While Valve stays tight-lipped about the Steam Deck 2, the gaming giant just dropped a major hint about its hardware future. Software engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais confirmed the company sees Arm chips powering everything from ultraportable laptops to desktop systems, signaling a fundamental shift in how SteamOS could dominate beyond traditional x86 gaming.
Valve won't breathe a word about the Steam Deck 2, but they're singing a different tune about Arm processors. Fresh off announcing their Arm-powered VR headset that can run Android apps, the company is already sketching out a much broader silicon strategy that could reshape portable gaming. The timing isn't coincidental. As Nvidia reportedly preps an Arm gaming laptop and Qualcomm courts major OEMs like Razer, Valve appears ready to ride the wave rather than fight it. "I think that it paves the way for a bunch of different, maybe ultraportables, maybe more powerful laptops being Arm-based," Griffais told The Verge during a recent interview. "Handhelds, there's a lot of potential for Arm, of course, and one might see desktop chips as well at some point in the Arm world." The statement marks a significant shift for a company that built its portable gaming empire on x86 architecture. But it's not just wishful thinking - companies are already knocking on Valve's door. Griffais confirmed that handheld manufacturers have reached out about SteamOS partnerships, with OneNetbook among those experimenting with powerful Arm chips for gaming devices. The market momentum is undeniable. Apple's M-series processors proved Arm could deliver desktop-class performance while sipping power, and now the PC gaming world is taking notice. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips are pushing Windows laptops into new territory, while Nvidia's rumored gaming laptop project could bring RTX-level graphics to Arm systems. For Valve, this represents more than just following trends - it's about expanding SteamOS beyond its current x86 limitations. "We'll keep greasing the wheels, so to speak, so that SteamOS can work on a wider variety of Arm devices, but also so that the catalog becomes more reliable there in terms of compatibility and performance," Griffais explained. The compatibility angle is crucial. Game developers have been slow to optimize for Arm, but Valve's backing could accelerate adoption. If SteamOS becomes the bridge between traditional PC gaming and Arm efficiency, it positions Valve as kingmaker in the next generation of portable gaming. But there's a catch - current Arm chips might not pack enough punch for Valve's flagship ambitions. When pressed about the Steam Deck 2's "generational leap in compute without sacrificing battery life," Griffais suggested today's Arm offerings compete mainly in lower-power segments. "When you get into lower power, anything lower than Steam Deck, I think you'll find that there's an Arm chip that maybe is competitive with x86 offerings in that segment," he noted with what the interviewer imagined was a wink. That careful phrasing reveals Valve's strategy: start small, build the ecosystem, then scale up as silicon improves. Rather than bet everything on Arm for their next flagship, they're cultivating a diverse hardware ecosystem that could include everything from budget handhelds to premium ultrabooks. The implications stretch far beyond gaming hardware. If SteamOS becomes truly platform-agnostic, supporting both x86 and Arm seamlessly, it transforms from a niche gaming OS into a potential Windows alternative. That's exactly the kind of disruption that has nervous about losing its PC gaming monopoly. Industry watchers should pay attention to Valve's next moves. The company that revolutionized digital game distribution and proved handheld PC gaming was viable is now positioning itself at the center of computing's next architecture war. Whether they're building the future or just riding someone else's wave, one thing's clear: the Steam ecosystem is about to get a lot more interesting.
