Can Valve’s New Steam Machine Finally Free PC Gamers From Windows?

Valve has officially revealed its new Steam Machine, a compact gaming PC designed to bring the best of Steam OS and Linux to living rooms across the world. After months of leaks and speculation, the announcement has sparked excitement among PC gamers—especially those who are tired of using Windows but still want high-performance gaming. Although Valve’s decision to include only 8GB of VRAM in a 2026 device has raised some eyebrows, many players believe the Steam Machine could be the most important PC gaming product in years.Form years, Valve has been working to make PC gaming more accessible. SteamOS has introduced features that gamers have always wanted to easy frame-rate controls, game suspension similar to a console’s quick resume, and an interface that feels streamlined instead of overloaded. With the Steam Deck, Valve proved that Linux can power a successful gaming device. Now the Steam Machine aims to bring that same polished experience to the living room and home gaming setups.

But there is one big problem standing in the way of SteamOS becoming a true Windows competitor: Linux's long-standing anti-cheat weakness.This challenge doesn’t just affect a few niche games—it is the main reason some of the most popular competitive titles in the world still refuse to support SteamOS or Linux at all. If Valve wants the Steam Machine to spark a real revolution in PC gaming, it must solve this issue once and for all.

Why Gamers Want to Leave Windows Behind.Many PC gamers today feel frustrated with Windows. Over the years, Microsoft has shifted its focus toward AI tools and advertisements inside the OS, often ignoring core gaming problems. One major example is shadder stutter, a common performance issue that has affected many games. While Microsoft has acknowledged the problem, fully fixing it may take years.

Meanwhile, Windows continues to add features most gamers don’t want to especially AI-driven tools that run in the background and consume system resources. With these frustrations growing, SteamOS represents a refreshing alternative. It’s lightweight, designed specifically for gaming, and avoids unnecessary bloat.

SteamOS Works Great—But Not for Everyone.Steam Deck owners have already experienced much of the magic: easy performance controls, smooth suspend-and-resume features, and a clean, console-like interface. For single-player games and indie titles, SteamOS performs incrediblly well 

But despite all this progress, SteamOS is still missing one major piece: competitive multiplayer support.

Games like Fortnite, Valorant, PUBG, and Apex Legends dominate the global PC gaming market. These titles rely heavily on strict anti-cheat systems to keep players honest and maintain fair online play. Unfortunately, Linux-based systems make it extremely difficult for developers to secure their games at the level required for competitive play.

The Core Problem: Linux Is Too Open.In the 2024 interview with The Verge, Phillip Koskinas from Riot Games explained the core issue: Linux is extremely flexible, which is great for developers—but terrible for competitive game security.

On Linux, users can freely modify the kernel, change system components, or build a custom operating system from scratch. That means a determined cheater could create a version of Linux specifically designed for bypassing anti-cheat systems. Without a reliable way to detect whether the kernel is legitimate, developers can’t fully trust what’s running on a Linux machine

Valve Has Tried—But It’s Not Enough Yet.Valve has already made significant attempts to address the issue. They’ve worked to support major anti-cheat systems like BattlEye and Epic’s Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC). In fact, when the Steam Deck launched in 2022, many of the people believed that  these improvements would lead to widespread support for multiplayer games.

And in some cases, it did. Games like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 play perfectly on SteamOS because they use Valve’s own anti-cheat system, VAC, which they fully control. But many third-party developers remained hesitant.

That’s why we still have huge gaps:

Fortnite – No Linux or SteamOS support

Valorant – Windows-only

PUBG – No Linux support

Apex Legends – Dropped Steam Deck support in 2024

EA’s decision to remove Apex Legends from SteamOS was a major blow. It reminded the industry that despite Valve’s progress, Linux still hasn’t solved the core challenge.

Why This Matters for the Future of PC Gaming

If Valve wants the Steam Machine to push SteamOS into mainstream PC gaming—especially as a Windows alternative—it must be earn the trust of competitive game studios. Without a support from these major titles, SteamOS will remain a niche platform instead of a true rival to Windows.

Competitive multiplayer games are some of the most-played titles in the entire industry. If these games remain inaccessible on SteamOS, many gamers simply won’t make the switch—no matter how polished or user-friendly the experience becomes.

What Valve Must Do Next

To make SteamOS a true competitor to Windows, Valve must:

1. Create a secure Linux environment that game developers can trust.

That may mean building stronger kernel-level security features or creating a verified mode.

2. Work more closely with anti-cheat providers.

Deeper cooperation with EAC, BattlEye, and Vanguard is essential.

3. Provide a consistent, stable standard for competitive games.

Developers need confidence that SteamOS can offer the cheat-resistant environment.

4. Educate players and the studios about Linux gaming improvements.

Many developers still believe Linux has poor support, even when Valve has made progress.

If Valve can solve these issues, SteamOS could become the most gamer-friendly operating system ever created—finally offering an escape from Windows for the millions of players.