SteamOS is officially launching on a non-Valve system

Summary

Lenovo recently announced that its upcoming Legion Go S gaming handheld will ship with Valve's SteamOS operating system.
Valve has been working on extending SteamOS to third-party devices for quite some time now, and the Lenovo Legion Go S is the very first implementation of the same.
The SteamOS-based Lenovo Legion Go S will cost $499 and launch in May 2025.

The newly announced Lenovo Legion Go S is the first third-party handheld gaming PC to be included valveis the SteamOS operating system. SteamOS used to only be available on the Steam Deck, but starting with the Lenovo Legion Go S, Valve is finally expanding the operating system to devices from other manufacturers.

Although the Steam Deck faces stiff competition from newer, more powerful gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+, the Valve system has always had an ace up its sleeve. While other gaming handhelds rely on Windows, which isn't quite optimized for use in a portable form factor, the Steam Deck's Linux-based SteamOS operating system offers a much smoother, console-like user experience. While SteamOS is one of the Steam Deck's standout competitive advantages, Valve has been working on bringing the operating system to third-party devices for several years now, and now the time has come.

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Some recent leaks claimed that an upcoming variant of the Lenovo Legion Go S gaming handheld will ship with SteamOS pre-installed, and CES 2025 has proven the claims correct. Lenovo took the stage at CES 2025 to announce a pair of new Legion Go handhelds, namely the Legion Go 2 and the Legion Go S. The former is said to be a true successor to the Lenovo Legion Go, while the Legion Go S offers similar performance like the current model in a lighter, more compact form factor. However, that is Lenovo Legion Go S paves the way for greater choice for consumers in the handheld gaming PC space, as one of its two versions will be based on SteamOS.

Lenovo Legion Go S handheld gaming PC details

SteamOS version

Uses Valve's Linux-based SteamOS operating system
Launching in May 2025 for $499
Only available in 16GB RAM/512GB storage configuration

Windows version

Uses Windows 11
Market launch in January 2025
$599 for 16GB RAM/1TB storage, $729 for 32GB RAM/1TB storage

The SteamOS-based Lenovo Legion Go S will be available at retail for $499 (16GB RAM / 512GB storage) when it goes on sale May 2025. Valve also confirmed that SteamOS will have full feature parity on the Lenovo Legion Go S and every SteamOS device will receive the same software updates as the Steam Deck, with the exception of hardware-specific optimizations. For those who prefer the familiarity of Windows, Lenovo will also offer a Windows-based version of the Legion Go S. This variant should go on sale January 2025 and starts at $599 with 16 GB RAM / 1 TB storage, up to $729 for 32 GB RAM / 1 TB storage. As for the flagship Legion Go 2, Lenovo currently has no plans to ship the handheld with SteamOS. However, this could change if demand for the SteamOS Legion Go S is strong enough.

At the time of writing, Lenovo is the only manufacturer partnering with Valve for a licensed SteamOS device. However, owners of other gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally will soon be able to try out SteamOS on their systems. Alongside the Lenovo Legion Go S reveal, Valve published a blog post on Steam confirming that a public beta of SteamOS will be available to “users of other handhelds” in the coming months.

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