Steam Deck designer Scott Dalton said 'there was always kind of this classic chicken and egg problem with the Steam Machine', as it required the adoption of Linux by both gamers and game developers to reach a critical interest in the machines to draw manufacturers in making them. Valve quietly pulled back on it by April 2018, but stated they remained committed to providing some type of open-hardware platform. Valve's Steam Machine series of gaming computers using Linux-derived SteamOS was introduced in 2015, which worked their way into the conception of the Steam Deck. The system features a desktop mode, allowing users to install Linux applications or change its operating system.

Games for Microsoft Windows run through Valve's Proton compatibility layer. The device uses Valve's Linux distribution SteamOS, which incorporates the namesake Steam storefront. Released on February 25, 2022, the Steam Deck features a docked mode when connect to a monitor. The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer developed by Valve.

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