Five recent games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11 in new test
In a new test by Ars Technica, five recent high-end games ran faster on SteamOS than on Windows 11, marking a significant win for Valve's operating system.
Today, a report published by Ars Technica revealed that certain games run better on SteamOS than on Windows 11. This is a significant milestone for the budding operating system, which has struggled to keep up with Windows in the past. The testing took place on a Lenovo Legion Go S, which is capable of running both operating systems. Ars Technica “tested five high-end 3D games released in the last five years…” These games included Cyberpunk 2077, Doom: The Dark Ages, Returnal, Borderlands 3, and Homeworld 3.
SteamOS vs Windows 11, the new operating system finally takes a win over the titan
The test took place over two settings, one with high graphics presets and another with low graphics presets. With both high and low settings, SteamOS achieved a higher average FPS in four out of five games. Interestingly, as the graphics shown below, Borderlands 3 was the one game that averaged slightly higher FPS on Windows rather than on SteamOS. Most players these days are still using Steam for Windows, and many games are not compatible with SteamOS for various reasons. While this is an impressive showing, Valve still has work to do to make SteamOS something that is easily accessible to everyone.
Where this could become more relevant more quickly, however, is in the growing handheld gaming space. Handheld, portable gaming devices remain in high demand, as evidenced by the incredible sales numbers of the Nintendo Switch 2, which became the fastest-selling console launch in U.S. history. The Steam Deck also continues to be successful, consistently topping the Steam sales charts, and Microsoft has stepped into the ring recently with their newly announced Asus ROG Xbox Ally, revealed earlier this month.
Ars Technica points out a major advantage that the SteamOS has over Windows, “Running SteamOS… means eliminating a lot of operating system overhead that the more generalist Windows uses by default.” Also pointing out that Microsoft is aware of this when it comes to a gaming-focused device, because when speaking about the new Asus ROG Xbox Ally, they said that it will “minimize background activity and defer non-essential tasks…” resulting in better game performance.
In the future, it will be exciting to see how the SteamOS evolves and how it forces other operating systems like Windows to adapt and adjust. SteamOS isn’t planning to be a generalist like Windows anytime soon, but gaming also isn’t going anywhere. Xbox and Microsoft have seen an increase in services like Game Pass and users on PC, but a steady decrease in hardware sales. It only makes sense that they would want to capitalize on the remaining area of growth.
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