Lately, Valve has been getting a lot of buzz for working on SteamOS, a Linux-based OS made just for gaming. With fewer people jumping on the Windows 11 bandwagon, it could totally be the perfect time for Valve to drop SteamOS 3 for everyone. If they do that, SteamOS might actually compete in the OS market, but it’s not without its own ups and downs.
A bigger issue for many gamers, especially for fans of online multiplayer games, has to do with the incompatibility of the Linux-based systems with anti-cheat kernels. Most of the popular online games depend on such systems, which are still not fully supported on Linux platforms, including SteamOS. That is a feature that makes some players very cautious about moving from Windows. The impact of this is less significant for single-player gamers.
Thanks to Valve’s Proton compatibility layer, many AAA games created for Windows are available to play on Linux and SteamOS on day one of their release. People are wondering if SteamOS might actually take over Windows for gaming one day. To make that happen, Valve could think about creating its own custom Linux kernel. This kind of kernel might be able to handle anti-cheat systems and run programs that usually only work on Windows. Plus, this could lead to running subscription stuff like Adobe Creative Cloud or other productivity apps right through Steam, which would make SteamOS way more flexible as an operating system.
The anticipation for SteamOS 3 is growing, especially among the disgruntled users of Windows 11. The controversial begin when Microsoft announced the requirements upgrading to Windows 11—such as mandating the TPM 2.0 chip—left many older PCs unable to upgrade.
So, quite a few users are looking for alternative operating systems in order to keep their hardware useful. SteamOS 3 might just be what people need to finally ditch Windows and find a solid alternative. Entering 2025, Valve stands uniquely placed to re-define the landscape of gaming OSes. A desktop version of SteamOS could encourage users to try alternatives to Windows and potentially change the operating system market. Whether this will be realized depends on how well Valve can solve the compatibility issues and present a refined user experience.
