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Games: SteamOS and Common PCs Running Steam
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Make Use Of ☛ My SteamOS handheld now has the ultimate library thanks to this launcher
I've had my ROG Ally X for just about a year now, and shortly after SteamOS became available for it, I quickly converted this Windows 11 machine to a more handheld-friendly OS. Since then, I've been using it far more often than I ever did before, thanks in part to the more user-friendly experience that SteamOS has to offer for devices like this. But there was only one problem. Using SteamOS limited me to just using Steam games. Or so I thought.
Enter Heroic Launcher. It's got all the things I like in one small package. It's open-source, gives me access to my Epic, GOG, and Amazon Prime Games library, and still lets me primarily use Steam as I see fit. Honestly, while it would be counterintuitive to Steam, I wish Heroic Launcher were included with a SteamOS install. It's just that good.
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XDA ☛ Linux runs most PC games now, and you don't need SteamOS to do it
Linux gaming is slowly gaining prominence, and while it's definitely not mainstream, it has crossed a line of viability that sounded ridiculous even a few years ago. It's no longer a hobby project, but a real way to enjoy most of your favorite games. Not every title works, and a handful of popular multiplayer games still treat Linux like a second-class citizen, but by and large, even games that aren't supported by Linux natively will run perfectly fine.
The best part is: none of this has to do with distro. You don’t need SteamOS to get the modern Linux gaming experience. SteamOS is a great product, and it’s getting more important every year, but it’s not the secret sauce. The real story is that the tech stack underneath Linux gaming has matured to the point where your distro choice matters far less than the pieces it ships.
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XDA ☛ I installed SteamOS on a regular PC, and it runs better than you'd think
SteamOS is one of the main drivers of Linux adoption these days thanks to its inclusion with the Steam Deck and recent Lenovo gaming handhelds, but Valve has kept official support for it to a very limited number of devices. Of course, you can try to mimic the SteamOS experience with alternatives like Bazzite, but what would happen if you were to try and run proper SteamOS on a PC that isn't even designed for gaming in the first place?
That's what I set out to discover, and, surprising as it may be, the results were pretty positive. I put the official SteamOS release on a Minisforum V3 tablet, and I had a pretty good experience using it this way. At the end of the day, it's Linux, and it works as well as you could expect it to. Let's take a look.