It's a great day for owners of Windows 11 gaming handhelds, one way or another

If you own a Windows 11 handheld, Microsoft has made a nifty move in introducing a new shrunk-down Game Bar - and ASUS ROG Ally owners have another piece of positive news on top of that today, regarding SteamOS support.

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A new ability to shut down a game is here - you can go to the Home widget and select the game, then quit (Image Credit: Microsoft)

First off, the Game Bar news, and as Microsoft made clear in a blog post (noticed by VideoCardz), there's now a Compact Mode for the bar to make it more suitable for a small-screen experience such as the ROG Ally (or other Windows portables).

The catch is that it's just in testing for now, but it surely won't be too long before the new mode progresses to release. Xbox Insiders can give it a whirl by going to Settings in the Game Bar, then navigating to General, where there's a new toggle for Compact Mode.

Microsoft explains:

"With Compact Mode enabled, access to widgets and navigation is simplified to ensure you can get access to the content you want as easily as possible. When using a controller, you can switch between widgets quickly with left and right bumpers (LB/RB)."

Full Steam ahead

As for the development with SteamOS, The Verge reports that Valve designer Lawrence Yang has confirmed the operating system will be supported with the ASUS ROG Ally (and possibly other Windows handhelds too, eventually).

After recent SteamOS release notes indicated that Valve had "added support for extra ROG Ally keys," The Verge followed up to check if this meant there was a plan in motion to fully support the ASUS handheld - and apparently there is.

Yang told The Verge:

"The note about ROG Ally keys is related to third-party device support for SteamOS. The team is continuing to work on adding support for additional handhelds on SteamOS."

This won't mean that the ROG Ally will ever come with an option to be supplied with SteamOS, but owners will be able to switch away from Windows 11 to Valve's operating system, should they wish (and many do).

However, it may be quite some time before the ROG Ally (and indeed other Windows gaming handhelds) are supported by SteamOS, by the sound of things. Still, Valve is moving in the right direction, and upholding its previous promise of supporting other devices aside from its own Steam Deck.