Valve seems to want to bring games from other operating systems to SteamOS

Valve appears to be working on functionality called Steam Play, which will allow games to run on Steam OS that were developed for other operating systems. It could potentially bring Windows titles to Steam OS.

A Reddit user found clues related to Steam Play on SteamTracking on GitHub. Hidden text of gui files states that “Steam Play will automatically install compatibility tools that allow you to play games in your library built for other operating systems.”

Users would be given the option to enable Steam Play for supported games or use the tools to test games for compatibility, according to the text. In the latter case, games may not work as expected and may crash, Valve notes.

It is unknown what the status of Steam Play is and whether and if so, when the service will appear. In any case, Valve seems to have been working on it since December of last year. It is also not known which compatibility tools are involved. Valve may be using Wine, DOSBox, or variants.

Valve announced Steam OS in 2013. According to the developer, the Linux-based OS was optimized for living room gaming and was to serve as the basis for so-called Steam Machines. These were consoles, essentially Linux PCs, with the OS that allowed manufacturers to compete with the PlayStation and Xbox. The Steam Machines sold poorly and both the systems and the OS seemed to die a quiet death. One of the major shortcomings was that compared to Windows, there were few games for it. Valve said earlier this year that it would continue to support Steam Machines and Steam OS.