Bonum Certa Men Certa

A Longtime Reader's Thoughts About Valve and Steamdeck (and What That Means to GNU/Linux)

Video games fan
Versatility and general-purpose computing through a Trojan horse of sorts?



Summary: Another person's interpretation of Valve's strategy and motivations/ambitions

IN OUR Daily Links we continue to post additional news picks regarding last week's big news from Valve, as noted in yesterday's post. It's a bit of an ongoing story because additional details are gradually being revealed. In the next batch of Daily Links we'll include some focus on Arch Linux and the response from Epic, which is a competitor. Microsoft isn't even commenting. They seem to be somewhat rattled by the whole thing, as it devastates them on multiple fronts at the same time. It also seems like a good uplift for GNU/Linux on desktops and laptops -- a frontier long sought by the loudest Free software enthusiasts.



Our reader Daniel sent us some thoughts, which are based partly on his personal experiences (I myself never used Steam and don't intend to, either) and partly on what he read/saw. Daniel split that into 5 parts, as follows (with mild corrections in the English text as Daniel's native tongue is Spanish):

1. You say "its [Valve's] successor to efforts like Proton, SteamOS (Debian), and Steam Machines that never quite materialised". I'm not sure if you mean "Steam Machines never materialized", or "[all of that stuff are past efforts that] never materialized". The former is mostly right, whereas the latter mostly wrong. The device does use Proton (it's pretty much alive and well, even without this device), and uses SteamOS (v3, Arch based, as they got away from Debian some time ago). But this point wasn't about correcting you (which I believe wasn't necessary), but about focusing on your mention of the "efforts". What are they doing these efforts for? It's just about money?


The part about materialising was about Steam Machines alone. I'm not the first to point this out, as at least 2 more publications did the same. We included them in Daily Links.

The point is, for the uninitiated at least, Valve hoped to work with hardware partners on computers that have the Debian-based SteamOS preinstalled. That never quite happened at the end, perhaps because Steam surveyed the market, in the same way Palm did with "Foleo".

This time will be different as the strategy is inherently different in a number of ways. Daniel continues:

2. You also say in the article's summary: "Valve has chosen GNU/Linux for its power, not for its freedom". This is a typical interpretation from Free Software activists -- and one that can ultimately be generalized in this way: "either they go fully Free software, or they have other interests -- different from freedom". Of course I agree with that interpretation: Valve does have other interests, most likely reduced to just simply power and money. But the thing I don't like about that interpretation is the implicit binary narrative about freedom. You see, part of the idea behind this thing they're doing is this: "It's a PC. You can do with it whatever you do with a PC. We don't believe in restricting it." That is actually huge. I struggle to make people understand their computing devices (mobile phones, modern gaming consoles, smart TVs, and so on) are artificially-limited computers. That point is actually about freedom. They even actually say you can install on there stuff from their rivals (like EA or Microsoft), which contradicts the idea of them "simply wanting power and money". They clearly want to establish a hegemony. But that hegemony happens to be kinda OK to me (not the DRM part, of course). My point: is not "simple" what they're doing, in fact it is complicated, and so it also involves explicit increased degrees of freedom (specially in contrast with what the gaming ecosystem offers to people). So I'm not so sure about your lecture. I believe freedom is one of the reasons behind the GNU/Linux choice. It's not a binary choice between power and freedom, nor any other binary choice. And maybe not be exactly the freedom Free Software activists talk about. But it is partly about freedom, and a significant part of it.


Up to a certain point in time Sony did something similar with PS3. That was a very long time ago. Later came Google with Android (wherein freedom is being lessened over time). Valve would not be the first. This is mostly connected to the "general-purpose computing" battle, which is connected to "right to repair" more than Free (as in freedom) software. It's the idea that people can do as they please with devices that they have purchased and therefore assume they own.

3. Remember also Steam's history. At first, it was revolutionary somehow inside the Windows ecosystem, at the cost of DRM. Before involving GNU/Linux, gaming on Windows was already full of problems that Steam solved. It was basically the same effect Netflix had on pirating [sic] movies, but for games: by giving comfort to the people by centralizing problem-solving, they got everybody on the boat. That's deeply problematic from a Free software point of view. But it is actually a happy event from a people's experience perspective. People are just ignorant or unaware of the freedom they're giving away, and so they have no problem with it. To that point in history, Valve and Netflix are basically the same shit. However, at the gates of Windows 8, Steam declared war on Windows and went to GNU/Linux, even saying that Windows was a disaster for gaming. Then "Steam for Linux" came out, and from that day on they never stopped pushing GNU/Linux gaming, even when we're <2% of their user base 10 years later. And they keep working and keep on pushing GNU/Linux, no matter what "the market" says about it. If you also see that you can buy games without DRM and add them to Steam (so, Steam acts then as a CDN and not a DRM provider/encloser), that they allow stuff like sharing games, that they actually added code to drivers and software layers, and that they even make GNU/Linux-first hardware, they're very far away from Netflix. Valve has shown ideals. I doubt you or me will share those ideals any day soon. But they're certainly not a two-bit power and money-hungry bunch of people like Microsoft or Netflix are. This is different.


