Lenovo Legion Go S might be the only official 'Powered by SteamOS' device for a while
The launch of the Legion Go S Powered by SteamOS has been met with a lot of excitement as the handheld arrives as the first official SteamOS console not made by Valve. However, while many may be expecting more manufacturers will partner with Valve to also launch SteamOS gaming handhelds, it appears that won't be the case, at least for now.
In an interview with The Verge, Valve revealed that Lenovo is currently its only partner for a Powered by SteamOS device and there are no other non-Valve SteamOS device in development. What this means is that the Steam Deck, Steam Deck OLED, and the Lenovo Legion Go S are going to be the only official SteamOS devices on the market for the foreseeable future. The latter won't even be available until May 2025, although the Windows version will be available later this month.
It is quite surprising not many manufacturers are jumping on the Powered by SteamOS
train considering how popular the Steam Deck is thanks to its software. It also isn't that Valve doesn't want more partners or is keeping certain features exclusive to its consoles.
According to Valve's co-designers, Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffais, the Legion Go S and any other possible SteamOS device will receive the same updates as Valve's own handheld, save for features that are hardware-based. Hopefully, the situation changes as the year progresses and more manufacturers partner with Valve to release official SteamOS handhelds.
On the bright side, Valve did reveal in a press release that it will soon release a public beta of SteamOS which might work on non-SteamOS handhelds such as the ASUS ROG Ally (available on Amazon for $444.99). That beta is expected to arrive in March, two months before the Legion Go S with SteamOS is available for purchase.
