Valve Claims SteamOS Isn’t Meant to Compete with Windows

Valve’s SteamOS isn’t crafted to go head-to-head with Windows. This insight comes from Pierre-Loup Griffais, a developer at Valve, during a conversation with the French outlet Frandroid. The essence of SteamOS lies in its versatility—it aims to ensure compatibility with a wide range of hardware. This was highlighted following Lenovo’s announcement of its Legion Go S, marking the first third-party device to integrate with SteamOS.

Griffais elaborated, “Our intent isn’t to corner a segment of the market or to steer users away from Windows. If someone enjoys a seamless experience on Windows, that’s perfectly fine. For us, it’s intriguing to craft a system with distinct goals and priorities. If it evolves into a viable alternative for a typical desktop user, fantastic. It offers choice, without any underlying agenda to sway satisfied Windows users.”

Valve also has no current plans to rekindle the Steam Machine concept, despite the robust performance of its Steam Deck hardware.

“At the moment, our attention is on handheld devices,” Griffais mentioned. “As we widen our reach across various platforms and strive to deliver quality experiences across different form factors, we’ve made considerable progress in allowing these consoles to connect effortlessly to screens and controllers. However, we aren’t prioritizing the Steam Machine just yet. Whether through collaborative efforts or internal developments, we remain open to exploring this avenue in the future.”