Steam Deck relies on SteamOS as the operating system – but what is it anyway?

With the Steam Deck Valve has introduced a gaming PC in handheld format. The SteamOS operating system should be used on the device. But what is it anyway and what does it bring me as a gamer?

What is the Steam Deck? The Steam Deck is a gaming PC that looks like a Nintendo Switch. The deck has therefore often been compared to the Nintendo console. Valve wants to offer a full gaming experience in mobile format. You are not tied to a limited pool of games on the Steam Deck, such as on the Switch, but you can basically install all games on the Steam Deck.

Valve does not rely on Windows for its Steam Deck, but on an operating system called SteamOS. After the announcement, this sparked discussions about what can be played on the device at all.

MeinMMO explains to you what SteamOS is and what is behind it. In addition to SteamOS, there is also an alternative for your future Steam Deck.

An adapted Linux operating system is used on the Steam Deck

Which operating system does the Steam Deck use? With SteamOS, an operating system based on Linux is used on the Steam Deck. So no adapted Windows version is used. SteamOS is already installed on every device delivered and you can start gaming right away.

There is one limitation, however: While Linux is open source, the Steam client is protected software that offers you certain features such as the store and chat.

SteamOS had previously relied on the Debian distribution, with version 3.0 Valve now uses Arch Linux on SteamOS. SteamOS 3.0 should appear with the release of the Steam Deck in spring 2022.

SteamOS vs. Windows

MeinMMO introduces you to the advantages and disadvantages of SteamOS and explains what distinguishes the two operating systems from each other. We will update the list for you as soon as there is more information about the Steam Deck.

What are the advantages of SteamOS?

SteamOS is free: Basically, first of all, SteamOS is available for everyone free of charge. You don’t pay any license fees for Windows when you buy the Steam Deck and you can download SteamOS at any time and for free.

SteamOS is more secure than Windows: Linux is significantly more secure than Windows, as there is significantly less malware for Linux than for the widespread Windows system. The same applies here as for any other operating system: The more third-party software you install, the more possible points of attack your system offers to potential opponents.

Privacy: Another point that speaks for SteamOS is that Linux is fundamentally more data-friendly. While Windows constantly requests data and wants telemetry data from you, Linux leaves you alone in most cases. But the same applies here: the more programs you install, the more apps want your data to have.

Suitable user interface: Valve has developed the appropriate “User Interface” (UI) for SteamOS. That means a pleasant experience for you, as the menus, for example, are the right size.

Small size: SteamOs only needs 250 megabytes on your hard drive and is therefore very slim compared to Windows 10.

Linux is becoming more interesting for developers: The more users use SteamOS, the more interesting the operating system and thus Linux becomes for game developers. Should the Steam Deck be successful, Linux could develop as an alternative or at least an insider tip to Windows.

What are the disadvantages of SteamOS?

Not all games work: On SteamOS and Linux in general, other stores either do not work at all or only work very poorly. Basically you have to do without other stores like the one from Ubisoft or Battle.net.

Valve itself calls this “Verified for the Steam Deck” and wants to check all games so that gamers can see which games work on the Steam Deck and which don’t (via steamdeck.com).

Not every program works: This leads to another disadvantage: some programs require certain licensed (proprietary) components. These are, for example, Windows runtime libraries that cannot be easily installed on Linux. This is where Proton comes into play. Proton wants to make the corresponding runtime libraries available or supplies alternative libraries.

Because basically you can use the Steam Deck like a real PC and install everything you want. However, everything should not work because certain programs currently only work under Windows or do not offer a client for Linux. For example, you can easily install Discord on Linux.

What is proton Proton is open source software from Valve and is there to run Windows commands on Linux. In simple terms, Windows commands are “translated” into Linux by the system. For example, the Vulkan interface is used for DirectX.

Steep learning curve: Like any operating system, SteamOS needs time to get used to it. SteamOS or Linux offers you many possibilities and options and does not take you by the hand.

What about performance? Anyone who has gambled under Linux knows that the performance is often weaker than under Windows. One of the reasons for this is that Wine / Proton have to translate Windows commands for Linux. That costs additional computing power. There are already the first unofficial benchmarks for the Steam Deck, but they say little about the final performance of the Steam Deck.

Conclusion

Above all, SteamOS is an announcement to all users who value open-source software and who feel comfortable with Windows. And that has all the advantages and disadvantages that a Linux operating system has.

Because Linux is open source, secure and offers you a lot of freedom, but you also have to live with the fact that not all programs work without restrictions. In addition, you must theoretically have a slightly weaker performance than under Windows.

However, Steam had already stated that almost all games should run on SteamOS, also thanks to the compatibility layer Proton, which Valve helped develop.

Windows as an alternative to SteamOS

Do I have to use SteamOS on the Steam Deck? No. Valve had already stated that you can do what you want with your Steam Deck. And there is also the option of installing Windows 11 on the Steam Deck. But you should note that there is currently no adapted Windows version for the Steam Deck.

The manufacturer AMD, which supplies the hardware for the Steam Deck, had already declared together with Valve that they wanted to provide the appropriate drivers for a Windows installation as well.

Alternatives to the Steam Deck: Do you like the idea of ​​being able to play games on the go? We at MeinMMO present a handful of alternatives to the Steam Deck that you can already buy:

Steam Deck: These are the 4 most exciting alternatives for 2021