Microsoft erkennt endlich die Bedrohung, die SteamOS darstellt – aber seine Versprechen, Windows 11 für PC-Spiele zu reparieren, sind zu gering und zu spät
https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-finally-realizes-the-threat-steamos-poses-but-its-promises-to-fix-windows-11-for-pc-gaming-are-too-little-too-late
45 Kommentare
This is Linux time to shine.
They can’t even fix Xbox gaming!
I hate Microsoft as much as the next guy, but „too little, too late“ feels like wishcasting when Windows still has a 95% usage rate dominance on the Steam charts.
I’d guess that most people only have the one home PC and may play games not available through Steam that may not have native Linux support (especially games that require anti-cheat engines running in the background for online play)
As long as kernel level anticheat doesn’t work on Linux, Windows is safe.
People want to play the newest AAA games that have it.
Besides most are too lazy to swap.
Gonna be completely honest here, I just have zero faith in anything that has to do with MS anymore. They’ve fucked around for far too long. Windows 11 is shit, everybody knows it’s shit and people only begrudgingly use it either out of necessity (anti cheat games) or out of not knowing that Linux exists/not knowing how to install it. Nobody actively enjoys using Windows 11 the way they enjoy using things like iOS or a good Android skin. The ads, privacy nightmares, stuff like AI and recall being shoved down your throat is really the cherry on top of the shit sundae.
Once Nvidia gets their shit together regarding DX12 and linux, I’m switching over.
It’s the year of the Linux desktop you guys!!
It should be noted that as of Nov 2025, Steam reports that almost 66% of users are running Windows 11 with another 29% going to Windows 10. As someone who has stubbornly stuck with Windows 10, I’m surprised the numbers are that high but more importantly is exposes that the idea of this being „too little, too late“ as flat out ridiculous.
Side note, the PCjr in the pic is stoking all kinds of nostalgia.
Linux won’t start making serious gains until the anti cheat problem is solved.
Proton is great and all, but people want to be able to play the massive online games with their friends and proton just doesn’t solve that.
I’ve been a Windows user for gaming, programming, and productivity tasks like writing or photo editing for more than 30 years. The Windows software experience has always been rough, but the Windows 11 shite and the AI shite was the last straw for me. I refuse to make the jump to Windows 11. I don’t want to constantly be worrying that AI built into my OS is taking screenshots of what I’m doing, or training itself on my actions, or any more of the stupid shite Microsoft dreams up to sell to corporations.
Once Apple releases the next gen MacBook Pros next fall, I’ll be buying one of those to do everything but gaming.
For gaming, the combination of SteamDeck and PS5 are probably sufficient, but I’ll also be experimenting with moving to Bazzite or something similar to see if I can do gaming on a Linux Desktop for games that need more power. When my current desktop hardware begins to fail, I’ll take a hard look at Steam Machines or the inevitable custom builds that target similar hardware with much higher specs for maximum compatibility.
It’s over guys. Microsoft has no chance. Too little too late.
SteamOS will only become a major threat to Windows dominance in PC gaming if Valve throws their resources at solving the anti cheat problem on Linux. If they can do that then Microsoft should be concerned but we’re not at that point yet.
Fix it for PC gaming? Idk it works fine for gaming for me, but it has so many other issues. I never want to see ads in my operating system, the search function should actually work and why are they hiding more and more settings from search when they haven’t made an alternative that works. And don’t force me to use a Microsoft account. I mean, I’m using one on my personal account, but at work I don’t want to have a to use Microsoft accounts.
So…what is wrong with gaming on Windows? I have had zero issues and in fact, it’s been a better experience on Windows 11 than any previous version. I don’t really believe that Steam OS will magically be any better.
Whats so bad about Win11, what problems are we seeing?
Just wait until it sinks in that nobody wants Copilot either. Or agentic systems. All the things they are tripling down on
I love the proclamations of things being too little too late when it’s still the main osus 92% of people who play video games on PC
Idk, Steam as a platform where I can buy games is great, but the software itself sucks. It’s clunky and doesn’t work very well. I am skeptical that Steam could ever produce a compelling general purpose OS.
What do you mean too little too late my guy. Acting as if though people left windows.
I’m basically waiting for steamos to come out to make the switch. Just want to use my gaming pc for gaming. All this extra bullshit Microsoft pushes is unnecessary. Keep AI for the vulture tech bros that swear it has use when it does fuck all for anybody.
I’m a game developer working mostly on windows.
The biggest issue Microsoft has is just a complete lack of attention. DirectX has seen some love on the graphics side, but everything else hardly gets touched. Joystick support is limited and resting heavily on 25 year old API’s. Audio is using a 8 year old api that was only half ported from the Xbox. There is virtually no support for haptic devices. And surprisingly, no windows api to drive the myriad of lights and displays that are so popular in gaming hardware. We rely heavily on 3rd party tools to bring hardware support up to speed.
Other issues include not being able to shut down one drive while the game is running, and users being less and less computer savvy while windows gets more and more complex. They really struggle to sort out networking and usb issues on their own.
