'Going to make myself stick with SteamOS instead of slithering back to Windows': gamers get ready to abandon Windows 11, as Valve focuses on
boosting SteamOS on the desktop

Date:
Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:10:36 +0000

Description:
Valve has made it clear how it's improving SteamOS for desktop PCs, and working hard to support Nvidia GPUs.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Valve has said it's "rolling
out improvements to [SteamOS] so it's more compatible with desktop hardware" The company also made it clear that it's collaborating closely with Nvidia
for better GPU compatibility The aim is to make SteamOS more widely deployed on DIY PCs away from the Steam Machine, and this is tempting some gamers to ditch Windows 11 Valve has underlined how it's improving SteamOS to allow gamers to make their own version of the Steam Machine should they wish, which is already prompting some excited chatter on Reddit about abandoning Windows 11 .

The Verge reports that Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais (an engineer who often gives interviews) made it clear that the company is busy "rolling out improvements to [SteamOS] so it's more compatible with desktop hardware" and also "collaborating with Nvidia very closely" on ensuring better
compatibility with Team Green's GPUs. Before you get too excited, though, the caveat that Griffais attached is that Nvidia support isn't coming anytime
soon meaning not this year but that it's "certainly something that we're working on in the background". Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

Valve just released SteamOS 3.8 which prepared the ground for the new Steam Machine, arriving with some key changes to ensure a better experience with Intel CPUs, as well as Nvidia GPUs (or indeed all discrete graphics cards, which will benefit from "greatly improved video memory management").

The introduction of KDE Plasma version 6.4.3 with Wayland support is important, too, very much upping the desktop game and bringing in better support for external displays and VRR in SteamOS, among other boons. You may like SteamOS is about to get better on Intel-powered handhelds thanks to
Valve Microsoft's project K2 could finally make Windows as fast as SteamOS Valve drops its biggest hint yet that the Steam Machine is about to arrive

In short, with SteamOS 3.8, Griffais notes that "you can put together your
own Steam Machine using whatever PC parts you want."

All of which is paving the way for more PC gamers who are fed up with Windows 11 and Microsoft to make the switch over to SteamOS as an alternative operating system (especially those who aren't running an AMD -powered
system). Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Despite it being still relatively early days in this effort (as noted regarding the work with Nvidia GPUs), some gamers are already happily declaring that they're ready to ditch Microsoft's platform for SteamOS.

One Redditor tells us : "Decided to go all in and wipe my main 2TB drive and install this [SteamOS]. Just got it installed and tried a couple games, working very well so far. Going to make myself stick with it instead of slithering back to Windows."

Here's another gamer who says : "The minute SteamOS gets Nvidia support,
there is going to be a large mass exodus of users in the gaming space off of Windows." What to read next Windows 11's Xbox mode seemingly won't give you better game performance Xbox Mode is finally getting a full rollout for Windows 11 desktop PCs Windows 11 is so bad France is moving to Linux and many more could follow

In a similar vein, a further Reddit thread informs us : "I found that some of my Steam games which played fine on Windows 10 , actually played far worse on Windows 11. I decided to switch back to Linux Mint and give Steam another go on that after having tried it a few years ago, and to my surprise, those
games all worked great now. So I've stuck with Mint and every game I have in my Steam library runs well without issue. Value has really been doing a great job of bringing gaming to Linux."

And in that same thread, a Redditor observes : " The instant this [SteamOS] becomes stable with driver[s], I'm jumping out [of] Windows." (Not
literally). Analysis: Steamy Windows (Image credit: Valve) It appears this is prompting more than a few gamers to reconsider their position with Windows
11, but we clearly shouldn't get carried away yet. SteamOS has a long road ahead of it as a rival to Windows 11, as it remains very much a niche proposition, but clearly Valve is pushing hard to make it a much more compelling alternative.

The good thing is that even if you don't intend to go near the Steam Machine and you believe it's well overpriced , as many do ( thanks to the memory crisis ) the launch of the device could still benefit you, as SteamOS continues to take strides forward. As Valve observes, you can just build your own Steam Machine-style PC , or to avoid the RAM crisis price hikes, simply repurpose an existing rig you have (perhaps with a choice upgrade or two grabbed in a sale ).

With notable strides being taken here and some progress being made in terms of getting anti-cheat games to run, too, in certain cases , although there's still plenty of work to be done here we can be hopeful that SteamOS adoption could be accelerated considerably.

However, Windows 11 remains dominant by a long, long way in the PC gaming world, although SteamOS gaining traction could worry Microsoft for the longer-term, and prompt further efforts to make Windows 11 better for gamers which again would be a win, albeit an indirect one. Follow TechRadar on
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/going-to-make-myself-stick-with-s teamos-instead-of-slithering-back-to-windows-gamers-get-ready-to-abandon-windo ws-11-as-valve-focuses-on-boosting-steamos-on-the-desktop


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