Valve Is Welcoming Android Games Into Steam

You tin deliberation of nan just-announced Steam Frame arsenic a wireless VR headset for your PC, aliases a Steam Deck for your face. But different measurement to deliberation astir it is that Valve is yet entering nan mobile realm. The Frame doesn’t conscionable tally Windows games connected its Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon spot — Valve will now support and promote developers to bring their Android apps to Steam arsenic well.

It’ll effort to make immoderate of them first-class citizens, too, Valve technologist Jeremy Selan tells The Verge. “From nan user’s perspective, our penchant is that they don’t moreover person to deliberation astir it, they conscionable person their titles connected Steam, they download them and deed play.”

Valve says nan Steam Frame tin usage nan aforesaid Android APKs developers already usage to bring their apps to phones and Android-based VR headsets specified arsenic nan Meta Quest — and it’s launching a Steam Frame developer kit programme to thief put nan hardware successful developers’ hands.

It sounds for illustration Valve is specifically hoping to pull immoderate of those Meta VR crippled developers, alternatively than conscionable immoderate benignant of Android app you mightiness find connected a tablet aliases phone. “They’re really VR developers who want to people their VR content, and they’re porting a mobile VR title wherever they’re already acquainted pinch really to make those APKs,” says Selan. “They are now free to bring those to Steam, and they’ll conscionable activity connected this device.”

In position of performance, Selan suggests it should beryllium fantabulous because nan codification is moving natively. While Valve’s SteamOS is not Android and needs to usage its Proton compatibility furniture to make apps consciousness astatine home, nan Arm codification will tally connected an Arm processor without needing translator first.

When I inquire astir Android apps beyond games — and mention really I’d really for illustration to spot things for illustration Discord sound chat successful Steam, not conscionable Wallpaper Engine — Valve seems a small little sure. “We’ve ne'er disinvited group from doing that,” says Valve’s Lawrence Yang. “We are a games institution and we are focused connected games, but for illustration you said, location are a batch of things connected Steam that are tools, package for illustration Blender for instance.”

@verge

Valve is bringing headsets back, and not conscionable for VR! This is nan Steam Frame, and it one-ups Meta Quest by playing level Windows games connected its Arm spot too. Kind of for illustration a Steam Deck for your look that gives you a backstage virtual room! For VR lovers, it cuts nan cord and bypasses your engaged Wi-Fi pinch a nonstop 6GHz nexus to your PC. Price, section performance, artillery each still TBD, though! #steam #valve #steamframe #headset #vr

♬ original sound – The Verge

Selan chimes in, “We don’t person it rather moving to show you today, but our volition is to person rich | browser integration, truthful astatine immoderate constituent you’ll beryllium capable to bring up a browser, person floating windows, each of nan multitasking environments you’d expect, truthful you could surely spell to immoderate website and person those apps present.”

“I cognize there’s a quality betwixt that and what you asked, but we expect that will span a batch of that gap.”

Will location beryllium a measurement to quickly motorboat those web apps from Steam, and fto users move them into buttons, perhaps? “That’s our hope. I don’t want to committedness that for launch, but that’s our hope,” Selan says.

Valve likes to build for nan agelong haul, and I would beryllium amazed if its plans statesman and extremity astatine Android-based VR games for nan Steam Frame. I deliberation this is much apt nan extremity of nan iceberg. For 1 thing, it’s looking for illustration Google will soon beryllium forced to unfastened up Android to replacement app stores, truthful Steam mightiness soon beryllium capable to easy waste games connected phones conscionable for illustration its rival Epic has been trying to do.

In nan meanwhile, Gamers Nexus reports that you’ll besides beryllium capable to sideload Android APKs onto nan Steam Frame, too.

But Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais besides hints that there’s imaginable successful bringing SteamOS to different devices pinch Arm chips, astatine slightest someday. He tells maine he thinks nan Steam Frame paves nan measurement for SteamOS to activity connected “a wider assortment of Arm devices,” including laptops, and that Arm evidently has “a batch of potential” successful early handhelds.