A mention in this week's Steam Deck firmware patch notes has some observers speculating that Valve is preparing to release its well-regarded Linux build for third-party hardware....

One of the Steam Deck’s primary advantages over more powerful handheld gaming PCs is its operating system, which is designed to mimic a game console interface within a Linux PC environment. Valve has long planned to bring the OS to other devices, but a recent Steam Deck software update includes the first mention of a rival handheld.