“All of this work is broadly applicable to the PC platform, and it’s going to continue to expand over time. Supporting multiple platforms, multiple chipsets, controllers for different machines that are out there and even ones that aren’t out yet.”
[…] Valve’s goal with the OS is to have it compatible with traditional PCs, laptops, portable consoles and any other formats.
Inb4 Microsoft sues Valve for using Wine in SteamOS.
Iirc there’s already a legal precedent that says copyright doesn’t apply to APIs themselves, just their implementations, so reverse engineering one to make your own implementation is fair game. I think the original lawsuit was even about wine.
Though it is possible my memory archives are corrupted.
I do remember the oracle vs Google lawsuit.
Google’s copying of the Java SE API, which included only those lines of code that were needed to allow programmers to put their accrued talents to work in a new and transformative program, was a fair use of that material as a matter of law. Federal Circuit reversed.
From the wikipedia article about it
It’s about having a plan B incase MS starts locking in the customers into their own gaming services.
Tim Sweeney warned about this when they tried to push the Windows Store on Windows 10.
They say that as if trying to kill Windows is a bad thing.
Gaming on windows is about gaming on the os I already have for work/non gaming entertainment. I’m not out choosing different os like buying a new shirt or something.
If my gaming handheld came with steam os that’s fine because I’m not doing productivity work on there.
These days I barely interact with the os outside of clicking the icons to open things. Os have become increasingly desktop only environments. I barely even use the start menu anymore.
These days I’m trying to remember what I found so useful with the start menu back on XP and 7. Maybe the problem is Microsoft making it less useful and full of ads.
Remember when you had to install things and not just open a bookmark in a web browser.
I hate that now I have to make weird registry changes to get rid of ads and disable searching the Internet when all I want is to find the installed application.
It’s funny in a way, seeing as how Gabe Newell was at Microsoft from ~’83 until ‘96, working on the early versions of Windows.
Makes sense though - to see what subsequent teams have done to your original project, and feel the need to ‘right those wrongs’.
Windows: 95
Gabe: imma head out
Do your thing Valve. Linux has been around for 30 years. It’s a marathon to 70% marketshare, not a sprint.
OK, we’ll, we’re not having a great experience on windows, are we?
That’s what they’re implying
So there IS a problem, valve 😡
Replace Windows with masochism. If someone enjoys masochism, who are we to stop them?
This is really nice comparison. Using windows really is a masochism, not only in terms of suffering you take but also having this huge dominant corpo figure inflicting said suffering with new inventive methods day by day.
That’s pretty much the difference of philosophy in a nutshell.
Microsoft: We gotta kill the competition.
Valve: We gotta make our customers happy.
Valve makes money whether you use windows or Linux - that’s probably more their attitude.
I mean sure, but you could definitely conceive a Microsoft/Google/Apple style business model where they try to lock people into an ecosystem where they control both sides — the OS and the software — so that the OS can discourage third-party software and the software offers benefits for using the OS where they have home field advantage.
They don’t really need to, cuz they’re the de facto standard for Windows anyway. Specifically because they never went the Microsoft way. So now their OS is just another nice perk instead of another way to control their customers. And it’s also way cheaper for Valve this way.
Likely they are trying to stave off Microsoft’s crosshairs for a bit. Valve is big, but Microsoft is WAY bigger, and when they decide they want to crush you, crush you they will.
If Valve were to make SteamOS good enough that a significant market share started using it; Microsoft will start doing everything in their power to drown it out as fast as possible.
If you’re under about…35 or so, you are unlikely to remember all of the shadow corporations that came out of the woodwork under Microsoft’s control to sue anyone using Linux into oblivion and to spread lies and fear during the late 90’s and early 2k’s. If you think Google is bad, Microsoft is way worse.
I don’t think they care that much. Windows revenue is ~7% , and most of it is probably Windows Server and enterprise/government deals. Source.
Unless SteamOS becomes competitive in the workplace and professional world, it’s just a drop in the ocean, too small to matter.
Just like Microsoft crushed the iPod with Zune or Sony with XBox.
Valve is big enough and entrenched enough—and MS fucks up consumer stuff enough—that I doubt they are really at risk of being crushed.
And MS failed at crushing Linux or the major Linux vendors even during the SCO phase.
lol – You know… I never thought of it like that. All of the people they tried to crush never really went away.
- Firefox (Netscape Navigator)
- Linux (Literally everywhere now)
- Apple (they literally rescued apple!)
- Sony
- Google (Search)
- Slack (Teams)
- Oracle (Databases)
- Salesforce
…for each attempt Microsoft has made at crushing someone they deemed a competitor – they sure are bad at it.
