Valve Confirms: Steam Client for Linux Does Not Support Arm Chips
Valve has confirmed that its Steam client for Linux does not currently support Arm-based hardware. This decision impacts users seeking to run Steam on various Arm devices running Linux.
Game developer Valve has officially stated that the Steam client for Linux does not support Arm-based hardware. This clarification comes after a user reported issues running the native Arm64 version of Steam on a handheld device powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
The user's report detailed problems with Steam Remote Play and AV1 hardware decoding on an AYN Odin 3 handheld running a Fedora Linux Arm64 distribution. While HEVC hardware decoding functioned correctly, and the Qualcomm decoder indicated AV1 support, the Steam client did not utilize this capability.
A Valve employee closed the bug report, directing the user to an older, unresolved feature request from 2015. The employee explicitly stated, "Steam for Linux currently does not support Arm-based hardware." Valve's current system requirements for Steam on Linux mandate an x86_64 architecture processor and Linux kernel.
Although an Arm64 build of Steam exists, it is primarily intended for Valve's own Steam Deck hardware. This does not indicate official support for general third-party Arm Linux systems. Valve is currently focused on optimizing its own Arm-based hardware, like the Steam Deck, which features a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs SteamOS.