Valve’s ARM64 game testing points towards new Steam hardware, if vaguely

Valve are likely up to something hardware-related again, report NotebookCheck. Their next chunk of plastic and wires – following the Valve Index, Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED – could swap PC gaming’s favoured x86 architecture for ARM, the type of processor favoured by the Nintendo Switch, Macs, and mobile phones.

SteamDB reveals a piece of software named 'ValveTestApp3043620' that's associated with dozens of PC games, ranging from Left 4 Dead 2 and Garry’s Mod to Among Us and Hollow Knight, which in turn have tags like 'proton-arm64ec' and 'proton-arm64ec-experimental'. To "Occam’s Razor" an explanation for this, the mysterious app suggests that Valve are testing out a version of Proton (the compatibility layer that makes Windows games run on the Linux-based SteamOS) that could work on ARM64 processors.

The most boring outcome of this would be something like Valve just releasing SteamOS for MacBooks, Apple’s M series of mega-fast laptop and desktop chips being arguably the most famous examples of ARM architecture in action. Just as likely, though, is Valve assessing ARM as the basis of their next big hardware release, having stuck with x86 for the Steam Deck family.

I don’t think the possibility of new Steam-branded kit is the story here – since the first Steam Machines, Valve have been in the hardware game for over a decade, and have given no indications of packing it in. But the potential switch to ARM could bring some fresh possibilities, if also some risks.

For one thing, ARM chips are typically more power-efficient than their closest x86 counterparts, so could be very suitable as the basis for a new Steam Deck or wireless VR headset. ARM’s compatibility with the Android operating system might also make it a lot easier to add your favourite mobile games to your PC library; outside of emulation, this is only possible on x86 hardware in very narrow, limited ways.

However, the big challenge – for Valve and for Proton – would be maintaining performance and compatibility. While modern ARM chips are no less powerful than x86 ones, the fact that most PC games are built exclusively for the latter could pose problems in keeping framerates up. This isn’t so much of an issue when Proton is tricking Windows games into running on SteamOS, as both platforms were built with x86 in mind, but enabling those games on the completely different ARM64 architecture would presumably involve something more like full emulation. Which, generally, slows down performance.

Still, Proton’s whole job is to headbutt compatibility barriers into matchsticks, so who knows. And regarding the hardware itself, I’m not convinced it’s going to be an ARM-powered Steam Deck, partly because Valve told me last November that a next-gen Deck is likely years away. A standalone VR headset is a decent bet, though given ARM has muscled its way into Mac Pros, its efficiency benefits don’t necessary mean portable use only. A new generation of Steam Machines, perchance? Watch this space.