New reports suggest that Valve might be working on integrating Waydroid Android Emulator in Steam.
Accoring to latest leaks, ther are chances that Valve is working on integrating the Waydroid Android emulator into Steam.
This information comes from Bradley Lynch, a known SteamVR dataminer, who revealed that his team discovered a suspicious package on SteamDB containing five apps, one of which is Waydroid. Waydroid uses Linux namespaces to run a full Android system in a container, allowing Android apps to work on any GNU/Linux platform.
Work on the Steam app featuring the Waydroid logo began on May 30 and continued until recently. And now the speculation is that Valve is more focused on the Steam Deck than on PC users with this integration as the current version of Waydroid only works with Intel and AMD GPUs.
Most Steam desktop users, who use NVIDIA GPUs, would have to rely on software rendering without GPU acceleration. However, this isn’t an issue for the Steam Deck, which uses AMD’s Ryzen chips.
Now, if Valve succeeds in integrating Waydroid or any similar method to run Android games on the Steam Deck, it could significantly expand the platform’s game library. This move could attract new developers and potentially raise revenue for Steam by making SteamOS a viable competitor to Apple and Android.
Also, the timing of this development is interesting, especially with Microsoft’s recent moves. Microsoft announced the end of support for Android apps on Windows 11 and launched a new generation of ARM Windows 11 laptops and tablets with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite CPUs. By integrating Waydroid, Valve could position the Steam Deck as a strong alternative mobile platform.
Now, a few of you must be curious as to what is Waydroid?
Well, Waydroid is an open-source Android emulator designed to bring Android apps to Linux systems. It enables Android apps to run alongside Linux applications, providing a seamless experience. Waydroid uses Linux namespaces to run a full Android system in a container, giving Android apps direct access to necessary hardware.
Now, it should be noted that while there is no official announcement from Valve yet, the integration of Waydroid into Steam could be a game-changer, especially for Steam Deck users. It could provide more gaming options for Steam Deck users and potentially transform SteamOS into a competitive mobile platform. However, for now, we’ll have to wait and see if Valve will make this exciting news official.
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