However, others weren’t so lucky:
- Lotus
- Novell
- Palm
- Nokia (bought them and made them a zombie of their former selves)
- Blackberry (though, this was more Android than MS)
- Various web-mail competitors with Hotmail
- IBM (OS/2 vs Windows)
Though, I’m not so sure that last list was all Microsoft. More of a Microsoft + Market Pressures type of death.
The Nokia Windows Phones were so good. I LOVED the polycarbonate bodies that could be smushed back if you dented it.
I had the Nokia Linux phone with the same body. It was one of my favorite phones.
Nokia linux phone 2025 edition 🥰 with flagship processor
one can dream lol
I miss the crazy Steve balmer days
Microsoft would have a hard time crushing the biggest gaming store in the industry. I think this is more of a “don’t fuck around or you’ll find out” from Valve to Microsoft.
Valve is put in a weak position if they’re entirely reliant on Windows. Having another option that grows in market share puts them on better negotiating footing, should the need arise.
More than that, by diversifying Valve is getting insurance from Microsoft bad mood in 2 ways
If the experience gets shitty because Microsoft manipulate Valve and games into making gamers getting bad experience, they can say “works just fine in my steam deck”
And if they try to do the “30% subscription/marketplace tax” that iOS and Android pull on devs they can go rogue and say it’s cheaper on steam deck/Linux which would also cause a big kerfuffle
Nah, I agree with the above poster. Valve is treading lightly because it’s still in a weak position. Also if there’s one thing I’m sure of in this world is that microsoft are genuinely evil, and they will do everything to crush opposition. They have the resources, the time, heck, they probably have an army of lawmakers in their pockets too. They’re probably being more benevolent because it’s cheaper than all out war ( see sony ). They’re probably working an EEE angle that I can’t figure out.
They invested 11 figure numbers in xbox and windows gaming at this point, they won’t let that escape. I suspect it’s even possible that they would somehow convince Valve to drop Linux support if it got too much for their taste. Who knows what the relationship is these days between Gabe and his former employer.
On this topic, it’s not about the money (getting paid off, or absorbed) for valve - they will continue their linux projects because the only goal is ensuring they have somewhere to sell games if MS went nuclear. While the immediate threat of windows store monopoly has subsided, SteamOS as a whole is a contingency plan over everything else, since the beginning.
With Microsoft pivoting to the angle of “this is an xbox; that is an xbox; you are an xbox” – I wouldn’t be surprised if they just simply paid their way onto handhelds and turned them all into “xboxes”
Don’t underestimate the power of the darkside.
Microsoft will start doing everything in their power to drown it out as fast as possible
Everything, except making a more attractive OS
Too true!
Or, like their entire business model for the last decade or two, they’re focused on competing at a service level rather than trying to push everyone out of the market by force.
Microsoft has made sure to make their library of games available on Steam for a reason. They know they can’t… or won’t compete at a service level.
SteamOS is all well, and good, but does it have a dedicated button to launch an AI app (but not the one you can use at work) that can be reprogrammed to only do other things that also don’t need a dedicated button? I think not. Check and mate Gabe.
deleted by creator
the other thing that drives me nuts about steamos is that it doesn’t even come with a dedicated chat button pinned in the bottom bar. and even if it did, i bet it would support work accounts and personal accounts. windows knows exactly what i want, which is a giant button that only supports personal accounts for the chat program is literally only ever used for work
Dumbass steamOS doesn’t even remind me that I don’t have Edge set to my default browser lmao what a shit OS
It other words they are saying be better or we will destroy you.
They’re saying that they won’t even have to try.
SteamOS: You’re saying I can destroy Windows?
Gabe as Morpheus: No, SteamOS. I’m saying when you’re ready, you won’t have to.
The way they’re talking about this it’ll probably end up running any non-server computer I build - I am SO sick of Microsoft and it’s “Fuck you, customer slave” attitude.
All this talk about a gaming centric operating system “replacing” one designed to handle everything is just ridiculous.
Everybody here is debating whether Valve is trying to crush windows.
I took it more to mean that Valve realizes that Windows is the dominant PC OS and so they’re trying not to appear as if their goal is to crush Windows, on account of how if that’s their goal Microsoft could just make Steam inaccessable on Windows.
Now you could argue that there will be a patch, and a hack and blah blah blah the average user ain’t got time fo none-a-dat!
User installs steam. Windows blocks installation. 70% of users just give up. “Oh, I guess this only runs on steamdeck. Oh well.”
And just like that Valve loses 100% of potential purchases from that average windows user who hasn’t even done so much to their system as changing the theme.
Personally, I think Valave has no reason to try to compete with Windows right now, regardless. Steam has a market capture that the Xbox store could only dream of, even with gamepass, and SteamOS expands their market into new areas outside of the Windows PC group.
I could also see a Streisand effect/TikTok to Red Note if Microsoft tried to prevent people from installing Steam where they draw more attention to SteamOS and people start jumping ship for other options - whether that’s SteamOS or not.
