Valve has been a big proponent of Linux gaming, and now the company is investing in Android support on Linux. It’s already possible to run Android in a Linux container through Waydroid, but Valve has developed a new fork – and it has officially named it Lepton.

Last month, news broke that Valve would soon support Android games on Steam. This was thanks to a sighting in Steam app changelogs for Walkabout Mini Golf, which added an APK file. The VR title is currently available on the Meta Quest (which runs on a custom version of Android), and may run through the Lepton compatibility layer for Valve’s upcoming Steam Frame VR headset, which runs the company’s Linux-based operating system, SteamOS.

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[–] 116 points 10 months ago (13 children)

F*ck yesss, Waydroid for the lazy like me!

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  • [–] 20 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (10 children)

    I also got excited. However some time ago I set up waydroid and once I got it all running smoothly I was like "what now?"

    I didn't know any app or game that I wanted to play over the games that I have on my PC.

    So my question would be: what do you want to play?

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  • [–] 95 points 10 months ago (34 children)

    A lot of people here missing the bigger picture:

    This could be the start for a Valve-backed Linux phone.

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  • [–] 46 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    That's a fun fantasy, but this is almost certainly a way to get Oculus games running on the Steam Frame.

    They're 100% coming for Oculus' lunch with this one.

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  • [–] 10 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    I don't think even Meta is eating Oculus's lunch... Making big losses on the Quest iirc.

    I didn't really want a full PC on my face. I just wanted cheap streaming from my actual PC. Quest is actually really good for this, but it would have been nice to have something affordable that wasn't from Meta.

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  • [–] 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    It's at least settings things up for a real Steam Mobile, rather than it being a companion app for PC. I've been on the Valve Phone hype train since the Steam Frame information came out. Most companies wouldn't do it, but I know Valve does a lot of things just because the employees wanted something and they ended up making it a product. I could easily see that happening with a phone.

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  • [+] 5 points 10 months ago* (8 children)
  • [–] 7 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    I love my Deck. If they release a variant with LTE modem (not even 5G) and no controllers, I don't care how thick it is, make it on the same AMD SoC!

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago

    Isn't steam frame basically a phone strapped to your face? It's arm based, it has a battery, speakers, microphones, cameras, radio, a screen (even two)... all it needs is a GSM module. Software would probably be the biggest issue but that's where linux and all the compatibility stuff Valve has been working on comes in. If it wasn't marketed strictly as a phone but a PC in your pocket I think it could work. Sadly, you're probably right tho.

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    [–] 80 points 10 months ago

    I cannot possibly overstate how amazing this is, given everything else valve is doing to make compatibility layers for practically anything.

    This can attack Meta's near-monopoly on VR incredibly effectively. All those games made for the Quest? Pop 'em on either your higher-power PC, or directly on the Steam Frame, and it just works, very low effort to port, and you can squeeze more performance out of them if you're playing tethered.

    Want to use an Android app on your PC rather than your phone? Done. Linux suddenly becomes much more useful to you on its own.

    Being able to run Windows applications on Linux was just the start of making Linux more usable, and giving people more choice as to what software to use, but this expands it to an even larger scale. Simultaneously, this could mean some developers make things for Android that they otherwise would have only made to run on Linux, meaning Android users get more (likely open-source) choices too.

    There's a metric fuck ton of apps that I wish I could use on Linux, but are only easily run on Android directly. (Yes, I know Waydroid is a thing, but it's been a pain to set up and use for me and many others. Valve has been pretty good so far at making sure things "just work" as best they can.)

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  • [–] 36 points 10 months ago (13 children)

    Linux is sure becoming the universal platform - We just need a proper macOS compatibility layer now

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  • [–] 17 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    You can emulate it by opening up your mouse and carefully ripping all of the button switches other than the left one out. Then go into your BIOS, underclock your CPU (or alternatively, go to the store you got your computer or parts from and just give them more money).

    Then get some plaster and just cover up most of the ports on the back of your computer. Don't worry, you'll replace them with dongles, there's a nice selection available for purchase!

    Then uninstall proton and go around claiming that your computer is the only one that can handle making art (doesn't matter if you're an artist, just smugly insist this is the case).

    Oh also forget that your computer is a computer. I don't know what you need to think it is, but only nerds use computers, you're not a nerd, you're cool because you're on a mac. Or pretending to be on one.

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    [–] 19 points 10 months ago (6 children)

    That's cool because 0.00023 % of android games are not only Pay2WinMoneyGrabGarbage.

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago

    I'm hopeful this leads to being able to play older Android games.

    One of the things that sucks about Android is that as the versions march on they raise the API requirements (ostensibly for security), which leaves old games being unable to run on new devices.

    I have a bunch of games purchased om Humble Bundles over the years that now just refuse to run on my Android devices as their API target level is too old.

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    [–] 17 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    I look forward to muon, neutrino, perhaps tachyon, though that last one may have already happened.

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  • [–] 15 points 10 months ago

    I feel like there was a missed opportunity to call it Androgynous or Androgynix.

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  • [–] 13 points 10 months ago (6 children)

    Now they should make their own compatibility layer to run Windows games on Android.

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  • [+] 6 points 10 months ago* (4 children)
  • [–] 10 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    I bet it would be used to play Roblox and Fortnite. Two games that are inexcusably blocked from WINE/proton.

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  • [–] 5 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    Oh my god, I can't wait to spend 30,000 € on worthless coins inside of a click and wait game. Now on PC. I used to use the phone for that. 🥰

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  • [–] 37 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    You're completely missing the point of this. Oculus Quest uses an Android OS, which means every VR game released for Oculus Quest is an APK, which means there's a version of the game already optimized for a portable VR headset that can be run with Waydroid/Lepton. Valve is making the same move they did with the Deck, we can't convince studios to build native? Okay, we'll run whatever version it is they have already published.

    This in conjunction with Fex makes it so that they should be able to run any VR game that could possibly be run in the limited hardware, and they're giving studios a way to release a "native" version that they already have laying around for better performance (or even to make their first release on Steam).

    And let's not forget side-loading, most games on the Quest have already leaked their APK, they don't care too much because they're the only Android portable VR, but because the frame is an open platform people would be able to just install those files manually very easily. So if the studios won't do the minimal effort to bring their games to the frame the community will. I was momentarily sad when I realized that robo recall (which I own for the Oculus Quest) is not available on Steam, less sad now.

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    [–] 4 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    So you're telling me my daughter is gonna be able to play roblox on my Linux laptop soon? Thanks, but no thanks. PS: I know about vinegar.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago

    It amuses me to play Roblox with my son when he's on a tablet or console and I'm using the Sober app to run the Android client on my Linux desktop that was built to be a windows gaming PC several years ago when he was a little baby.

    He has an old PC that he doesn't use much, but he's got a much fancier one on the way.

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