Rocknix announces official Steam support for Android handhelds

The developers of Rocknix, the Linux distro developed for retro gaming handhelds, have announced that the operating system now has support for Steam. This new development means users will be able to play Linux games as well as PC games through Proton.

According to a report by Retro Handhelds, support is currently limited to Qualcomm-based handhelds and it includes a handful of devices from AYN, Ayaneo, and Retroid. However, newer devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite or Dragonwing Q8 such as the AYN Odin 3 and the Konkr Pocket Fit Elite are not supported. Below is a list of the currently supported devices:

• Retroid - Pocket 6, Pocket 5, Pocket Flip 2
• Ayaneo - Pocket DMG, Pocket DS, Pocket EVO, Pocket S 2K, Pocket S2, Konkr Pocket Fit (Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 version)
• AYN - Odin 2, Odin 2 Mini, Odin 2 Portal, Thor

Steam support on Rocknix is currently limited to the Nightly builds, so there's bound to be a slew of bugs. However, it should get better with time. Rocknix also advises users to install the OS on the device's internal memory as that significantly reduces the Steam startup time, game installation time, and launch times.

With respect to compatibility, it has been stated that games which have RTX may not work while certain DirectX 12 games that don't boot will require a launch argument. Helldivers 2 also needs a launch argument, while Counter-Strike 2 requires users to enable DRM, Vulkan, and Wayland client host libraries in EmulationStation's advanced systems options. Full details about how to install Steam in Rocknix can be viewed in the source link below.