Valve’s bespoke gaming operating system, SteamOS, has received a sizable new update for March 2026. The Arch Linux-based operating system is perhaps less popular and widespread than Valve had hoped for back in 2022, when the Steam Deck first released, but it’s become a cornerstone for non-Windows gaming. Development continues, and even third-party devices like the Lenovo Legion Go S now come with it by default.
The next big step forward for SteamOS is most certainly going to be the release of Valve’s Steam Machine gaming PCs. These diminutive and sleek, albeit somewhat low-spec devices are going to be Valve’s living room gaming PCs powered exclusively by SteamOS. As Valve is hoping to position SteamOS and Linux at large as a viable alternative to Microsoft Windows for gaming, it should come as no surprise that the company is all-in on the project. In fact, references to the Machine are already starting to appear in the latest patch notes.
Valve Gives Update on Steam Machine Hardware Release Plans
Valve shares some reassuring news about the release date for the Steam Machine, confirming the console’s release plans have not changed.
SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview Build Includes Substantial Improvements and Steam Machine Preparations
Owners are used to receiving large SteamOS updates for the Steam Deck by now. Valve has slowly but surely been upgrading the Deck devices with a steady stream of new features and options over time, but SteamOS 3.8.0 is the first time the company has officially referenced the upcoming Steam Machine in its patch notes. As per the blog from Valve, this preview build of SteamOS comes with “initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware,” which suggests big background developments. Otherwise, the update comes with improved graphics drivers, KDE Plasma 6.4, VRR frame pacing fixes, and a “re-re-enable” of the Steam Deck LCD’s infamously problematic Bluetooth Wake feature.
While both the OLED and the LCD Steam Deck owners will profit from SteamOS 3.8.0 once it’s fully released, it’s the latter model that’s getting some big wins in particular. The new BIOS v133 introduces preliminary support for hibernation on the device, a slew of security updates, and a “Memory Power Down” setup option, which reduces idle RAM power draw. For non-Deck SteamOS devices, 3.8.0 includes controller and firmware support for the Lenovo Legion Go 2, OneXPlayer X1, and ASUS ROG Xbox Ally devices, with the Ally line also gaining TDP control and speaker audio support. Across all supported handhelds, controller input latency has been cut from 5–8ms down to 100–500 microseconds.
SteamOS 3.8.0 is available via the Preview channel on Steam Deck under Settings > System > System Update Channel. It is currently effectively in its final testing phase, which means it may take a few more weeks before it’s available on the stable update channel. It’s an exciting release in its own right, but for those who hope to nab the Steam Machine as soon as possible, having the device mentioned in the patch notes is a promising signal. Of course, there may not be that many people interested in Steam Machines to begin with, but that’s a different can of worms.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Note that the prospects of being able to buy Valve-made hardware reliably are slim these days. Even Steam Deck stock is low, and Valve is on record saying that it’s having trouble sourcing enough RAM for its upcoming Steam Machine and Steam Frame releases. Some are hoping that the new Steam Controller, at least, might be available as its own separate thing, as it should be unaffected by the global NAND flash supply problems. Regardless, there’s been no word on its release just yet, and fans of what the Valve hardware division is doing can simply wait and see what happens next.
SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview Patch Notes
Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Preview channel, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.
Known Issue: Users not currently opted into Preview channel updates may be automatically returned to the Beta channel when attempting to opt-in. This can be worked around by enabling “Advanced Update Channels” in developer settings, and will be fixed in an upcoming Steam Client update.
