Valve's Steam OS operating system is based on Linux, and both Steam Deck and the Steam Machine launched today are equipped with the SteamOS operating system. However, the operating system currently mainly supports AMD hardware, and its compatibility with NVIDIA GPUs is not ideal, although NVIDIA GPUs actually monopolize the desktop graphics card market. However, the latest news is that Valve is working with Nvidia to work together to solve this problem.
Pierre-Loup Griffais, a member of Valve's software engineering team, told foreign media The Verge that the company is "working closely" with Nvidia to develop support for Nvidia GPUs.
This is naturally good news for players. After all, Nvidia's GPU is more powerful than the integrated graphics card or the 8GB AMD graphics card built into the Steam Machine.
But he himself said that players should not have too high hopes. Griffais also said that this is "something we are working on behind the scenes" and that Nvidia drivers for SteamOS may not even be available until the end of 2026.
In addition, he also mentioned that SteamOS may dual-boot with Windows or other operating systems in the future. These measures will allow users to build their own Steam consoles in the future.
Nvidia has always had a problem launching drivers for Linux operating systems, which are more sensitive and proprietary than AMD and Intel's drivers, leading to compatibility issues. If Valve wants SteamOS to work "out of the box" on hardware equipped with Nvidia graphics cards, it still has a long way to go. However, the situation is improving, and Nvidia seems to be more actively supporting Linux, not only hiring many well-known people, but also officially supporting GeForce Now on Linux.