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Valve’s Steam Frame pushes Arch Linux toward official Arm64 support
Valve and consultancy Collabora are building an Arm64 port of Arch Linux, called Holo Core, to power the upcoming Steam Frame VR headset, with hopes the work eventually gets folded into the official upstream Arch Linux distribution. This matters because Arch Linux currently only ships official x86-64 packages, so getting native Arm64 support upstream would be a significant shift, and it comes as Arch-based distros already dominate Linux gaming on Steam.
Unlike the unofficial Arch Linux ARM (ALARM) project, which uses separately modified build scripts for 61 Arm devices, Valve and Collabora aim to build Arm64 support directly into Arch's original PKGBUILD scripts. The push is driven by the Steam Frame, which will use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip rather than AMD hardware like the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, with Valve's FEX emulator letting it run x86 games. SteamOS 3 ("Holo"), based on Arch, already leads Linux gaming, with the June 2026 Steam Survey showing Steam OS Holo at 22.83% and Arch-based CachyOS at 14.03%, together with other Arch variants making up 47.49% of Steam Linux usage. No installable image exists yet, but Collabora has released preview binaries, source packages and a development container.
In short
- Valve and Collabora are porting Arch Linux to Arm64 for the Steam Frame headset
- Aim is to eventually add official Arm64 support to upstream Arch Linux
- Arch-based distros already make up nearly half of Steam's Linux usage
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The case for integrating Arm64 support into Arch Linux's official infrastructure is that it represents sensible consolidation reducing ecosystem fragmentation. Valve and Collabora are contributing substantial engineering resources to build Arm64 support directly into Arch's standard PKGBUILD system, making it more maintainable and sustainable than the current parallel ALARM project approach. With Arch-based distributions already commanding nearly half of Linux Steam usage, expanding official platform support demonstrates smart evolution whilst strengthening the gaming ecosystem.
The case against
Those sceptical of this direction contend that Arch Linux has deliberately maintained a focused x86-64 philosophy with ARM support appropriately assigned to specialist projects like ALARM, which has successfully managed 61 variants. Official Arm64 support materially increases Arch's maintenance burden and architectural complexity in ways inconsistent with the distribution's design principles. There is also legitimate concern that Valve's engineering contribution, whilst generous now, reflects temporary commercial interest; if priorities shift post-Steam Frame launch, Arch maintainers may find themselves permanently responsible for sustaining Arm64 infrastructure without the resources that created it.
Explained simply
Arch Linux is a lightweight operating system that has become increasingly popular among Linux gamers. Valve, the company behind the Steam gaming platform, is working with software consultancy Collabora to add official support for Arm processors, a type of chip commonly used in mobile devices.
Until now, Arch Linux has only officially supported x86-64 processors, the chips found in most desktop and gaming computers. The push to add Arm processor support is driven by the Steam Frame, an upcoming virtual reality headset that uses Snapdragon chips instead of the AMD processors in Valve's previous devices. This represents a significant technical shift for the operating system.
The project matters because Arch-based systems have come to dominate Linux gaming, now accounting for nearly half of all players using Linux on Valve's Steam platform. If successfully integrated into official Arch Linux, this work would make it simpler for the company and other developers to create Arm-based gaming devices.