Short Bytes: Valve has pushed the SteamOS 2.115 update to brewmaster_beta after a long wait and called it a huge update. This release is based on the new Debian 8.8 and comes with all the security patches. Linux kernel has been updated to version 4.11 and a switch has been made from AMDGPU-PRO driver to the open source mesa driver.
Recently, I wrote about the Linux gaming scene and listed the best Linux gaming distributions you need to try out this year. Without a doubt, Valve’s SteamOS topped the list, thanks to its better hardware support and wide availability of games.
Now, after a long time since the last update, Valve has pushed the latest update in the form of SteamOS 2.115. The developers of this gaming Linux distro have called it the biggest ever Steam update.
What’s new in SteamOS 2.115 update?
The SteamOS 2.115 is based on the recently released Debian 8.8. “Our friends at Debian have released Debian 8.8, so we picked up those updates as well,” the announcement states. This way, SteamOS gets all the latest security patches released.
Talking about Linux kernel, it has been rebased on top of the latest Linux kernel 4.11, which promises better hardware support for many devices.
Another major change comes in the form of the switch from the proprietary AMDGPU-PRO driver to the open source mesa driver. The latest version of Wayland has been added to support mesa.
SteamOS 2.115 also implements AMD Vulkan support. Please note that this will only work if you’re using Steam Beta Client.
You can find the complete SteamOS 2.115 changelog here.
You can run the following command to enable the OS beta and get new packages from brewmaster_beta:
sudo apt-get install steamos-beta-repo
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