Former Xbox exec and Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra thinks the way forward for Valve is to allow third parties access to SteamOS to build their own Steam Machine hardware.
In a tweet reacting to rumours the Steam Machine will be more expensive than some are hoping, Ybarra tagged Valve and said, "please just let 3rd parties use SteamOS and make the HW with many different configurations. SteamOS will take off and your Store revenue will only go up." And to Valve's credit, it has let other parties make hardware – with Lenovo releasing the Legion Go S SteamOS earlier this year – but as of right now, third-party Steam machines are unconfirmed.
Dear @valvesoftware, please just let 3rd parties use SteamOS and make the HW with many different configurations. SteamOS will take off and your Store revenue will only go up.This is what Xbox should do, btw. But they will likely be forced to push Windows with AI, co-pilot,… https://t.co/ZFzcxLZqnjNovember 21, 2025
However, there are a couple of quirks with this idea. First off, SteamOS is currently not supported by a number of multiplayer games, with Rust's developer saying there are still no plans to support the OS even after the Steam Machine announcement. Of course, this could change as the OS gets more popular, but it may turn some hardware makers off.
Also, as a user replying to Ybarra points out, part of the appeal of something like the Steam Machine is having a standardized platform where developers can specifically target the specs provided with it – effectively giving console reliability on a PC. They argued that users probably won't be interested in the OS itself when it comes to Steam Machines, given Windows has a number of benefits.
Ybarra also thinks his idea should apply to the Xbox OS, but that Microsoft would have other intentions: "They will likely be forced to push Windows with AI, co-pilot, teams, and more," which would make it a far less appealing prospect.
