While Valve has said from the beginning that Windows support would be coming to the Steam Deck, they’ve now made good on that statement by releasing Windows drivers for the handheld gaming system.
While the standard Steam Deck configuration runs a wildly-custom version of SteamOS, the new inclusion of Windows drivers for the GPU as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth means that users can begin installing Windows if they choose.
Those users will still have a few more hoops to jump through, as dual-booting the system is not yet supported, nor is Windows 11. However, the former will become available in the near future as SteamOS’ dual-boot wizard is released.
As they shared a caveat regarding taking apart the Steam Deck in the past, so do they now: those running Windows on Steam Deck will not be eligible for support, and the resources that the company is releasing are provided on an as-is basis. Of course, the simple way around this is to wipe the system and reinstall SteamOS, though that is almost guaranteed to resolve any issues with Windows on the console anyway.
Further to these notes, audio drivers are still in the works, though the company says USB-C and Bluetooth audio by way of a wireless headset should work normally.
Steam Deck launched at the end of February as the most powerful handheld gaming console to date.