Valve Expands SteamOS 3.8.25 Beta to Intel Handhelds, Improving MSI Claw Support

Q: How does Valve's new native driver allow the upcoming Steam Controller 2026 to completely bypass the Steam client?

Valve’s new native driver bypasses the Steam client by moving support for the Steam Controller 2026 into the Linux kernel’s built-in `hid_steam` driver, so the operating system can interpret the controller directly instead of relying on Steam Input. In practice, that means SteamOS can expose the controller to native Linux input stacks such as evdev and to apps and game engines that read standard controller interfaces, even when the Steam client is closed. Before this, Steam often had to stay running to translate Valve’s proprietary controller data into something games could understand, typically through a virtual gamepad layer. The change is important because it lets non-Steam software and native controller applications recognize the new controller as a hardware input device on their own. Supporting evidence from recent SDL work backs this up: developers merged Steam Controller 2026 support into SDL so games using SDL2/SDL3 can read its inputs with or without Steam running, including features such as touchpads, capacitive stick touch, grip sensing, and gyro support. That said, “completely bypass” has limits. The driver removes the need for the Steam client to make the controller visible to native apps, but some games still need updated SDL mappings or newer Steamworks/Steam Input support for full glyphs and feature parity. Older Linux titles may still show generic prompts or have partial support until their input libraries catch up.

3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 10

SteamOS 3.8.25 Beta adds initial gamepad support for MSI’s Claw 8 EX AI+, marking a fresh step in Valve’s push to make SteamOS work on Intel-based handhelds.
The update also adds built-in controller support for Ayaneo’s Pocket S2 and Konkr Fit, while improving compatibility for older MSI Claw models and the OneXPlayer line.
Valve had already highlighted broader Intel and AMD compatibility in June’s SteamOS 3.8 release, but Lenovo’s Legion Go S still remains the only non-Valve device with full “powered by SteamOS” branding.
Separately, the beta updates the Linux driver for the new Steam Controller so it can work with native controller apps even when Steam is not running, helping users in Desktop mode.