Steam comes from a person who once worked for Microsoft. So he seems to be aware of how much of a danger they pose; GNU/Linux reduces Microsoft's control over his company. Recall what Microsoft did to RealPlayer (and Networks).

As Daniel puts it:

4. Microsoft is their enemy, on various fronts. But it is not their only enemy. With Steamdeck, Valve is also explicit about the goal of opening the door to other people doing hardware like this. It is not about buying their hardware but about changing the relationship people have with devices. And so this hardware, strangely cheap for the product and at the same time strangely up-to-date, is also a declaration of war on the hardware front. Valve is no longer a declared enemy of Microsoft and Windows, but WINTEL itself. The time was perfect for striking a punch to Intel. And also a strong blow to Nintendo and Sony. And with stuff like "this is a PC" they're also taking distance from Apple, not just Microsoft: those bastards try to set "PC" as another word for "Windows", and "Mac" as something different; Valve says otherwise, and not just by wordsmithing but by embracing GNU/Linux.


That's an excellent point actually. They also embraced KDE and a distro (as base) not many expected to see (like Google picking Gentoo).

About the distro crafted by Valve, Daniel says:

I saw a few videos the day the news went wild, and every time they showed SteamOS v3 it looked very much like Windows 10.

Minute 04:19 here: To be honest, I don't use KDE and have not used it since some brief 2008 tests, so I don't know what it looks like these days. And the same goes for Windows 10 -- an OS that I barely touched, exclusively because of job-related tasks. But if I'm reading this right, they tuned the UI, making it look like Windows 10. So... add wine/proton over that, and they're also bringing back LINDOWS from the grave! I know there were several attempts at something like that: but if Valve publishes the recipe for it, and back it over time with money and work, they're making a Windows replacement everybody can clone without using Valve's trademarks. I mean: Dell, HP, Lenovo, or whatever hardware maker can just copy-paste the proper bits of configs to deploy their own brand (an important detail in business world) instead of using "SteamOS". And of course there will be community forks. The point being: this is a poisoned dagger against Windows. Valve is really making a Windows killer here, from ALL fronts at the same time (hardware, software, community, and corporate world), and using gaming as vector. If I'm right about this, we should REALLY let them play their game, at least for a while.


Finally, Daniel says:

With all of this in mind, my conclusion: Valve certainly does things we don't like, and most likely that will never change: it's hard to think of Valve leaving behind DRM and some questionable practices with devs. But they also seem sincere about the consumer's interests (or at least their experiences), they've showed a stronger commitment to GNU/Linux than most other big tech players (specially in gaming), they show a vision (at least compared with players like Microsoft or Apple), and while they seem as pragmatic and money-based as any business, they also insist in pushing costly long-term ideas like a GNU/Linux based SteamOS or PC-based hardware replacing artificially-limited options. So, Valve is not our enemy. It's just that they're not free software activists either: they're a business. I was about to compare them with Canonical, but I believe the case is different: Canonical is more like hypocrites, Valve is more sincere. Valve is not about GNU/Linux: they're just embracing it. And in exchange for the power GNU/Linux gives, Valve also gives stuff back. That doesn't seem like a parasitic relationship to me, even when the thing Valve gives back may not exactly be software freedom. If Valve ever wins these gaming wars, they will most likely end up being another Mozilla or Canonical. But Valve does not claim to be a Free software activist organization: they're not even "not for profit" as Mozilla was. And if they win these wars, the gaming world will be completely different, most likely better for GNU/Linux. So I believe that, if we can't be Valve supporters, we also shouldn't be too vocal a critics either, as they're the closest thing we have to a powerful friend in the gaming world: we should let Microsoft try to fight Valve the wrong way, while we find ways to make more freedom around the software Valve already brings to GNU/Linux ecosystem.


We might revisit this subject some other day because no doubt it's a game-changer, if you pardon the pun...

Recent Techrights' Posts

NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day