Valve has confirmed in a new interview that the company will be releasing its Linux-based operating system,SteamOS, on Asus’sROG Ally.
“Added support for extra ROG Ally keys” is one of the first mentions of non-Valve hardwarein the patch notes.
Speaking withThe Verge, designer Lawrence Yang revealed that Valve has its eyes on Asus’s handheld.
“The note about ROG Ally keys is related to third-party device support for SteamOS. The team is continuing to work on adding support for additional handhelds on SteamOS…”
It hasn’t been a secret that Valve always intended to release SteamOS wider than the Steam Deck. In a new update, the patch notes indicated that Valve was working on broader support.
If Valve launches SteamOS on the ROG Ally, it would beat Asus to the remapping punch. Within Asus’s Armory Crate software, you still can’t remap these “extra” buttons.
This won’t be the first time the ROG Ally has a Linux distribution released though.BazziteandChimeraOSboth brought a similar flavor to Valve’s brand of Linux to Windows handhelds. These have proven somewhat popular, but aren’t official in any capacity.
Related:
Windows doesn’t have a great user interface when it comes to machines without a trackpad or mouse. We found theLenovo Legion GoandAyaneo Kun’sattempts to solve a few problems, but ultimately Windows isn’t best on systems with just embedded controllers.
One of our best solutions for getting around the ROG Ally’s limits is simply loading up Steam Big Picture Mode. This has been altered to replicate the Steam Deck experience – or near enough – that makes using the handheld much more enjoyable.
Speaking of Windows, Valve is currently working on updating drivers forWindows for Steam Deck. Currently, the OLED Steam Deck doesn’t support things like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, making dual booting a hassle.
Yang does say that it’s “still a priority”, but they just haven’t gotten to it yet.
Joel Loynds was Dexerto’s Deputy Tech Editor in the UK team. He has been writing about tech & games for over a decade, specializing in PCs, hardware, and handhelds such as the Steam Deck. He also has bylines at Scan, WePC, PCGuide, Eurogamer, Digital Foundry and Metro UK.
