Valve’s Steam Deck handheld PC has induced fairly a stir amongst PC gaming geeks, however the largest shakeup may not be its Nintendo Switch-like form factor. The software program operating within it’s the actual shock. Why does the Steam Deck run Linux? Blame Windows.

The Steam Deck and the software program within it are the end result of an almost decade-long “hedging strategy” embarked upon by Valve chief Gabe Newell and firm many moons in the past, when Microsoft tried exerting extra management over builders with Windows 8.

But it’s additionally the subsequent section of Valve’s escape plan.

Editor’s observe: With the Asus ROG Ally appearing as a potential true Steam Deck competitor and leaks of a “Windows handheld mode” making the rounds, we wished to re-run this evaluation of how Valve laid the long-term groundwork for the Steam Deck. The unique story continues beneath; it printed on August 6, 2021, earlier than the Steam Deck’s launch, so statistics and commentary on Proton’s particular tough edges might not be relevant. (SteamOS now supports Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye software, for instance.)

“A catastrophe”

Windows 10 smoothed over Windows 8’s worst sins, so you might not bear in mind how totally different—or “a catastrophe,” to make use of Newell’s phrases—that working system was when it launched in 2012.

Windows 8 bent over backwards to make cellular UI a precedence, relegating the desktop to “just another app” standing in a display full of colourful tiles. More ominously, the Windows Store launched alongside the working system, with strict necessities concerning the types of software program allowed and a steep gatekeeper charge just like what Apple and Google cost for inclusion of their app shops. Developers feared Microsoft would develop into more and more draconian in its guidelines. Their issues have been escalated by the simultaneous launch of Windows RT, an Arm-based model of Windows that restricted customers to utilizing solely software program sanctioned by the Windows Store. (RT shortly fizzled.)

Devoted PC recreation builders felt particularly anxious. Newell referred to as it “a giant sadness.” Blizzard govt VP Rob Pardo tweeted that Windows 8 is “not awesome for Blizzard either” within the wake of Newell’s ‘catastrophe’ remark. Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson informed Microsoft to “stop trying to ruin the PC as an open platform” when it requested him to certify the sport for Windows 8.

While Notch mockingly sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion simply a few years later, Newell and Valve reacted to the “catastrophe” the best way most sane people would: Disaster prep, so that they wouldn’t be caught flat-footed if Microsoft determined to clench its fist across the open PC ecosystem.

The SteamOS escape hatch

Windows 8 launched on August 1, 2012. In December, 2013, Valve introduced SteamOS to the masses.

Well, not likely. The beta model of the Steam-centric working system required arcane technical information to put in, and Valve itself warned that “unless you’re an intrepid Linux hacker already, we’re going to recommend that you wait until later in 2014 to try it out.” The working system definitely had loads of tough edges out of the gate—it labored solely with Nvidia GPUs, for instance—however Valve labored diligently on sharpening them. By October 2015, Valve’s Steam Machines launched.

And failed. Hard.

The Steam Machine endeavor was doomed from the start, and I laid out the case for why they might even earlier than they launched. There have been a number of causes: delays, poor communication from Valve, an unorthodox new Steam Controller wanted to make use of the PCs, the simultaneous launch of the more-versatile Steam Link, and a “good, better, best” branding technique for Steam Machine makers that sowed additional confusion. But looking back the largest downside was SteamOS itself.

SteamOS may solely run Linux video games, you see. And gaming on Linux was dismal in 2015. I used to take care of a list of the best Linux games as a result of so few builders bothered to create Linux ports. Coaxing video games into operating usually required unique workarounds and third-party instruments, and even then, video games that ran in any respect usually ran jankily. Again: It’s no shock Steam Machines failed.

Valve discovered its lesson. You don’t cease planning for a disaster simply since you run into some highway bumps. After Steam Machines died, one thing way more momentous—and the important thing to the Steam Deck’s existence—rose from their ashes.

Proton: Linux classes discovered

If builders wouldn’t make video games for Linux, Valve determined it will put money into making Windows video games run on Linux as a substitute. In 2018, Valve introduced Proton, a fork of the favored WINE compatibility layer that lets Linux PCs play Windows video games. (If you aren’t aware of WINE, rely your self fortunate.)

“There was always kind of this classic chicken and egg problem with the Steam Machine,” Valve designer Scott Dalton informed IGN. “That led us down this path of Proton, where now there’s all these games that actually run.”

Proton was actually a game-changer. If Linux gaming was a near-barren desert earlier than, Proton was the water it so desperately wanted. Thousands upon 1000’s of Windows video games may simply be performed on Linux PCs now—some tinkering required at instances, natch. Over the previous few years, Valve (with assist from the WINE specialists at CodeWeavers) has labored onerous to repair probably the most evident points. In 2018, our curated record of the perfect Linux video games topped out at 35 titles. Right now, the community-run ProtonDB website is monitoring nearly 19,000 Proton-compatible video games, and over 15,000 of them run simply positive on Linux.

The expertise nonetheless isn’t fairly excellent, as our have a look at how Proton will make or break the Steam Deck particulars in additional depth. The hottest multiplayer shooters don’t work on Linux as a result of BattlEye and Easy Anti-Cheat aren’t appropriate with Proton. Valve says it’s working with these studios to get assist for the expertise forward of the Steam Deck’s launch. If the previous is any indication, Valve will get it proper ultimately. (Update: It did.)

The Steam Deck is a Trojan Horse

Valve isn’t simply pushing a handheld gaming PC. Gabe Newell and firm are nonetheless getting ready for potential disaster. While you might have a look at the Steam Deck because the end result of almost a decade of labor for Valve, it’s also possible to have a look at it within the different course. If the Steam Deck is profitable, it should pressure builders to commit extra consideration to Linux—or not less than to contemplate Proton compatibility whereas coding. With every recreation that runs simply positive on the Steam Deck, Valve’s escape hatch opens a number of inches wider.

“We’re trying to make sure that Linux thrives,” Newell informed Venture Beat simply forward of Windows 8’s launch in 2012. “…We’re going to continue working with the Linux distribution guys, shipping Steam, shipping our games, and making it as easy as possible for anybody who’s engaged with us—putting their games on Steam and getting those running on Linux, as well.”

The Steam Deck—and Proton earlier than that, and Steam Machines earlier than that, and SteamOS earlier than that—drives dwelling that Valve nonetheless has its eyes on the prize…and the potential for catastrophe. Without Windows 8, the Steam Deck as we all know it will by no means exist, and Linux gaming wouldn’t be wherever close to as vibrant as it’s in the present day.