Bringing open-source developers together is “part of a larger strategy”, according to Valve.

Steam Deck is incredible hardware, but the software behind it is equally impressive. From long-running open-source core tools like the Mesa graphics driver and the Vulkan API to the Valve Proton compatibility layer, the Deck only works because of the hard work of a wealth of open-source developers. Without them, it’s just a piece of plastic.

It turns out that Valve understands this because, in a recent conversation with The Verge, Steam Deck designer Pierre-Loup Griffais mentioned that the company pays more than a hundred open-source developers to work on the various software that powers the Steam Deck.

Valve hires them for tasks such as porting Steam’s systems to ChromeOS and Linux.

Griffais says that Valve’s teaming up of open-source developers is part of “a larger strategy to coordinate all these projects and set up kind of an overall architecture” for gaming on Linux. This means that Valve is using its technical and financial clout to drive open-source development in one direction. Their goal is to make Linux a viable alternative to Windows for PC gaming.

The company is clearly committed to Steam Deck, which is good news. But the fact that it is working with – and paying – over a hundred developers to keep its open-source innards running really puts that commitment in perspective. However, this was less of a surprise for people more involved in Linux and open-source development. The company has contributed an incredible amount of open-source technology. Even Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds has admitted that Valve is “saving the Linux desktop”. However, it is worth noting that he was at least a little ambivalent about this.

This isn’t the only Deck-related news we’ve heard from Valve recently. We’ve also learned that the company wants to bring back the Steam Controller, and Deck designers have dropped hints of a redesigned Deck with a bigger battery and better screen.

Even if Valve’s commitment to Linux and open-source software is more about having an escape hatch from Windows than a firm commitment to free and open-source principles, it’s still remarkable that so many developers are getting paid for their contributions to the company’s projects. Indeed, 2022 was the year of Linux on the desktop. We will see how their endeavour ends.

Source: The Verge