SteamOS is Valve’s Linux-based operating system. It features a seamless user experience that's optimized for gaming, while retaining access to the power and flexibility of a PC. SteamOS plays tens of thousands of games on Steam, and we are constantly testing the Steam catalog for SteamOS compatibility. It's an open Linux platform that leaves you in full control, and you can install new software or content as you wish. By default, the Steam Client serves as a user interface and provides connectivity to our Steam online services, but you can still access the standard Linux desktop. Users should not consider SteamOS as a replacement for their desktop operating system.
SteamOS Key Features
SteamOS provides access to the full Steam ecosystem - your Steam Library, Steam Cloud, Steam Chat, Steam Game Recording, and more. The user interface is optimized for controller use, and offers features like quick suspend?/ resume to get you quickly in and out of games. Best of all, you don't have to worry about driver updates and hardware tweaks - all of this is handled seamlessly through built in system updates.
SteamOS Game Compatibility
SteamOS is Linux-based, and the vast majority of the Steam library runs on SteamOS, thanks to the Proton compatibility layer Valve ships (over 18,000 titles last we checked). This allows developers to ship games for Windows without worrying about porting to Linux, and games will seamlessly work on SteamOS. When a game doesn't run well on SteamOS, we call it out with our Verified program so customers know what will and won't work well.
