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SteamOS has another new beta with a newer Kernel and updated Mesa

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For those of you using SteamOS, you might want to know about a new beta Valve just put out. It features the usual security updates as well as a few other niceties.

The Linux Kernel has been updated to 4.11.4, Mesa got updated to 17.1.2 and there's also a DualShock 4 gamepad crash fix. You can find the full changelog here. Not a huge release, but it's important that Valve continue to push out updates to keep it alive (and useful!).

It's really great to see Valve starting to push out quicker updates once again, after it being delayed a while before the recent big update.

Valve are quite obviously playing the long game here, as they continue to update the core components while their own employed Mesa developers (and the various others) plug away at making the open source drivers better.

It will be interesting to see what Valve do with it in future, but it's days are not over — yet. SteamOS is dead, long live SteamOS.

Note: Since people clearly didn't get the joke about "SteamOS is dead, long live SteamOS". It's a play on the saying, due to the amount of times people and the media have claimed SteamOS/Steam Machines are dead. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: SteamOS
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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hardpenguin Jun 15, 2017
It's really weird, seeing popular media outlets reporting Steam Machines ending up an enormous fiasco but also reading all those news of new Mesa developers continously being hired by Valve. And then Valve focusing on VR. Not sure what to think about it.

If nothing else, perhaps at some point all modern Radeon products will finally be a viable choice on Linux ;)
opera Jun 15, 2017
Really nice to see that updates coming quicker now. And also good having included the important ones like Mesa. Good job, Valve!
ElectricPrism Jun 15, 2017
FTFY: SteamOS is not dead, long live SteamOS.

(Delete this on fix?)

Good to see SOS gathering steam.
Liam Dawe Jun 15, 2017
Quoting: ElectricPrismFTFY: SteamOS is not dead, long live SteamOS.

(Delete this on fix?)

Good to see SOS gathering steam.
It's a joke ;)
rstrube Jun 15, 2017
I'm glad to see that Valve is finally stepping up their game with Steam OS. Longer term they'll be happy that they're building a better gaming OS. Microsofts future plans to expand the Windows Store will definitely impact Steam on Windows over the next several years.
Leopard Jun 15, 2017
Quoting: hardpenguinIt's really weird, seeing popular media outlets reporting Steam Machines ending up an enormous fiasco but also reading all those news of new Mesa developers continously being hired by Valve. And then Valve focusing on VR. Not sure what to think about it.

If nothing else, perhaps at some point all modern Radeon products will finally be a viable choice on Linux ;)

Because popular media didn't know anything about Linux until 2013.

They just expected a Playstation , Xbox rival at launch. Although Steam Machines at first gen served their purpose well enough. They at least brought attention to Linux.

I expect that future Steam Machines will be on Ryzen Apu's mostly.
MaCroX95 Jun 15, 2017
Quoting: hardpenguinIt's really weird, seeing popular media outlets reporting Steam Machines ending up an enormous fiasco but also reading all those news of new Mesa developers continously being hired by Valve. And then Valve focusing on VR. Not sure what to think about it.

If nothing else, perhaps at some point all modern Radeon products will finally be a viable choice on Linux ;)

Quoting: operaReally nice to see that updates coming quicker now. And also good having included the important ones like Mesa. Good job, Valve!

I actually expected this :) With the day of MS announcing Windows 10 S, Windows on ARM they're bigger threat to Valve than Valve has ever imagined, practically the Steam community is the only thing that will be holding Steam together if MS decides to ditch the concurrence on Windows.

Gaben about few months ago in interview was like shuh, seems like Windows 10 is finally OK and MS stopped pushing their store and after a few months, BOOM, Windows 10 S. That's when they immidiately began working back on SteamOS intensively and released the MESA update with kernel update and such and I expect to see bigger and more updates in following years.

Now, the next thing, they disapointed a lot of people who actually bought steam machines over the past few years, while Linux gaming did see huge bump in titles, people who actually bought steam machines were disapointed because of Valve's poor and non-frequent updates.

So now they need to play carefully, they need to seek for audience in new customers and they need to put a lot more into it than they did the first time, it'll be interesting to watch what happens in years to come. They did set up a quite nice base (3k+ games), great controller support and improved drivers to begin with and now they just need to make another "console/pc hybrid" that will have guaranteed frequent and big updates and increasing library of AAA titles. Just what people would expect from regular consoles.

+: If Valve makes their own Wine implementation for all of the dx9 legacy games on Steam, making them easily installable without too much hassle and bring the proper controller and input supports, they would automatically increase their library A TON which would actually make linux threatning platform against Windows


Last edited by MaCroX95 on 15 June 2017 at 11:43 pm UTC
1xok Jun 16, 2017
Thanks for the update to the update. :)

SteamOS will once be a success or it could already be. I think for Nintendo it would have been better to build a stationary console on the basis of SteamOS. There are so few Linux desktop users that Nintendo titles for SteamOS would also have been exclusive. Nintendo would have had a huge pool of games with SteamOS. They could have built their own system. The deciding parts like SDL have already switched to the zlib license by Valve.

With the Switch Nintendo has huge competition from the smartphones and tablets. There are hardly any games for the Switch. On the E3 Nintendo now celebrates Rocket League. It will be published at Christmas. You do not know whether to laugh or cry. How long is Rocket League now available for SteamOS?

I think that many people will be selling the switch in a year or two, because of the lack of games. That was already with the Wii U the problem.

Nintendo and Valve would have been a very strong team. Both have something that the other is missing. Nintendo has exclusive titles. SteamOS has the rest.


Last edited by 1xok on 16 June 2017 at 1:26 am UTC
BlackBloodRum Jun 16, 2017
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If we're talking about getting names like Nintendo to bring a console with SteamOS then you've got to talk about getting one who hasn't already got their own competing consoles (Wii, Wii Pee etc - Direct Steam competitor), but who have experience with them.

One Word:
Sega

Can you image it?

Sega MasterBox - SteamOS powered games console - complete with Sonic the Hedgehog and James Pond!

I'm excited already!

Plus wouldn't it be awesome to have the old "SEEEGGAAA" when turning on your MasterBox? :-D.
Alm888 Jun 16, 2017
So, it seems Gaben appreciated "Windows 10 S"! "Hedgehog is a proud bird: it won't fly if not kicked!"
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