Bilawal Bashir 
A recent leak suggests Valve might be testing ARM support for SteamOS, possibly for a Valve Index 2 or a new form of Steam Deck.
Valve started as a video game publisher but has shifted its focus to video game distribution and hardware since then. The company didn’t get immense initial success in hardware with Steam Box and Steam Controller failing to become household gadgets. However, the Valve Index VR headset became one of the best VR headsets for video games.
The Steam Deck has been successful, especially with the newer OLED model. The portable device runs on SteamOS, a custom Linux-based operating system. Valve has yet to announce a Steam Deck 2 or Valve Index 2, but the company seems to be at least testing the waters.
Is Valve bringing ARM to SteamOS?
Changes changes to SteamOS by Valve suggest the company is testing an ARM version of Proton that can support select VR games.
Does this mean Steam Deck 2 will come with an ARM chip inside? That is uncertain. A Steam Deck Mini powered by the new, more power-efficient ARM chips could be possible. Recently, ARM had great success with Apple’s new M chips as well as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processors. While energy efficient, the chips are not yet powerful enough for AAA gaming.
The SteamDB leak also shows the FEX x86-on-arm emulator and Waydroid. That indicates Valve is also testing Android apps in the Linux environment. Could the next Steam Deck come with two operating systems? That remains to be seen. A powerful Android handheld made by Valve could change the mobile gaming ecosystem.
Is Valve Index 2 coming?
The SteamDB code lists plenty of normal games but also shows Valve is testing VR games to run on ARM.
The leaked code shows Valve is running Android games on ARM. It’s to be noted that most Android games are VR only. Moss 2, Pistol Whip, The Lab, and Open Brush are all Android VR games. Valve is perhaps looking to compete with Meta’s Quest 3 headset. A standalone Steam VR headset could bring more gamers to VR.
Space Pirate Trainer and Racket NX are VR games on the Meta Quest platform. Valve is certainly testing VR games on ARM, but the reason isn’t apparent. The company could bring Photon support to MacOS, making the M series processors run Steam games, but that seems far-fetched. The testing could also be internal testing, not meant for consumer products.
Regardless, even as other companies seemingly step back from VR gaming, this is the latest sign that Valve is doubling down. There have been multiple data mine discoveries in 2023 and 2024 that suggest a follow-up to Half-Life Alyx is in the works. Though Valve is known to start and tap out on projects before completion, VR gaming players have cause for hope here.
