Valve today (12 November 2025) announced their new Steam Machine (x86 CPU, 6x more powerful than Steam Deck) and Steam Frame (self-contained and PCVR streaming VR headset with ARM CPU & “FEX” translation of x86 to ARM) to be released in early 2026. No prices yet.
I’m trying to speculate what effects this will have on the wider Linux ecosystem. Both devices will be running Steam OS and be open so you can run any OS.
First, I’ve read many people state that the Steam Deck considerably increased the number of devices running Linux, so it seems to me that these two new devices will accelerate that trend.
Second, it seems to me that the Steam Frame will significantly increase VR use and development for Linux.
Third, I wonder what the implications of Frame’s x86 to arm translation layer (based on FEX, an open source project that I only learned about today) as well as Android compatibility (they state it can sideload Android APKs) will be. Could this somehow help either Linux on Apple silicon or Linux phone efforts? I’m very unfamiliar with what’s going on with either of these efforts, so I may be way out on a limb here.
What do you think about all this?
Edit: this article may prompt some additional thoughts with its discussion of the openness of the Frame - https://www.uploadvr.com/valve-steam-frame-catalog-whole-compatible/
Yes but …
Still, it’s good obviously, not having to rely on BigTech. This was also possible before though as I pointed out in https://lemmy.ml/post/38899489/22202786 with e.g. Lynx XR1, as a rooted Android standalone HMD with no account required.
Anyway IMHO the big questions for VR on Linux more broadly is what changes upstream on KDE in terms of immersive UX? Is KDE Plasma becoming a VR graphical shell? Does it have 3D widgets? Does it impact freedesktop in any way?
Edit : I have a SteamDeck since its out, Lynx XR1, etc so I absolutely want Linux VR and FLOSS XR to succeed. In fact I even gave a talk at FOSSXR years ago about that, fact did it twice. Still it doesn’t mean I can’t be disappointed by those points. I like Valve, I want to give them money, that doesn’t mean I can’t be objective. You might have different requirements, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t compare to alternatives which have existed for years.
Just cause apps exist that they to use it doesn’t mean anyone uses it. Google Cardboard apps are still on the android app store, do you use that?
Because they don’t need to? Steam VR has way more VR apps than the other platforms
I genuinely don’t get your point. Popularity is not a criteria that is relevant for my needs. Your preferences are not relevant to my needs. We are different people and that’s OK.
Steam doesn’t win users and marketshare because of your needs. Or even hardware. It wins users because the steam library is already on the device.
Agreed but I’m not really talking about Steam here.
Are you not discussing factors to a successful foray by steam into VR?
Everyone can say the same thing… your needs are not relevant either then.
Popularity is ultimately what moves the needle, this post was asking in which direction will the needle move… so in this context your personal needs are only relevant in relation to how popular they are.
Shocking to read in a Linux thread. The entire point of free software and open source is that the need of 1, not even a market but a need, without any budget, might still be relevant and important.
Linux itself is the result of that.
The only reason Linux became a thing is because Torvalds managed to get engagement and popularity amongst a niche community of hackers that happened to share the same needs/goals.
Because what gives it importance is the needs we share. “The need of 1” is measured in relation to “the need of many”. Community is a huge piece in the “open source” puzzle. A community of 1 is not a community… it’s a personal space. If you don’t share your software with a community then declaring it “open” is pointless.
Also… when I said “relevant” I specifically meant for the questions raised by OP. I’m not talking about “relevancy” in some weird transcendental way… I don’t believe such a thing exists… everything has a viewpoint from which something can be said to be “relevant”… however, as you yourself said: “your preferences are not relevant to my needs”.
I’m not sure if we’re having the same conversation, they addressed 5 items but now my actually questions on the more structural aspect.
To be fair I wouldn’t buy one of those to run Linux, and it’s not a extremely hard to see why the average consumer wouldn’t want to buy this to run Linux either:
Sure, my point is mainly to distinguish what is genuinely novel versus what already exist but people might not be aware of.
I would suggest the support this has from valve that means it works great out the box does indeed make it novel.
It will move the needle far more than like 2 hobbyists flashing niche hardware. Nobody cares about that because it’s so small scale. Nobody will put in the support for that user base. Conversely the valve frame is going to be a mass market product that will be in the hands of loads of people, so issues and problems will get fixed, software will be optimised and if the install base is large enough it will be targeted with new software and features.
That’s the novelty. It’s likely going to change things.
That’s about popularity though. Of course it will change development, and hopefully for the better because consumers and developers alike will be able to trust that the platform will keep on being usable. Still, it’s not about being genuinely new technically speaking. Same for e.g. https://simulavr.com/ which now looks like… well let’s just said egoistically speaking I did track the project for years, glad I didn’t order a DevKit, sadly.