The Lenovo Legion Go 2 Finally Comes With SteamOS At CES 2026

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 came retired backmost successful September 2025, and portion it was an highly premium handheld gaming PC, it was held backmost by Windows 11. Luckily, Lenovo is fixing that astatine CES 2026, wherever it conscionable annouced the Legion Go 2, powered by SteamOS.

The lenovo Legion Go 2 with SteamOS volition inactive travel with the aforesaid AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. The lone differences, really, are the paper buttons, which are present aligned with thing similar the Steam Deck oregon the Legion Go S, and, of course, the operating system: SteamOS.

Existing Legion Go 2 owners tin instal SteamOS themselves, of course, but you'd inactive person to spell done the laborious process of installing Linux. With it coming out-of-the-box with SteamOS, caller owners volition ne'er person to adjacent look astatine the Windows desktop. Lenovo besides claims SteamOS has been optimized to marque afloat usage of the hardware. If it's thing similar the Legion Go S, erstwhile it launched backmost successful June 2025, it whitethorn instrumentality the Z2 Extreme to different level.

Lenovo hasn't released immoderate benignant of merchandise day for the Lenovo Legion Go 2 with SteamOS yet, but I bash cognize that it volition commencement astatine $1,199 – $100 much than the archetypal Legion Go 2 with Windows. That's odd, fixed that Lenovo doesn't person to wage a interest to licence the operating system, but we'll person to hold and spot what precisely the starting configuration is earlier we walk judgement. After all, its not similar RAM is getting much affordable immoderate clip soon.

Linux, Finally

Like galore different handheld gaming PCs retired there, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 was held backmost a spot by its software. Windows 11 inactive conscionable isn't that large erstwhile you're utilizing a controller, and portion the caller Xbox Full Screen Experience – which is disposable connected the Legion Go 2 present – solves this a bit, SteamOS inactive offers a overmuch amended idiosyncratic experience.

One of the archetypal things I did with the Legion Go 2 was instal Bazzite, a SteamOS-like Linux distro that offers amended hardware compatibility. And successful the weeks that followed, the Legion Go 2 has go my most-used handheld. These gaming-centric Linux distros are conscionable amended for handheld gaming close now, and until Microsoft finishes everything it wants to bash with the Full Screen Experience, I'd expect to spot much handheld manufacturers shipping their devices with SteamOS. Lenovo already learned this acquisition with the Legion Go S – present I conscionable anticipation different manufacturers bash too.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra