- cross-posted to:
- games@sh.itjust.works
- cross-posted to:
- games@sh.itjust.works
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I’m still holding onto the dream that we’ll get SteamOS onto something small enough to fit in my pocket and run all my favorite 2D indie games. First manufacturer to do it gets all my money.
I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus a while back, purely an impulse buy for how cheap it was on sale, and ended up putting far more time into it than I ever did with my deck. This is the cozy form factor I need.
I’ma be real: It fucking kills me that Steam on Android has been mostly used for 2FA and the idea of it being an alternate game store for Android somehow just… doesn’t exist?
Especially, out of all companies to take the fight about that kind of stuff to Apple and Google, Valve has the punching power, and they’ve literally already had Epic forge a path for them in this regard.
Why is my Android copy of Balatro unable to use the same cloud save system as Steam? Why am I stuck in Google’s fucking lame gaming ecosystem? It just makes me heave and sigh because I’d way rather be purchasing games for Android via Steam on the Steam Android app. It just feels like such a missed opportunity.
A decade or more ago, I thought surely that was what the app was going to do, considering Humble would package Steam + Android keys in the same purchase back then.
A Steam phone with Steam Mobile OS. If there’s anyone that can pull a Linux phone is them.
I wish, but it feels like Valve is still mostly trying to support x86/x64 type devices and ARM/RISC-V doesn’t seem on the roadmap as much.
Maybe in 10 years after SteamOS has conquered this space, that could be the next target to expand into…
They have in fact been working on a ARM compatibility layer and Android app support through Waydroid.
I remember them investing into x86 emulation. I think the rumors suggested that it’s for Deckard, their next VR headset. If that is true it should be a short jump from there to phones.
Aren’t newer android versions welcoming more Linux’s features?
I see they could fit something like this there.
Why is my Android copy of Balatro unable to use the same cloud save system as Steam?
I’m going to be honest because this sounds like a frivolous reason, but this is pretty much the only reason I haven’t bought Balatro for Android.
It’s one of my favourite games, and it’s not even the price holding me back.
I’m just trying to get all of the achievements and I don’t want to unlock one and then have to do it again on the computer version.
I wonder if Valve plans to release an Arm version of SteamOS. They’d have to for it to ever show up on a device like the Miyoo Mini Plus, which uses an Arm based CPU, instead of the x86 based CPU in the Steam Deck, and other Windows handhelds.
Right now I think the OS of choice for Arm based devices is Android, which works well enough, but I don’t think very many PC games are ported to Android.
Dude off the top of my head Balatro (won many Game of the Year awards), Vampire Survivors, Terraria, and Minecraft all have Android ports.
I wonder if Valve plans to release an Arm version of SteamOS
The problem here is you’d be relying on a translation layer similar to Proton, but would probably have to be built off of something like Box64 for it to work. There just may not be enough horsepower on these small devices for that to do well.
Dude off the top of my head Balatro (won many Game of the Year awards), Vampire Survivors, Terraria, and Minecraft all have Android ports.
Well, then you should be able to play those games on smaller handhelds running Android, of which there are several.
Running x64 Windows games on x64 Linux with Proton is way easier than running x64 binaries on arm. That said, Apple have managed it so maybe one day!
Awesome. I’m glad to hear it because I think that’s the way things are going. Arm, or maybe even one day an implementation of RISC-V, just make more sense for handheld devices, where power management is very important.
I would kill for something like the Miyoo Mini in a GBA form factor.
I get that there’s a lot of nostalgia for the Gameboy / Gameboy color layout but the GBA/SD layout is definitely more ergonomically friendly.I have an rg35xx h (just a generic square thing) and I’m pretty happy with it. I play mostly GBA and some PSP games on it
this is the one I have and it’s amazing.
Anbernic recently released the RG 34XX. It doesn’t have SteamOS, but it’s still Linux.
The miyoo flip is a GBA SP form factor and it’s more powerful. It can run n64 and Dreamcast games
There are dozens of similar products in just about any form factor you’d like, including ones explicitly themed after classic handhelds.
None of them run SteamOS yet though, they’re all either Android or a customized lightweight ARM Linux running Retroarch.
The GPD WIN 2 fits perfectly in a pocket, I hope the new one keeps those dimensions since it’s already confirmed that it will be Steam OS compatible.
I had the Win 2. You needed fairly large pockets, and I wouldn’t really trust its build quality there anyway.
Yeah, not exactly for skinny jeans, but you don’t need cargo pants sized pockets either. The Win 2 quality was a complete disaster.
You could look at this: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-4-2025-amd-apu-handheld-console
I have one of their older products and I’m happy with it. I’m considering this one.
Comes with Windows 11 but says it supports SteamOS. Should certainly run at least older games well. They say it’s 220x92x28 mm (7.87x3.62x1.1 in) which is a bit chonky for something I’d put it my pocket but not unmanageable.
Hadn’t come across the Miyoo before so went to have a look… looks like a really good little product but wow what an annoying website constantly popping up the chat box over the whole mobile screen whilst browsing!
Anyway, how have you found it ?
