Valve’s Steam Deck can run Windows and turn into a portable Xbox

On July 15, Valve announced its own Steam Deck handheld console. The device runs a special version of SteamOS 3.0, which is essentially an adaptation of Linux.

Best of all, the Steam Deck is a truly portable PC, where you can install Windows and play the latest AAA games on a 7-inch screen.

“The Steam Deck is a personal computer that you can install third-party software and operating systems on,” Valve says.

This means the Steam Deck could be the perfect portable Xbox, given Microsoft’s investment in its future PC projects.

With support for Xbox Game Studios on powerful AMD-developed hardware, the future is bright for gamers. The Steam Deck GPU based on RDNA 2 architecture delivers up to 1.6 teraflops of performance, placing the new handheld console between the Xbox One S (1.4 TF) and the PS4 (1.8 TF).

Potential downsides to installing Windows can include missing drivers and problems with a desktop-user interface that is not optimized for portable devices.

Valve has also confirmed that a keyboard and mouse can be connected to the Steam Deck. It is possible to install third-party stores selling games and other common PC applications on the console.

The Steam Deck will go on sale in the US, Canada, EU, and the UK in December 2021.