General
- Initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware
- Updated Arch system base
- Updated graphics driver with performance and stability fixes
- Fix a case where per-app performance settings would intermittently fail to apply when launching a game
- Improved support for the screencasts in Game Mode (e.g. OBS/Discord)
- Fixed dropdown menus not appearing in some games
- Improved VRR frame pacing
- Fixed FSR badge remaining off in the performance overlay, even if it was actually active
- Improved support for games that attempt to open PDF files in external viewers
- Fixed an issue affecting certain titles (such as “SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide”) where the game window could have an incorrect position
- Fixed closing certain titles (such as “STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™”) and Starfield resulting in a session crash
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Improved support for certain USB racing wheels and USB devices that boot in a non-standard mode
- Frequently these are devices that appear as USB storage devices with a driver installer, and must be switched to their normal mode by the OS
- Steam Deck controller firmware updates now display update progress on the splash screen
- Fixes issue on specific Steam Deck revisions where firmware updates could render the left controller inoperative for that session
- Numerous stability and security updates
Bluetooth
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Re-re-enable Bluetooth Wake for Steam Deck LCD
- Fix for more spurious wake issues that were present in earlier attempts
Audio
- Detect HDMI channel count and expose surround configuration if available
- Add a setting to allow using Bluetooth headset mics (Bluetooth playback quality will be worse while capture is active)
- Restore internal audio device on reboot if set to “Off” in desktop mode
- Increase suspend timeout for HDMI devices so initial audio isn’t cut off after a few seconds of inactivity
- Fixed a bug with switching input devices when a wired headset is plugged in
- Fixed an issue where audio underruns could be experienced after sleep/resume
Accessibility
- Added an option to force mono audio output
Desktop Mode
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KDE Plasma updated to version 6.4.3 from 6.2.5, and now uses wayland by default
- Fixes several cases of reduced performance in Desktop Mode compared to Game Mode
- Improved support for rotated displays
- Better scale factor out of the box on TVs
- Adds support for external HDR displays
- Adds support for VRR displays
- Adds support per-display scale factor
- For more information, see Plasma release announcements
- Keyboard layout and language are now obeying Game Mode settings
- Improved windowing behavior for games running in Proton
System Firmware
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Includes Steam Deck LCD BIOS v133
- Security updates
- Added “Memory Power Down” setup option
- Preliminary support for hibernation
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Includes Steam Deck OLED BIOS v114
- Security updates
- Charging LED now changes color when charge limit is reached, rather than only at 100%
Non-Deck
- Improved compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms
- Greatly improved video memory management with discrete GPU platforms
- Fixed a compatibility issue with the SteamOS chainloader that could cause a boot failure on some desktop systems with recent UEFI firmware
- Power button short and long presses now supported across a wide variety of devices
- Improved controller support for OneXPlayer F1 series, GPD Win 5, GPD Win Mini, Anbernic Win600, OrangePi NEO, and Lenovo Legion Go
- Added controller support for OneXPlayer X1 series and Lenovo Legion Go 2
- Added system and controller firmware update support for the Lenovo Legion Go 2
- Added preliminary charge limiting support for Legion Go, Legion Go S, and Legion Go 2 – currently only accessible in Desktop Mode
- Added controller RGB LED color settings for the Lenovo Legion Go 2
- Added controller, TDP control, and speaker audio support for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally series
- Reduced handheld controller input latency from 5-8ms to 100-500us
- Night mode, color vibrance, and color temperature sliders in Steam now work on Z2E and later AMD APUs
- Seamless boot fixes for Z2E and later AMD APUs
- Automatically handle internally rotated display for some third-party handhelds
- Improved motion control support for handhelds with BMI260 IMUs
- SD card reliability improvements for some third-party handhelds, including ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Legion Go 1, Legion Go S, Legion Go 2, and MSI Claw
- Fixed washed out colors for Zotac and OneXPlayer handhelds with OLED
- Fixed some GPU hangs on Phoenix APU devices (Tales of Arise, Octopath Traveler II)
- Fixed ASUS ROG Ally power consumption from fingerprint reader while shut down
Developer
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Desktop Mode now uses Wayland by default
- X11 support may still be selected via Steam developer settings, or via `steamosctl`
- Updated Linux kernel to 6.16
- Steam now uses steamos-manager to query available desktop sessions and trigger desktop session switching
- Added support for setting the desktop password in developer settings
- Initial support for running as a Virtual Machine guest (virtio guest drivers)
- Added support for third-party devices to trigger the SteamOS boot menu via EFI variable
- Added `custom-update` verb to `atomupd-manager` for easier testing of specific builds
- System reports now include more audio debug information
- Initial support for LAVD CPU scheduler via `steamosctl set-cpu-scheduler lavd`
