Valve confirms Steam for Linux remains unsupported on ARM hardware
Valve has clarified its stance on ARM architecture support for Steam on Linux. The company confirmed that Steam for Linux is not officially supported on ARM-based hardware, despite the availability of an ARM64 client.
The clarification came after a bug report from an AYN Odin 3 owner. The user reported issues with Steam Remote Play and AV1 hardware decoding while running the Steam Client for Linux ARM64 public beta on a Fedora-based distribution. While HEVC decoding via V4L2 functioned correctly, the client failed to expose AV1 support, even though the Qualcomm decoder on the device reported it as available.
A Valve employee closed the report, directing the user to an older issue and stating that Steam for Linux does not currently support ARM-based hardware. Current official requirements specify an "x86_64" Linux kernel and an x86_64 processor. Notably, the feature request for ARM support has been open since October 2015.
This distinction is important because, while an ARM64 client exists, it does not imply general support for third-party hardware. Valve is currently utilizing ARM64 architecture for its own Steam Frame headset, which is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and runs SteamOS. It appears Valve is prioritizing Proton compatibility and optimizations specifically for its own ecosystem rather than expanding support to the broader ARM Linux market.
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