Valve engineers have indicated that the company is actively investigating the use of Arm-based processors for future gaming hardware, including potential successors to the Steam Machine.
"Definitely, yeah," stated Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais when asked about the consideration of Arm for a Steam Machine 2. This exploration extends beyond specific hardware ambitions, with Valve aiming to "support everything" within its ecosystem. The company is also working on FEX, a translation layer designed to enable games built for the traditional x86 architecture to run on Arm chips. This technology functions similarly to Proton, which allows Windows games to operate on Linux.
Griffais highlighted the potential benefits of supporting multiple architectures, suggesting that increased options for users could lead to more affordable hardware that still delivers sufficient performance for their game libraries. "If we have more options to pick from, and if users have more options to pick from [] to play all the latest games in their back catalog library, they'll have a better outcome in terms of finding something that is cheaper for the horsepower that they need," he explained.
Arm chips present a compelling alternative to x86 CPUs for gaming PCs. This trend is further amplified by developers creating Arm-native game ports, with an Arm-native version of Alan Wake 2 recently demonstrated on a Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra. Nvidia's commitment to a custom Arm architecture for its RTX Spark lineup also signals a growing industry shift.
Valve's approach to system design, including potential future hardware, mirrors that of users: evaluating components to determine what makes the most sense. Technologies like FEX, SteamOS, and Proton are viewed as catalysts for achieving better price-to-performance ratios across various platforms. "For us, yeah, things like FEX and the work that we've done on SteamOS and Proton are more like catalysts to get to a better outcome in terms of price performance, and all that—for sure, we would consider any platform," Griffais added.
Despite these investigations, an Arm-based Steam Machine successor is not imminent. Valve indicated that while a follow-up might not have as long a lifespan as the Steam Deck, its release is contingent on factors such as market timing, appropriate pricing, and the availability of suitable games. Furthermore, ongoing supply chain issues, particularly a global memory crisis that may not resolve until 2028, could impact the production and availability of any new hardware. The company had previously expressed uncertainty regarding Steam Machine availability even for early 2026 due to these constraints.