The Steam Deck, a portable gaming console recently announced by Valve, has all but turned the gaming world on its head since its reveal. Valve has asserted that despite its appearance and similarities to other handheld consoles like the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck is a fully-functioning PC and will reportedly allow players to do just about anything a more standard computer would be able to. This has opened up the possibility of running third-party software and even other operating systems on the Steam Deck, widening the scope of the console's game collection significantly.
The default state of the console is primarily built around Steam to such a degree that a Steam account is even necessary to reserve a pre-order for the Steam Deck. Valve's initial announcement seemed to center around the fact that the entire Steam library can be accessed from the Steam Deck, and that - provided there's enough storage available on the device, as the $399 model comes with just 64GB - even AAA titles can be ran reliably. For a handheld console, that was already seen as significant.
Buyers looking for additional storage size in order to hold more or simply larger games also have the option of three different Steam Deck models, each coming at a slightly higher price in exchange for either 256GB or 512GB of storage respectively. This has further opened up the discussion of possible uses for the console, and some have already started to wonder what other games could be played outside of Steam's already-large selection of titles.
Although it looks as though the Steam Deck will be primarily built around SteamOS, a Linux-based platform, it's by no means exclusively locked to that. The console's default experience does require a Steam account, according to Valve's FAQ, but ultimately Steam Deck functions as a PC and can consequently fully support third-party apps and even other operating systems. Even competitors' shops, such as the Epic Games Store, will potentially be available on the console. This feature is in stark contrast to similar consoles like the Nintendo Switch, which can only install other software when the system is jailbroken - a difficult and even risky process given Nintendo's legal response to hacking.
At the moment, it's unclear exactly how easy it will be to install other software onto the Steam Deck, how much driver support will be included, or how well third-party apps will function despite the emphasis Valve has placed on the feature. However, the prospect still opens up many possibilities when it comes to the world of gaming. Installing Windows onto the console would allow players to access Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, meaning that the Steam Deck could function as a portable Xbox. While it also isn't immediately apparent how well a Windows desktop UI will translate to the handheld platform, or even how well the OS will otherwise perform on the Steam Deck, it's likely that these questions will be answered more fully as Valve's December 2021 launch window draws nearer.
Source: Steam
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