Valve Tries ARM CPUs: The Future of SteamOS?

Valve recently introduced ARM64 support for its Proton translation layer. This could point to plans to optimize SteamOS and a potential new Steam Deck for ARM processors. This is particularly exciting because ARM chips are known for being power efficient, making them interesting for laptops and notebooks.

ARM chips as a solution for mobile gaming devices?

While it’s unlikely that the next Steam Deck will be equipped with an ARM processor, further development of SteamOS based on this architecture opens up many possibilities. The use of ARM processors in laptops wouldn’t be a huge leap, especially since high-end smartphones can already handle demanding games with features like ray tracing and AI upscaling.

Chips like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite are performing well in early benchmarks, but they lag behind AMD and Intel processors in many games due to a lack of software support. Valve’s expansion of SteamOS’ ARM compatibility could play a role here. Although AMD has confirmed that a successor to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme will be released in the first half of 2025, ARM remains an interesting option for future mini PCs and mobile devices.

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source: SteamDBvia Golem