SteamOS ARM Support Could Transform Affordable Handheld Gaming

SteamOS has received regular updates since the Steam Machine arrived, and recent updates are laying the groundwork for broader hardware support. Alongside preliminary gamepad support, Valve is beginning work on compatibility with ARM-based devices, opening up another direction for SteamOS and handheld gaming.

Ever since the Steam Machine came out, Valve has pushed out new SteamOS updates on a near-weekly basis. Some of the updates have been interesting, while others have focused on smaller changes. The most recent update has started laying the groundwork for preliminary gamepad support and other features needed to get SteamOS supported on additional devices, particularly ARM-based devices.

SteamOS Begins Supporting ARM-Based Devices

Devices Valve has started working on include the AYN Pocket S2 and the Conker Fit, both ARM-based emulation handhelds. Alongside those devices, Valve is adding initial gamepad support for the MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus, MSI's newest handheld. It offers more performance than something like the Legion Go 2, while also being a handheld that has been difficult to buy since its release. At $1,800, it still manages to avoid being the worst deal available.

This looks like the beginning of laying the groundwork for other ARM-based handhelds, especially when considering that Valve is working on its version of SteamOS for the Steam Frame. Steam Frame is a VR device, but it runs on ARM, so many core fundamentals should transfer to other ARM-based handhelds.

Steam Frame is expected to use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while the Conker and AYN devices are weaker in comparison. If they eventually receive full SteamOS support, they would be the first handhelds to have it. That would be a change from what many of these devices use by default: Android.

A recent example shows the problem with 8GB on a Windows PC.

You might not be able to play the most demanding AAA titles, but you should be able to play pretty much anything else. That could also encourage developers to optimize more for ARM or make ARM versions of their games. Games that already have native ARM versions could also become available on these handhelds. Mac runs on ARM, and games like Cyberpunk have native ARM versions for Mac.

There is one possible benefit to the RAM crisis. It could force developers, studios, Microsoft, and others to optimize their software for the hardware that is currently available rather than relying on future hardware to cover potential performance problems.

ARM is not necessarily the complete solution, but its efficiency could help reduce memory requirements on handheld devices. Combined with SteamOS support, lower-cost ARM hardware could create another path for Steam gaming while encouraging developers to optimize games around the memory and hardware that people actually have.