Got a steam Deck a week ago, i tested 45 games and only one dint work, the rest ran without any noticeable flaws, its like magic.
This article presumes to believe things get corrected immediately at the drop of a hat. That’s not how things work.
While I am sure the new handheld form factor is responsible for some of this, the reality is fixes go into a priority bucket, and in other cases require research to understand the underlying cause for the issue. In other words, they aren’t simple fixes.
For example, some of the performance increases were announced by AMD, and my thoughts are this is because of an issue AMD and Microsoft chased down together. I know of this from my experiences back during the Windows 95 beta, where I persisted in reporting a bug Microsoft said was fixed, but Microsoft couldn’t duplicate yet I still experienced with every new build. It required getting Apple involved in working out why this was happening. At the time, while the two companies were in a legal battle over the very component causing the issue.
Not every issue is simple, not every issue can be fixed right within the halls of Microsoft, some issues require time and research to identify the cause and implement a solution. As with Windows, it also requires time to test and make sure the fix doesn’t break more than the original issue broke.
Proton will be the undoing of Microsoft. The state of gaming on Linux has never been better and it is still continuously improving day after day.
Will they release gaming mode2?
Are gamers who are tech savvy enough to use steamos (it’s still Linux under the hood) that big of a pool anyway? I would think it’s less than 0.1% .
As long as compatibility isn’t 100% steamOS will never be a consideration for me
Windows is fine. If you de-bloat unnecessary programs, turn off the spyware, never connect to the internet, and disable co-pilot.
But after you do all that. It’s fine.
The real threat to Microsoft is a new OS backed by a very popular app store that is now selling standardized hardware. It’s Apple without the vanity pricing.
There was already a budget planner app on Steam some years ago that saw significant installs. How long before Google makes apps for their products on SteamOS? Once developers, large or small, start making productivity apps for SteamOS, MS is cooked in the retail market.
Microsoft: „How about we add AI so it can play games FOR you?!“
Steam could just do the funniest thing and be like free steam if your game works on steam os
The only thing keeping me on windows now is my Quest 3.
It’s the same IBM most people don’t realize how large it is and its influence as well.
The 1st iPod had at the time the smallest hard drive ever built….. by IBM research and development.
If they hadn’t taken their foot off of the gas for Xbox and game publishing maybe they’d be in a better position.
Man, when I can reliably run MSFS in VR with a Reverb headset on my gaming PC with SteamOS, I’m gone, Microsoft.
nevermind Gaming honestly, Im just done with Microsoft and their shitty decisions around Windows 11, Copilot, and a host of other things. Their holier-than-thou approach with customers has always rubbed me the wrong way, but the last 10 years in particular, yeah.. they can fuck off.
(disclaimer: I am not an novice when it comes to operating systems).
As if inability to play games on Windows 11 was the reason it’s the last Microsoft OS I’m considering using, by choice, on personal equipment.
Please. That has almost nothing to do with it. It’s all the other crap, going all the way back to Windows 95. It’s the same reason, at least as much as possible, I shun every entity that keeps trying to insert itself into my life like a tick.
Gaming on Linux is still not as easy as Windows 11, but for the few games I want to play it is also not particularly difficult.
I don’t believe them with their AI push.
Too little too late? It’s already great on my Legion Go. Tried SteamOS for a bit, not impressed. Feels the same when gaming while of course losing a ton of functionality compared to Win11.
News flash kids, commercial control of TPM standards is their secret weapon. Building secure boot (IT’S DRM) into the hardware in a way that only commercialized origination of software (lock down for driver cert signing that’s locking shit behind access at OS kernel level) is able to access low level functionality on hardware is the secret sauce for consumer desktops to keep MS locked in.
The latest lie of ’secure boot must be enabled‘ for anti-cheat data-siphoning malware (and it really is, don’t run anti-cheat on anything that you have PII or any regulated work data that might touch) to work effectively is just another wall they’ve erected to maintain control through illusion of security.
Even if they made gaming better, it wouldn’t matter to me. I prefer Linux for many reasons, the fact that it can also do gaming now means that I’ve actually made the switch. What Microsoft decides to do about gaming now is not so relevant anymore then.
Micro$oft is an arrogant, out of touch, bloated mega-corporation. Their products are bloated garbage filled with spyware and ‘features’ nobody asked for. It should be no surprise to anyone that customers (me included) have moved on from them
I work in IT support; nobody who doesn’t already know how to, is going to switch OS’s for Steam. Microsoft and Apple are all most people know. They may know OF Linux, but they’ve never used it.
If you haven’t gone to Wn11 yet because you don’t want the AI crap or built-in advertising that already exists in it, why would you trust MS if they say they’ll change anything? They already put all that crap in there when no one wanted it, clearly they don’t have any intention of making what users want.
Yeah, I doubt Microsoft will be shifting their direction. They would have to abandon their AI horse shit and all of this Microsoft Account crap before SteamOS starts to look less attractive.
I remember the hype when win 11 came out that it would be good for gaming.
Like whatever happened to that super fast direct drive access thing they touted? I’ve seen absolutely nothing about it ever since.