One of the biggest selling points of the Steam Deck is that it’s an actual portable PC that you can get a lot more out of than the closed-off console ecosystems, so getting Windows 11 working on it should be pretty simple, right? That isn’t the case as it’s a challenge getting the OS working on devices like Steam’s handheld to fix this Microsoft is allegedly playing around with a handheld mode of Windows 11 for a recent boom in Steam Deck devices, according to Windows Central via a leaked pitch video of the concept.
We got our first look at the idea thanks to a leaked two-minute video from Twitter user, @_h0x0d_. The demo was pitched all the way back in September as “Windows Handheld Mode” at Microsft’s internal Hackathon event which is where employees and teams get together to experiment and pitch different ideas. The team behind the idea shows off a concept which details a new version of Window’s gaming shell interface that would replace the current version of Windows 11 that shipped in other Windows handhelds.
https://t.co/OWiw0f2k2v pic.twitter.com/RdSGMmhgBd
— WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_) April 13, 2023
Don’t get too excited though, usually, these Hackathon ideas are just some neat concepts and actually don’t go anywhere, so don’t expect this to ship soon. Although I’m not gonna lie the difference is that this does have the legs to go places if Microsoft actually greenlights it and put the work in to get Windows 11 on Steam Deck-like devices. As a Steam Deck owner myself this would be an absolute game changer, as it would expand the device’s usability for services outside of Steam.
One example is the Epic Game Store, which I have 200+ games on there or even a better benefit to Microsoft getting more users to make the jump to PC Game Pass in a more console-like ecosystem. I love Steam as much as anyone but the idea of getting more out of other PC storefronts on Steam Deck is way more appealing to me rather than rolling the dice on getting these games to work on Linux. So I do hope Microsoft expands on this idea and start working on it.
