After the Steam Deck made a splash in the handheld console market, other companies have tried their hand at making their own Deck-like device. The question is, what operating system would these newly-created devices run? While Valve wasn't against the idea of bringing the Steam Deck's OS, SteamOS, to other devices, it was still a work in progress. As such, companies had to look elsewhere to power their device.

Windows 11 became a popular choice for some, including the ROG Ally series. And it seems that Microsoft somewhat enjoyed the newfound popularity, adding features to Windows 11 to help handheld gaming companies get the most out of it. And things seemed right and rosy...until Valve announced that SteamOS would begin rolling out to other devices, starting with the ROG Ally. The clock is ticking, and now Microsoft needs to up its game if it wants to stay in the handheld gaming market.

People don't like Windows 11 on their handhelds

A necessary evil for some

So, Windows 11 has solidified a position among Steam Deck alternatives, and now Valve wants to bring SteamOS into the mix. Will gamers stick with Windows 11, or will they ditch it for SteamOS on the first chance they get?

It's impossible to tell for sure, but we can make an educated guess based on how much people enjoy using Windows 11 on their handhelds. So, let's see.

When editor Adam Conway reviewed the ROG Ally, he stated that the Windows 11 OS made it a difficult device to recommend, and had some pretty scathing words on the topic:

There are a number of caveats that make it a worse selection for a lot of users, and nearly all of them come down to the fact that Windows is simply not good enough in this form factor.

Then Brady Snyder got his hands on the ROG Ally X, and sure enough, he felt the same way:

However, I can't understate how bad Windows 11 still is as a gaming handheld OS.

Then Joe Rice-Jones had the idea of installing Windows 11 on his Steam Deck, and he didn't have a great time:

But it's not only additional features you'll miss out on if you migrate to Windows. In many cases, you'll be losing performance as well. While we don't have direct benchmarks for Windows running on the Steam Deck, I found a video from a YouTube creator called TheTerk. They found that from a selection of 20 games, only four ran faster on Windows than on Steam OS.

In short, while Windows 11 is serviceable as an operating system on a handheld console, people generally prefer to game using SteamOS. And when SteamOS arrives on these devices, people may end up fleeing Windows 11 en masse.

Microsoft isn't doing enough to keep people on Windows 11

It may be too little, too late

Valve has stated that it has zero qualms with getting SteamOS onto other devices outside of the Steam Decck. The only reason why it hasn't done so already is because it was busy making the Steam Deck and the Steam Deck OLED. This gave Microsoft a little bit of a headstart to solidify its position among the Steam Deck alternatives.

So, what has the company done to help enhance the handheld gaming market? Well, it made a Compact Mode for Windows 11 to help squish everything down to fit the smaller screen, and then it squished down the Windows 11 Game Bar to fit the rest of the OS, and then...that's about it.

With Linux currently being better than Windows for handheld gaming, it doesn't seem like Microsoft is too fussed with trying to bridge the gap with Windows 11. And if the company doesn't act quickly, it may see its hold on portable devices slip as SteamOS slowly begins gobbling up market share.

Microsoft needs to up its game if it wants to stay in the handheld gaming market

Valve has signaled that it's ready to begin working with devices outside of the Steam Deck. Depending on how fast it goes, Microsoft may have some time to build up Windows 11 and make it play nicer with handheld consoles.

If it does want to do anything, it needs to do it fast. The writing on the wall suggests that when SteamOS arrives on a Windows 11 handheld console, people will want to jump ship as soon as possible. If that's true, Microsoft needs to give gamers a reason to stick with its operating system and not jump over to Linux. The problem is that the company hasn't signaled that it wants to do anything to enhance its handheld market share any further than adding a few compact modes.

Regardless of what Microsoft decides to do, SteamOS is on its way. And now that the ball is in the Redmond giant's court, it'll be interesting to see how Microsoft responds to Valve's influence - if it decides to at all.