Valve has expanded SteamOS non-Valve handheld support in its August 7 SteamOS 3.8.25 beta, adding initial gamepad support for the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, Konkr FIT and Ayaneo Pocket S2. The release also improves support for MSI Claw and OneXPlayer device variants, according to Valve’s release notes.
The distinction in that wording is doing real work. Valve calls out controller support for the three newly named devices, while describing the MSI Claw and OneXPlayer changes more broadly as support improvements. Neither label establishes full device compatibility. Ars Technica reported that the Lenovo Legion Go S was, at the time of its report, the only non-Valve handheld carrying “powered by SteamOS” branding.
Which handhelds gained SteamOS support in version 3.8.25?
- MSI Claw 8 EX AI+: initial gamepad support.
- Konkr FIT: initial gamepad support.
- Ayaneo Pocket S2: initial gamepad support.
- MSI Claw variants: improved support.
- OneXPlayer variants: improved support, plus updated OneXPlayer Apex gamepad support for newer firmware.
Valve also says it fixed an infrequent problem in which some third-party handhelds could ignore input while being held. The update improves handling for systems using an external Wi-Fi adapter, or no Wi-Fi adapter, and moves SteamOS to Linux kernel 6.18.42.
SteamOS is Valve’s Linux-based operating system for gaming hardware. Making it work across third-party handhelds involves more than booting the OS: the software has to understand each device’s controls and accommodate differences in hardware behavior. In a January 2025 interview with PCWorld, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais said the company was offering SteamOS without charge to hardware makers that wanted to ship it and was interested in more partners after Lenovo.
Griffais described that work as close coordination on firmware, controls, lighting and performance targets. That helps explain why a changelog item for a built-in gamepad is narrower than a claim that every feature of a handheld has been validated.
Is SteamOS 3.8.25 available as a stable update?
No. Valve says 3.8.25 is in the Beta and Preview channels, where new features are still being tested. It lists a known performance problem in cases requiring composition, including when FSR is enabled. Valve says that bug is fixed in the stable 3.8.16 release and suggests affected users switch to the stable channel while it works on the beta fix.
The update also adds support for Valve’s 2026 Steam Controller in the built-in hid_steam Linux driver, allowing native controller applications to use it even when Steam is not running. That is useful for people running software outside Steam, but it does not change the limited support status Valve assigns to the newly listed handhelds.
For owners of those devices, the immediate takeaway is modest: the beta broadens input and device handling, and it provides a route for testing. Valve has not announced a timetable for additional hardware partners or said that the listed systems have the same support level as the Legion Go S.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.
