Valve confirms that it will support the ROG Ally with its Steam Deck operating system.

Valve once envisioned every PC maker having its own "Steam Machine," a PC gaming console running the company's Linux-based SteamOS. It took a decade for that dream to become the in-house developed Steam Deck gaming handheld, but the original dream isn't dead yet.

The company has long said it wants to allow other companies to use SteamOS - and that means it explicitly supports the competing Asus ROG Ally gaming handheld, as Valve designer Lawrence Yang confirmed to The Verge.

A few days ago, some discovered an intriguing line in Valve’s latest SteamOS release notes: “Added support for extra ROG Ally keys.”

When asked by The Verge, it was said that Valve finally supports the ROG Ally and other competing handhelds.

"The reference to the ROG Ally buttons refers to third-party device support for SteamOS. The team continues to work on adding support for more handhelds on SteamOS," Yang (Valve Designer) told The Verge.

By the way: Handheld PCs are becoming increasingly popular in the gaming community and this new class of device is making PC gaming increasingly mobile.

Handheld PCs are mobile and have a built-in screen and controls such as analog sticks and buttons that are familiar from traditional gamepads. Their compact design makes them easy to carry around in everyday life, while their performance is sufficient to support the latest PC games.