Valve has released an updated installation image of the SteamOS 3.8 operating system. Now users can independently install the Linux-based gaming platform on their computers to assemble a home analogue of the Steam Machine console. The main condition for installation is the presence of a video card from AMD, since there is no support for GPUs from Nvidia yet.
Valve has released an updated installation image of the SteamOS 3.8 operating system. Now users can independently install the Linux-based gaming platform on their computers to assemble a home analogue of the Steam Machine console. The main condition for installation is the presence of a video card from AMD, since there is no support for GPUs from Nvidia yet.
Valve spokesperson Pierre-Loup Griffais announced the release of the update on the Bluesky social network. The company also updated its official support page with detailed instructions for installing the system on third-party hardware.
The new version of the system is designed to simplify the process of deploying a gaming platform on home computers. Valve says that thanks to the openness of the architecture of personal computers, gamers get an alternative to buying ready-made proprietary systems.
«Thanks to the openness of the PC platform, there are many device options that allow you to run games directly on your computer or stream them to your TV. For our part, we continue to work to ensure that SteamOS can be used not only on our hardware, but also on other platforms,» the company notes.
I put SteamOS on a laptop and so far, it works flawlessly. I don’t know why I expected it not to work, but damn. These rules! pic.twitter.com/sDflQtapGB
— Deck Ready (Jimmy Champane) (@Deck_Ready) June 24, 2026
Pierre-Loup Griffey added that the fresh installation image significantly improves compatibility with modern computer systems and includes step-by-step instructions for initial setup.
Despite the expanded support, installing SteamOS on custom configurations is still in beta testing. Currently, only the Steam Deck portable consoles, the Lenovo Legion Go S, and the Steam Machine desktop hardware, for which the company recently opened pre-orders, have the official «Powered by SteamOS» marking. Other portable devices, such as the ASUS ROG Ally X or the original Lenovo Legion Go, are in beta support mode. The new item on this list on the support page is «AMD discrete graphics processors.»
Experts note that installing the system on a custom PC can be accompanied by technical difficulties due to the variety of computer components on the market. In particular, users may encounter incompatibility of Ethernet network chips, Wi-Fi modules or sound cards. In addition, to install SteamOS, you must disable the Secure Boot function in the BIOS. This is one of the reasons why the system currently does not support the operation of anti-cheat protection at the kernel level, which publishers such as EA and Activision use in their games.
SteamOS currently only supports AMD GPUs and has some issues with Nvidia drivers, but Griffey previously said that Valve is actively working with Nvidia engineers to ensure compatibility with Nvidia GPUs in upcoming updates.
