Steam Deck should be able to run Windows 11 at launch

What you need to know

• Valve is working with AMD to make sure that the Steam Deck is compatible with Windows 11.
• The Steam Deck ships with SteamOS, which is a custom version of Linux.
• While the Steam Deck should be able to run Windows, some experts recommend against it.

Valve's Steam Deck will likely be compatible with Windows 11 at launch. While the handheld gaming device will ship with a custom version of Linux called SteamOS, at its core, the device is a computer. As a result, people can plug in peripherals and put Windows on one if they'd like. Valve hasn't focused on Windows 11, but the company expects that the device will work with the new OS from Microsoft.

"There's work looking at TPM just now," said Valve Steam Deck designer Greg Coomer to PC Gamer. "We've focused so much on Windows 10, so far, that we haven't really gotten that far into it. Our expectation is that we can meet that."

Coomer's mention of TPM refers to the controversial Windows 11 minimum requirement. To run Windows 11, a PC has to have a TPM (Trusted Platform Module). Specifically, TPM 2.0 is required for the new OS. Valve is working with AMD to make sure that this is enabled on the Steam Deck.

"It's also a conversation that's going on with AMD," said Coomer. "To make sure that, at the BIOS level, we can accommodate that. So there's nothing to indicate to us yet that there'll be any issues with Windows 11."

While the Steam Deck will likely be able to run Windows 11, whether you'd want to run the new Microsoft operating system on it is another question. Our Richard Devine explains why he thinks people shouldn't put Windows onto a Steam Deck.