SteamOS Scared Microsoft Into Making Windows Less Like Windows
hubie writes:
SteamOS scared Microsoft into making Windows less like Windows:
For decades, if you wanted to game, you used Windows. I mean, you could use Linux or macOS, but game support was purely dependent on whether the developer took the time to create a native client for your operating system. And given how people on Linux and macOS were likely not gamers in the first place (given how they were on, you know, Windows), the sales weren't often worth the development time.
But then something clicked. Valve wanted to release a handheld console not too unlike the Switch, but for PC gaming. To do that, they needed an operating system. And while they could have just slapped Windows 11 on it and called it a day, they instead cooked up an operating system based on Arch Linux called SteamOS. And while the tides didn't turn immediately, it has gotten to the point where Microsoft is scared of losing its "best OS for gaming" title.
When Valve created SteamOS, it had the same problem that all Linux distros had. No matter how good SteamOS was, it was still at the mercy of people bothering to create a native app separate from the Windows one that ran on Linux. So, Valve decided to take the onus off the developers and instead create Proton, a compatibility layer.
With Proton, Linux distros could run Windows games without the developers needing to lift a finger. It's not perfect; in fact, there's an entire website called ProtonDB where people test out titles and share any grievances they have getting the game to work on their system. However, the cool thing about Proton being open-source was that people could fix the issues they were encountering and improve gaming for everyone.
The obvious benefit of Proton's advancement is that more Steam titles will run more smoothly on the Steam Deck. However, it also meant that desktop operating systems could run Windows games via Proton. People could tap into their Steam library on a Linux distro, and all was good.
And then Linux started winning.
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