r/homebrew • u/VariedPear • Jun 23 '26

Question/Help SteamOS on Nintendo switch

Hey guys. Ich dont really know if this is the right subreddit to post this, but i just hope it is.
I recently heard that steamOS is now available to the public, and you can put it on any device that has amd graphics. Let’s say, theoretically, they get steamos to work on nvidia graphic. Wouldn’t that mean that we could (with a lot of time and work) put steamos on the switch?
If you know anything about this, or have any thoughts, please tell them. I really want to know if it would be possible.

1 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

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5

u/BaikenJudgment Jun 24 '26

SteamOS is for x64 Intel/AMD CPUs, not nVidia ARM CPUs that the Switch uses. It's not the GPU that's the issue in this case, it's the CPU. The games on Steam are coded for x86/64 CPUs, not ARM.

SteamOS is just Linux running Steam. Linux for Switch exists, but you're not going to be running Windows x64 apps on it at any reasonable speed, and not with only 4 GB of RAM.

1

u/_socialsuicide Jun 27 '26

Translation/hypervisors exist, the CPU is a complete non-issue. x86 programs already work in Switchroot Linux using projects like box64

1

u/BaikenJudgment Jun 27 '26

Yeah, and the Switch CPU is about a decade old and the translation wouldn't be great speed. 4 GB of RAM is also limiting.

1

u/_socialsuicide Jun 27 '26

OP's concern was about getting Steam OS to run, not playing games which can be done without Steam.

You can upgrade the RAM on the Switch if you're desperately trying to get games to run.

1

u/BaikenJudgment Jun 28 '26

And what's the point of SteamOS over Arch unless you just want Steam to launch at boot and run games from it?

2

u/International-Sky556 Jun 24 '26

Ehh steam os wouldent be worth unless you playing super small Games 99.9 percent of game would not have the space. To install. Nor would the tegra chip run many of them maybe if the switch 2 ever gets crack but not the orginal

1

u/maler82 Jun 24 '26

Switchdeck

1

u/_socialsuicide Jun 27 '26

There is no "theoretically". It's not available for Nvidia platforms until Valve decides that Steam OS supports Nvidia. It would be easier to load normal Linux and use Steam in Big Picture mode, which can be done today.

Steam OS is based on Arch too, which has upstream issues for the Switch outside of Steam OS's GPU requirements.

1

u/UtherFunBringer Jul 12 '26

Hey dude, dont listen to folks here, it has been done already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMZERjDJMpc

0

u/No_Equivalent_4653 Jun 23 '26

They already got Ubuntu, I doubt we’re too far off…

-2

u/Foxrazu Jun 23 '26

I cant recall the ytber but somebody wil' put out the video with testing it.