SteamOS is having a moment, and if I were the folks working on Windows—the crown jewel of Microsoft—I’d be shaking in my boots right now.

It might seem like a small, mildly-successful project by Valve, but SteamOS has the potential to rip Windows’ PC gaming dominance away, and it needs to counter this potential assault ASAP.

SteamOS Is Spreading Beyond the Steam Deck Quickly

SteamOS is the culmination of years of work in the Linux community, with the direct support of Valve Corporation under the leadership of Gabe Newell. “Gaben”, (as his fans fondly refer to the gaming mogul), is himself an ex-Microsoft programmer and technical executive, helping produce the first three versions of Windows.

Related

If Valve’s Rumored New Steam Machine Is Real, Microsoft Should Be Very Worried

Bill Gates might get steamed.

When he struck out on his own with his partner Mike Harrington, no one could have predicted that not only would Valve create some of the best games of all time, but that it would come to dominate the PC gaming market as the de facto marketplace for digital games.

Newell became concerned that Microsoft would funnel or even limit users to its own Windows Store, making it hard for companies like Valve to do business, so it became clear an alternative platform was needed. Linux was perfect for this, but since most games are made for Windows, some technical wizardry was required.

Related

Half-Life 3 Might Finally Be Real, but I Hope It’s Not

The right game at the wrong time.

When Valve first tried this with its Steam Machine project, the software simply wasn’t ready and, sadly, this first attempt was a flop. However, powered by the now-mature Proton compatibility layer, the Steam Deck has been an unqualified success. As I predicted, in 2022, Steam Deck clones would not be far behind, and we soon got several competing PC handhelds running Windows.

Now, however, SteamOS is officially supported on PC handhelds that aren’t Steam Decks, and it’s possible to use it on certain desktop systems as well. Now that the gates have opened, it’s possible this could be the start of a flood.

Dimensions

0.89×5.02×11.77in (22.6 x 127.55 x 299mm)

Playing Time

1-5hrs

If you’re looking for a Windows-powered gaming handheld with great ergonomics, the Lenovo Legion Go S is an ultra-comfortable model with an entry-level chipset. 

Windows Has Serious Performance, Power, and Usability Problems

As soon as SteamOS left beta for non-Valve handhelds, I and many other people immediately installed it, replacing Windows on our handhelds. It didn’t take long for it to become clear that switching to SteamOS on the same hardware blows Windows out of the water when it comes to power consumption, performance, and the interface for console or handheld console-style gaming. You can see YouTuber Dave2D break it down below:

We already know that Microsoft has been working on a revamp of Windows 11 to make it more palatable on handhelds, but I think it’s clear the folks in Redmond need to absolutely gut their operating system and make it as lean as possible for a specialized device like this. It won’t be enough to give Windows 11 a nice new shell; the under-the-hood changes have to be significant.

It cannot be acceptable to have a game designed to run for Windows work smoother and with higher frame rates while running through a compatibility layer. How much overhead does your operating system even have, Microsoft?

Related

Microsoft Is Making Windows Better for Handheld PCs

A major update for the Windows Game Bar is in testing.

Windows Adds a Significant Cost to Handheld Pricing

Windows isn’t free. That’s not surprising; OEMs have to pay Microsoft to have their operating system on the computers they sell. However, you’re looking at around a $100 difference in price between a handheld PC that comes with Windows and one that doesn’t. That’s not a big deal on a $2000 laptop or $3000 PC, but on a $600 device it’s a huge part of the price.

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that Microsoft makes the special handheld gaming PC version of Windows free to OEMs. The company has been making money in other ways with Windows for years now, anyway.

Related

You Can Install and Use Windows 11 Without a Product Key

What happens if you never activate Windows 11?

After all, you can leave your copy of Windows 11 unactivated indefinitely and you lose no real functionality. Microsoft will still happily take your money for a OneDrive or Office subscription, or sell you software in its app store. So make Windows “Handheld Edition” or whatever it ends up being called free to the customer, and make your money from Game Pass and other revenue streams.

Related

Offline Mode in PC Game Pass Is Perfect for Windows Laptops and Handhelds

No internet? No problem!

Windows Needs to Improve my Quality of Life

Gabe Newell understands that he doesn’t have to turn a profit on hardware to make money, he just needs to get Steam on every device that can run games. It also doesn’t matter if other storefronts are on that device, as long as Steam offers the best experience, it will print money indefinitely.

Microsoft has really fumbled things here, to be honest. While Game Pass and Play Anywhere are great initiatives on paper, the execution of the Windows Store, the Xbox App, and Game Pass on PC has been a disaster. Apps that crash, freeze, or don’t work as intended are a big problem and even today I dread opening the Xbox app on my Windows machines because I don’t know if I will actually get to play any games that day.

You know what never happens on SteamOS? A forced system update that gets in the way of playing a game. You know what works on SteamOS but doesn’t on Windows? Suspending my game just like on a Nintendo Switch.

Honestly, we shouldn’t have put up with this on laptop and desktop PCs, and now we’ve seen what a quality experience could be like for PC gamers thanks to SteamOS. Microsoft needs an operating system version that meets or exceeds this standard, or gamers will be asking why exactly they need to experience any of this frustration.

Related

SteamOS Gave My Legion GO the Battery Life It’s Always Deserved

Finally I’m free of Windows’ hunger for power.

Microsoft Already Has the Xbox OS

There’s a rumored Xbox handheld that’s apparently been put on hold, so that Microsoft can put Windows 11’s house in order on handheld PCs. However, it might make more sense to start with the Xbox OS—which is Windows at its core—and then open it up a little so that Steam, Epic Game Store, and all the other software handheld PC owners might want to run can work on it.

It feels a little ironic that Microsoft has already developed a lean, low-overhead, performance-tuned operating system for its consoles, but handheld PCs have a bloated full-fat desktop OS shoved into them.

Nothing stops you from having a desktop mode (SteamOS does), but that laser-focus on being a gaming system is what will make or break Microsoft’s chances. Especially since this won’t stop just with handheld PCs. Desktop PC gamers might just realize that the grass can be greener in other pastures too, and that small snowball can become an avalanche in no time.