SteamOS Is Officially Launching on a System That’s Not By Valve

The newly-announced Lenovo Legion Go S is the first third-party handheld gaming PC to ship with Valve‘s SteamOS operating system. SteamOS was formerly available only on the Steam Deck, but starting with the Lenovo Legion Go S, Valve is finally expanding the operating system to devices made by other manufacturers.

Although the Steam Deck faces stiff competition from newer, more powerful gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI+, the Valve system has always had an ace up its sleeve. Where other gaming handhelds rely on Windows, which isn’t quite optimized for usage in a portable form factor, the Steam Deck’s Linux-based SteamOS operating system offers a much smoother, console-like user experience. While SteamOS is one of the Steam Deck’s prominent competitive edges, Valve has been working for a few years to make the operating system available on third-party devices, and the time has now come.

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Some recent leaks alleged that an upcoming variant of the Lenovo Legion Go S gaming handheld will ship with SteamOS pre-installed, and CES 2025 proved the claims right. Lenovo took the stage at CES 2025 to announce a pair of new Legion Go handhelds, namely the Legion Go 2 and Legion Go S. The former is intended to be a proper successor to the Lenovo Legion Go, whereas the Legion Go S offers similar power as the current model in a lighter, more compact form factor. However, the Lenovo Legion Go S paves the way for greater consumer choice in the handheld gaming PC space, as one of its two versions will be powered by SteamOS.

Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC Details

SteamOS Version

• Uses Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS operating system
• Launching in May 2025 for $499
• Available only in 16GB RAM / 512GB storage configuration

Windows Version

• Uses Windows 11
• Launching in January 2025
• $599 for 16GB RAM / 1TB storage, $729 for 32GB RAM / 1TB storage

The SteamOS-powered Lenovo Legion Go S will retail for $499 (16GB RAM / 512GB storage) when it goes on sale in May 2025. Valve also confirmed that SteamOS will have full feature parity on the Lenovo Legion Go S, and every SteamOS device will get the same software updates as the Steam Deck, barring hardware-specific tweaks. For those who prefer the familiarity of Windows, Lenovo will also offer a Windows-powered version of the Legion Go S. This variant is set to go on sale in January 2025 and will start at $599 with 16GB RAM / 1TB storage, going all the way up to $729 for 32GB RAM / 1TB storage. As for the flagship Legion Go 2, Lenovo doesn’t have any current plans to ship the handheld with SteamOS, but this could change if demand for the SteamOS Legion Go S is strong enough.

At the time of writing, Lenovo is the only manufacturer partnering with Valve for a licensed SteamOS device. However, owners of other gaming handhelds, like the Asus ROG Ally, will soon be able to try out SteamOS on their systems. Alongside the Lenovo Legion Go S reveal, Valve published a blog post on Steam confirming that a public beta of SteamOS will ship in the coming months for “users on other handhelds.”

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Valve

Date Founded

August 24, 1996

Headquarters

Bellevue, Washington, United States

CEO

Gabe Newell

Subsidiaries

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