Valve’s New “Powered by SteamOS” Branding Signals Future Hardware Partnerships
Valve has introduced a new “Powered by SteamOS” logo as part of its updated branding guidelines, signaling potential new hardware partnerships. This new logo is detailed in Valve’s official Steam branding guidelines document, intended for hardware manufacturers interested in shipping devices running SteamOS. The logo indicates that a device will run SteamOS and boot directly into the system on startup, provided by or developed in collaboration with Valve.
At present, the Steam Deck is the only device available with SteamOS pre-installed, but the introduction of these guidelines suggests that Valve might be preparing to collaborate with other hardware manufacturers for new Steam-powered devices. This shift could resemble the early days of the Steam Machine program, which attempted to bring Linux-based gaming systems to market but ultimately fizzled out after a few years. However, the Steam Deck’s success and Valve’s growing focus on hardware partnerships suggest that these guidelines may hint at something more substantial.
Valve has already worked with AMD for the Steam Deck, which uses a customized Ryzen APU, and is rumored to be collaborating with Asus for a version of SteamOS on the ROG Ally. As handheld PCs continue to struggle with Windows as the OS, SteamOS might be an attractive alternative for companies seeking smoother gaming experiences. The “Powered by SteamOS” logo could provide crucial branding leverage in this growing market.
