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SteamOS 3.0

Valve has stated they will be breaking from Debian with their next release of SteamOS.


Debian[2] has long been a beacon of stability in the world of Linux distribution, but it seems like the team at Valve want to pursue a more volatile rolling release model by switching to the Arch-based Linux distro Manjaro.

SteamOS originally launched in late 2013 and has had a mixed reception from the Linux community. Although excited at the possibilities of a game-centric company directly supporting Linux gamers and developers, the SteamOS vanilla desktop experience feels dated and underwhelming. Most of those issues come from SteamOS inheriting Debian’s more traditional, slower release cycle. With the basis of SteamOS switching to Manjaro, who use the rolling release development method, a much faster way to get users the most recent package versions[1], there is a large potential for vast increases in the desktop user experience.

SteamOS 3.0 is slated to coincide with the release of the Steam Deck in February 2022. I personally will be installing it day one and seeing how quickly I can break it. 

What is rolling release?

[1]https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/The_Rolling_Release_Development_Model

Debian lifecycle explained

[2]https://debian-handbook.info/browse/stable/sect.release-lifecycle.html

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