The flip has some great ports apparently. Balatro being one of them. I’m hoping for the same as you. I want a steam Gameboy like.
Get bigger pockets?
Same, the Deck and all the other alternatives are way too big. There’s the Chinese companies but I can’t say that I trust them and certainly not their support if anything breaks.
I love my Steam Deck but it’d be an i stant purchase if they released a Steam Deck lite with half the size and the same capability
SteamOS is where I hang a LOT of faith now. Just, like, generally.
Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a freer world from the personal technology standpoint.
I love my Steam Deck. I’m browsing the Fediverse on it right now. Desktop mode is a bit of that unpolished Linux experience you can get but it’s really not bad at all. I mean, I fucking love it!
I think this is an incredible development, and will be a big boon for PC gaming on handhelds. Those SOCs/APUs are going to get better and better…
That’s nice and all. But can it run Doom?
Yes?
i would like to play video games without windows computer. thank you jesus Goldman or whatever his snake is
All the talk the last few months about SteamOS and Bazzite (plus Windows 10’s imminent death) got me to finally let up a Linux dual boot. Choosing a distro is a fairly contrary process with half the review lists being useless “tech media”, half AI buzzword word salad, and half distro stans trying to sell you on their version by pointing out flaws in the others.
I jumped in and am now on Manjaro as I use my computer primarily for gaming and media consumption. I originally planned this because of Manjaro Gaming edition, but Manjaro Gaming edition hasn’t been updated in years so looks like abandonware. Regular Manjaro it is, and add what I need as I go. I hope.
I decided to try Manjaro over PopOS due to enough anecdotal reviews about PopOS stability issues to make me second guess it. I have used Mint on old hardware in the past, and it was ok but I was concerned about gaming support and Nvidia drivers (accidentally jumped from Nvidia to Amd anyway, but that’s another story). Ubuntu has the same issue as PopOS on top of being the corporate distro. I also still have a bad taste from trying Ubuntu years ago and gaming attempts on it sucked.
I do not want to distro hop to find the promised land or just to see what the other grass is like, it’s just not something I am interested in and never have been. As bad as Windows can be, I have usually been able to ride an installation for multiple years barring external incident. I want to primarily sit down and use my computer. Reinstalls should be reserved for hardware refreshes and new builds.
If SteamOS can eventually simplify the decision paralysis involved in making the jump to Linux, it is going to be an absolute win. As a hard core techie with decades of experience building PCs, if I had this much trouble making the switch then I expect an even worse experience for the regular Joe.
To slot machines?
That’s great if you don’t care about playing online games and are okay with games you buy becoming incompatible.
Said the person who did no research and has no idea what they’re talking about. Steam OS has been pushing game devs and publishers to be more compatible with Linux, not less. Additionally, the only online games that really have problems with steam OS are ones that require kernel level anti-cheat, and we all should be pushing for the downfall of that. It isn’t necessary.
Linux not supporting kernel level anti-cheats is an amazing feature, in my honest opinion.
And so Cod works now? Yeah, that’s not a thing. Does Paladins work? Oh, yeah crap. Was GTA V online compatibility killed? It was? Oh, damn. Does Destiny 2 work? Oh, you mean the developers threatened people with bans if they tried to play the game on Linux? Oh, oh crap. How is VR going on Linux? Not well.Oh, damn. 🤔
I do VR on linux, I don’t see the problem? And of the about 500 games I own, there is only a handful that doesn’t work on Linux. And most of those are specificly designed by the creator to not work.
Valve has been doing an absolutely awesome job with the compatibility layer and making it easier for devs to port natively to Linux.
VR on Linux is a pain in the ass to set up and while Valve has done a great job you still can’t rust that all your games will work. Linux is amazing for web browsing, document editing, and retro gaming. Especially if you don’t wanna deal with Microsoft but it’s average for modern gaming. It’s still not there yet.
COD , GTA and Destiny 2 compatability was killed by the developers, not by Linux. VR (ignoring that it’s a gimmick which is going to die soon enough) works fine.
They don’t work on Linux. No matter who or what you want to blame. Also, yes VR works if you go crazy trying to get it to work.
What are the crazy steps to make vr work?
COD - Requires Kernel Level Anti-cheat (RICHOCHET).
Paladins - Requires Kernel Level Anti-cheat (EAC).
GTA V - Requires Kernel Level Anti-cheat (BattleEYE).
Destiny 2 - Requires Kernel Level Anti-cheat (BattleEYE).
This is the fault of the developers themselves not making those games compatible with Steam OS, and has nothing to do with Steam or Linux and everything to do with the developers themselves. So, if you’re going to play the blame game, blame the correct people.
I don’t know about VR in Linux, but it looks like the other people in this thread have me covered on that and they have explained in detail what’s going on there.
I’ve been in this space since the original steam machines. You either have no idea what it was like 10+ years ago with Linux gaming, or you’re being willfully ignorant and not finding out anything about what’s going on now and you’re salty for reasons I don’t know and don’t care about. Do not at me. I don’t care what you have to say if all you’re going to do is be sardonic and caustic. You have a nice day.
