Following Valve’s announcement of Steam Deck OS support for the ROG Ally, leaked images suggest Lenovo is preparing its own SteamOS-powered handheld, the Lenovo Legion Go S. Images posted by Evan Blass on X reveal black and white versions of the device, with the black model notably featuring a Steam button.
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While the low-resolution images don’t explicitly confirm SteamOS, a visible Steam logo on a button to the left of the display on the black variant strongly suggests it. The absence of this button on the white model hints that Lenovo might be developing both Windows and SteamOS versions of the Legion Go S.
Currently, PC manufacturers like Lenovo, Asus, and MSI have focused on Windows-based handhelds. However, as user frustration with the Windows experience on smaller screens grows and Microsoft’s improvements remain slow, these OEMs appear to be exploring alternatives.
Lenovo’s potential SteamOS entry coincides with a recent update from Valve to its branding guidelines, which now include “Powered by SteamOS” hardware. This strongly indicates Valve is expanding its partnerships with third-party hardware manufacturers beyond Asus to certify SteamOS devices. With CES 2025 approaching, more SteamOS-powered hardware announcements are anticipated.
This isn’t Valve’s first attempt at pushing its operating system onto third-party hardware. At CES 2013, the company launched the Steam Machines initiative, aiming to partner with PC manufacturers. However, limited developer support for Linux game ports hindered its success. This time, however, the situation is different, thanks to Proton. This software compatibility layer, used by the Steam Deck, has demonstrated that many Windows games can run effectively, and sometimes even better, on Linux. As previously noted, this time around, the idea of SteamOS on third-party hardware has a much higher chance of success.
