Valve Confirms It's Working Closely with NVIDIA to Bring SteamOS Support to GeForce GPUs

Valve is steadily expanding the reach of its Linux-based SteamOS beyond the Steam Deck, and the next major frontier is clear: proper support for NVIDIA graphics cards. While the recently released SteamOS 3.8 lets users run the same operating system and code stack that powers Steam Machines on their existing PC hardware, it remains exclusive to AMD GPUs for now — but that won’t be the case forever.

In an interview with The Verge, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais revealed that the company has a growing internal team dedicated to developing NVIDIA graphics driver support for SteamOS. More importantly, Valve is working directly with NVIDIA on this effort. “We are collaborating closely with NVIDIA,” Griffais said, signaling that the two companies are aligned on making GeForce cards a first-class experience on Valve’s operating system.

The prospect of SteamOS running on NVIDIA hardware is significant for the broader PC gaming landscape. It would give gamers an alternative to Windows that’s optimized for living-room and handheld gaming, complete with the seamless console-like experience SteamOS is known for. For years, Linux gaming has been hamstrung by NVIDIA’s historically spotty open-source driver support, but the landscape has shifted substantially with NVIDIA’s more recent engagement with the Linux community.

Griffais tempered expectations on timing, however, noting that NVIDIA support “may not launch this year.” The driver work is complex, and Valve is clearly taking a methodical approach rather than rushing out a half-baked solution. Still, the confirmation that this is actively being worked on — with both Valve and NVIDIA invested — is the strongest signal yet that SteamOS on GeForce hardware is a matter of when, not if.