Microsoft is combining “the best of Xbox and Windows together” for handhelds
Seemingly confirming the theory that "Xbox" will just be Windows going forward, at least on handhelds.
https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/7/24338778/microsoft-xbox-handheld-pc-gamingOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
I’m not a big Linux person, but the steam deck NOT being windows seems like a plus generally. >_>
I was using Lenovo's handheld a few weeks before release and was really impressed by the specs until I turned it on and it was windows and I made an audible laugh. They were saying I had no idea what I was talking about and how windows was the future of handheld gaming. Which made me laugh some more, guess who's making a SteamOS handheld now?
I think the timing of this news coming so close after Valve announcing the SteamOS beta shows that Microsoft might actually be afraid.
The timing is because CES is happening right now. Microsoft has been eyeing this use case since at least the launch of the Steam Deck.
probably started more around the switch. it takes microsoft forever to
inventcopy something.Ah, that makes more sense.
And to think that this all started because Gabe was afraid that microsoft's "app store" would hurt Steam so he decided to fully embrace Linux to in preparation. I bet not even Gabe expected back then that the situation would be as it is today.
I am fairly sure Gabe expected this, in fact I think he expected more. See, back when Windows95 was first released people were skeptical that Windows would be a good platform for gaming, they cited non-existent technical issues (similar to how they do with Linux now) that drove the employees at Microsoft mad, so one particular employee had the idea to port the most advanced game at the time to Windows, they contacted ID software, and got in an agreement that they would write the Windows port of Doom and give them the code back, ID agreed and after Doom was released for Windows more and more people started to port their stuff over since it was clearly possible. So essentially Windows being a gaming platform was only possible thanks to that employee, who after working with games liked it so much that he quit Microsoft to create his own gaming company which he called Valve. Yup, Gabe Newell is responsible for both Windows and Linux being seen as a gaming platform.
I was hoping I'd fly under the radar will they have their heads deep in llm ass, but Gaben basically mortally wounded Windows and it's bleeding out
Get fucked. After all the shit I've seen them pulling with Windows 11 they'll never get a dime out of me again. I'll ride my win 10 until it's out of support then switch to Linux. Fuck monopolies, and fuck enshittification for profit.
Don't wait till support ends, it will make the switch more stressfull
SteamOS for pc can't come soon enough.
Steam already runs fine on Linux, you don't need SteamOS to us the compatibility functionality, meaning anything you can play on the steamdeck already works on a Linux pc.
To add to this;
Playing modern Windows games on Linux and SteamOS is done using Wine and Proton. Wine is available on almost every Linux distro and Proton comes* with Steam.
*You can use Proton outside of Steam but it's quite hacky and not really needed.
Amen. I'll trust that until Gabe dies and of course some shithead takes his place and ruins the company
Why do you want SteamOS though? Unless you're making a Steam Machine there are better options out there for desktop usage.
Just install Mint Cinnamon. It’s super approachable and Steam works great on it.
I plan to use zero patch until eol then go Linux. https://0patch.com/
Isn't steam about to no longer support 10?
No.
Couldn't even find a rumor of it. It wouldn't make sense for steam to stop supporting such a large part of their userbase.
I'm sure on the game specs on the store it says steam will no longer support win 10 in jan 2025. Unless i misread and it's it'll only support win 10 and above.
Maybe you are confusing this with the news from a year ago that Steam doesn't support Windows 7 and 8 anymore?
By the way MS-support for 7 ended in 2015, so that's 9 more years of Steam support after updates from MS stopped. I'd count on Steam working on Windows 10 for years to come.
Yeah i assumed this might've been the case, hence the last sentence in my comment
Unless you provide a source I will consider your comment as FUD.
I'm pretty certain it's latter of my comment. Don't know what FUD means though
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
Anything Microsoft built lately is dogshit. They turned Windows into a steaming pile of shit over the past 20 years. When you think it can’t get any worse, they somehow raise the bar on disappointment.
No doubt it will be loaded with a shit ton of tracking/telemetry to build new datasets and train LLMs. Mining data from kids/teenagers and building those ad profiles early on is key.
Repairability will likely be shit as well.
The best of windows? Windows 11 is shit. Is there some better windows they are hiding somewhere?
Actually, yes there is! Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC. massgrave.dev
The best of Windows is running more than just games that got ported to Xbox, and at better settings.
Windows 2000 Pro?
Pass.
We've come full circle, almost like a red ring of death.
I just don't get why they didn't think of quickly porting the Xbox interface over to desktop Windows. Should have been an easy fix to make handheld gaming on Windows more appealing.
It's a lot more than that. SteamOS isn't just Steam Big Picture Mode. There's some special sauce in there to capture the active window so that you never lose focus of the game window and such. If you just run a Windows machine set to boot into Steam Big Picture on startup, you'll find lots of times that you have to break out a keyboard to Alt+Tab for a variety of reasons that SteamOS never encounters. And given the other problems Windows has introduced over the past decade, that's the least of their problems now.
Just chiming in to confirm you're correct. I use big picture mode on windows and I've got to keep an air mouse with me for moments like that.
All hail Gamescope!
RROD was actually 3/4ths of a circle. A full red circle was a different and less troubling error.
The best is none of either
No more windows please, I'm sick of it.
People think Xbox is shit at the moment. Making things more like xbox isnt received as positively as it used to be. When I was a windows user and I saw anything Xbox related come up I knew I was about to deal with some clunky bullshit that was not wanted and poorly implemented.
I haven't heard anything from MS on the subject of Xbox since the release of PS5. I think it's dead in the water.
I am beyond thrilled
Are we getting another windows 8 without start menu again?
So.... Are they selling a box full of hot air? That's the best marketing stunt ever
Get an Xbox PC app for Steam Deck then, Microsoft.
I'm going to imagine Xbox would love to. But Microsoft is stopping them. They'd stop android and ios too if they still had windows phone.
You missed the part where Microsoft had better apps on Android and iOS during the W10M period. Satya never cared for Windows Phone once he became CEO.
I think the opposite is gonna be the case
So, some time ago I saw a video about Microsoft about how they had gotten their OS so bad that now nobody wants to use it by always going all in into the newest big thing (Vr and win 10 mixed reality, tablets and win 8) and i think the same is going to happen here. microsoft will try to make their whole OS just like steamOS, and fail hardly at both the normal consumers and the handheld market
They obviously mean steamOS haha
Nice, we can be submerged by notifications and other annoying popups on a handheld now.
It's exactly what I needed.
Do you want to pin this useless app I've installed without your knowledge on your screen?
This doesn't make any more sense than Windows phones made. They required way too many hardware resources and power to run a system that is designed to do a ton of things on a ton of different types of hardware. Handheld hardware needs specialized OS optimized for the platform and I doubt this will do that. It will likely have a ton of RAM and processing tied up in OS activities just like windows phones making everything slow and/or battery life really bad, but still not be able to run a lot of the stuff that would make this all worth it. Better to start with a more modular system like the base linux kernel and add only what is necessary than to start with the idea of supporting a ton of software and sacrificing the real purpose of the device (handheld gaming) to do it.
If that happens I'd be extremely surprised. They have been really against truly modularizing Windows because of the lack of documentation partly due to the push of "agile" methodologies mixing with top down feature pushes and the effort required to create something that would support Windows applications in a way that users would understand. There are also just too many applications out there that use too many features in unintended ways, including or especially their own.
This could be a snapdragon X handheld, and one day run an unofficial good OS.
Nobody wants this
Game Pass subscribers and people who play games with kernel level anti-cheat do.