific set of hardware. Ideally, any machine with the following minimum requirements should work:

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