Valve has confirmed in a new interview that the company will be releasing its Linux-based operating system, SteamOS, on Asus’s ROG Ally.
“Added support for extra ROG Ally keys” is one of the first mentions of non-Valve hardware in the patch notes.
Speaking with The 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.
In 2021 – after the Steam Deck announcement – Yang spoke with IGN about releasing SteamOS for all systems. However, the idea never materialized as competing manufacturers opted to run Windows over Linux.
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This won’t be the first time the ROG Ally has a Linux distribution released though. Bazzite and ChimeraOS both 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.
The ROG Ally was launched in 2023, with Asus gunning for Valve’s new dominance in the handheld space. In our reviews of both the ROG Ally and the Ally X, Asus’s biggest pitfall was its choice of operating system.
Windows doesn’t have a great user interface when it comes to machines without a trackpad or mouse. We found the Lenovo Legion Go and Ayaneo Kun’s attempts 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.
Better Windows support on Steam Deck OLED incoming
Speaking of Windows, Valve is currently working on updating drivers for Windows 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.
