The solely stunning factor about this leak is that it’s from a hackathon.

“We looked at taking some of the first steps in creating a truly optimized Windows experience for the handheld PC market, a market that is really just starting to grow right now thanks to a device called the Steam Deck,” an unnamed voiceover says within the Windows Handheld Mode video.

Valve’s Steam Deck launched early final 12 months and immediately grew to become the most popular factor in PC gaming, promoting over 1,000,000 items regardless of being severely provide constrained with lengthy wait instances for many of 2022. One agency expects it to top three million sales by the top of 2023. Very few singular PC merchandise hit that stage of adoption, a lot much less proper out of the gate. Handheld PCs just like the Aya Neo existed earlier than however the Steam Deck actually perfected (and basically created) the market—and a big a part of its success is because of Valve’s homebrew SteamOS.

Valve spent years fastidiously constructing and tuning SteamOS and its foundational live-or-die Proton Linux software as a potential escape hatch after Microsoft’s Windows 8 disaster. The total working system revolves round making your Steam video games run as awesomely as potential on Valve’s inexpensive handheld, on Linux. Sure, you’ll be able to run Windows on it, however that form of sucks.

Handheld PCs are purple scorching. Running Windows on them pours chilly water on the enjoyable. And that’s Microsoft’s core downside. Cheaper Steam Deck rivals are on the way, together with pricier, higher-powered options just like the just lately revealed Asus ROG Ally. Since Valve hasn’t made the Deck-optimized model of SteamOS obtainable for different PC producers to put in, these opponents must run Windows. That delivers an inherently worse expertise than SteamOS proper now, placing potential Windows-powered Steam Deck clones behind proper out of the gate.

So sure, duh, in fact Microsoft is engaged on a Windows Handheld Mode. It’s a bit regarding to see the idea solely in hackathon stage as of final September, however hopefully a deeper dive into the challenge has been assigned by now. The subsequent wave of handheld gaming PCs relies on it…except Valve releases SteamOS for different units first, which might in all probability be disastrous for Microsoft’s ambitions.

But who is aware of? Microsoft doesn’t always make the smartest decisions relating to Windows. On a associated notice, right here’s how to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10.