So something akin to flatpak/snap?
Isnt that the purpose and source of controversy vs distributing them the usual way of repositories?

Edit: Had some time to read the README.
Very interesting. But that sounds, like a vendor lock-in. Essentially devs are forced to use the Steam SDK to make it executable on Linux or face the issue of checking the compatibility of every distro, no?

That title is cringe as fuck. There’s nothing concerning about it at all. Market saw Steam Deck’s success so they dove in. Whether they survive is dependent on if they provide good price points or justification for a higher price. Super simple.

Absolutely. They make mouse-based games playable with a controller. Gyro is nice too.

You might want to catch up on a decade or so of Linux gaming progress before wading into a conversation about it with controversial takes…

You don’t need to use Steam to run games though…?

This is why I bought a deck oled even with the other more powerful handhelds already out.

Why?
A discussion can’t happen.
And you don’t really expect everyone to be knowledgeable about every 500 aspects of every OS that can execute a program, do you?

If I was invited to a discussion round, I will obviously get myself up to date on the essentials.
But I already do sysadmin stuff at work, configuring multiple systems, administrating my home stuff the best I can.
I really don’t have the mental energy to keep up with an OS I currently only use as a server OS and as a (basically) gaming appliance.

So what if Steam stops development of the SDK or turns evil?
What other choices do devs have if they want to keep their systems compatible with all distros?
It looks to me as if you can either rely on proton/WINE or be stuck with the SDK if you run native.

That still does not magically give them a digital storefront that the consumer will use to purchase a ton of software that gives then a 30% cut.

Yes, technically you can purchase and use a Deck without purchasing a single game on Steam. But how likely is that? Valve has done the math and made their projections and concluded that selling the Deck roughly at cost (my assumption based on their vague statements and industry comparisons) will increase software sales in Steam. And increase profits more than if they had priced the Deck at a highrt margin selling g desert units and driving less software sales.

Lenovo and ASUS and these other manufacturers don’t have that. An operating system change will not fix issues with the business model and ecosystem.

Margins could be 0 or even negative.

Sony for example: every single PlayStation has always been released at a price below cost. This allows them to create an ecosystem with a very large user base buying software, where even in 3rd party titles they at least bring in license fees.

Sony then invests those profits into scaling, improving, and redesigning the PlayStation to reduce costs, which is why the do slim models.

It’s called enshitification, we knew it was coming.

No, the container environment uses default open source libraries. You don’t add any Steam dependencies to make software run in that environment. You can run it without Steam too. It’s just that Valve are the ones maintaining and updating this particular packaging of containers. When Valve releases new versions of their container (including updated default system libraries), you have to test compatibility with it or stick to using an older one. Similar to how Windows software versions would work best with different Proton versions.

You can use the Steam SDK when using it, and you can also choose not to.

Flatpack is a separate thing, which only handles Linux software within the regular desktop environment (a different method for packing software dependencies, managing system permissions, etc). The main difference is that Flatpack software can integrate with the regular Linux desktop environment, but the container based solution is fully separate from it (runs in gaming mode).

Proton often works better than native Linux versions of the same game.

Just use Proton. Seriously, if you haven’t gamed on Linux in a long time, it’s mind blowing how well it works.

I have the OLED too and it’s such an exceptional device. Works very well as a media PC too, especially with KDE Connect for controlling remotely from a smartphone

Not just playable but pleasant! Thing is perfect for Rimworld especially

I haven’t played RimWorld on Deck yet… Sounds like a good way to lose entire days.

It’s so nice fr, it helps I had sorta “prepared” by learning Bazzite on my spare laptop prior, so got very familiar with the immutable aspects and flatpaks/appimages

Like I mentioned: I am gaming quite a bit (lately more on it than on my regular PC) on my SteamDeck.

Sounds interesting and eases my concern about the dependency on large corporations.

PS: What I meant by comparing Flatpack with the packaging from the SteamSDK is the general idea behind it (e.g. containerizing and isolating from the OS).

Sure is!