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I think that was a large reason. Additionally the OUYA had some mind share and Valve was pushing Steam Machines and their Steam link so a non windows OS to run

I think that was a large reason. Additionally the OUYA had some mind share and Valve was pushing Steam Machines and their Steam link so a non windows OS to run on them made sense. On reflection perhaps the Steam Machines and link were a response to the Windows Store as well but I cant remember the timelines that well.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
SteamOS, Steam Machines, and Steam Link all occurred at about the same time and they were definitely a response to the perceived threat of Microsoft locking Windows down to only Windows Store applications. Good news is that didn't happen and Valve continued to improve gaming on Linux for everyone for free anyways.
- kemonocode 6y ago
  Epic would be a bigger threat to Valve's market dominance these days. If only they (Epic) decided to support Linux in a similar fashion...
Zhyl 6y ago
It was mostly in response to the Windows 8 store. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18996377 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18996377