With Razer and Lenovo each launching their own handheld gaming devices at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), entering an increasingly competitive hardware market, Valve – the company behind the popular Steam Deck – recently announced a significant expansion: its proprietary SteamOS operating system will now be available on third-party hardware. This marks a pivotal development for Steam players and existing Steam Deck users alike.
At CES 2025, Lenovo unveiled a special edition of its Legion Go S handheld, dubbed "Powered by SteamOS," making it the first non-Steam Deck device to come pre-installed with Valve's operating system. Beyond the Legion Go S, Valve also stated in an official blog post that it is currently developing beta versions of SteamOS for other handhelds, which users will be able to download and install on their own devices to enhance their gaming experience.
This strategic move signifies that SteamOS will no longer be exclusive to the Steam Deck, potentially positioning it as a major highlight in the broader handheld market. For players with extensive Steam libraries, this is undoubtedly welcome news, as they will soon be able to enjoy the system on a wider range of devices, even without owning a Steam Deck. More importantly, this initiative could profoundly impact the future of the handheld gaming sector, and it remains to be seen whether it will challenge the dominance of traditional operating systems like Windows in the gaming landscape.