The Steam Deck handheld system has been one of the most intriguing pieces of gaming equipment of the last few months, and it's not hard to see why. Despite Valve's history of unsuccessful hardware attempts, this latest endeavor is proving to be something of a winner, with the device being not just a standard games console for the mobile market, but a fully functional PC too. As such, its developer has been keen to push the idea that it can support other operating systems, and now a recent beta update adds supports for Windows 11.
According to a report from PCGamesN, a new patch for the Steam Deck means that users will now be able to utilize Microsoft's latest operating system rather than the one that comes pre-built into the machine. However, it should be noted that anyone who installs Windows 11 must be aware that it may not be fully optimized just yet, so those who own a Deck and are interested should perhaps be a little wary for now. After all, this is not the first instance in which an OS being compatible with Valve's device does not necessarily mean it will work well.
It wasn't that long ago that Windows 10 drivers rolled out for the Steam Deck, with tests at the time of the report showing that there was a noticeable drop in game performance. Some titles like Doom Eternal suffered a significant drop from 34 fps to just 19 fps, though Elden Ring didn't seem to have as many issues as some other games. The general gist, it seems, is that these are still early days for having either Windows 10 or Windows 11 on the portable machine, but it's likely that there will be up-to-date drivers rolling out at some point which should deal with any performance problems.
On top of that, the Steam Deck's Linux-based operating system has itself received a couple of updates which have looked at improving the keyboard and input calibration features. Given that the system was only released a few weeks ago, it's understandable that there will be some teething problems early on, especially with the implementation of a different OS, but it seems as though tweaks are being made all the time.
As for the Steam Deck itself, Gabe Newell says the gaming device was an inevitability and that this current iteration could represent the first steps in a new era for mobile game systems. It may have taken Valve a good few years to finally launch some hardware that's been receiving praise, as well as some criticisms, but it's entirely possible that the future could look good for mobile PCs, either this one or others inspired by it.
Source: PCGamesN