The team of the popular Arch Linux distribution starts direct cooperation with Valve. Arch Linux is the basis for the SteamOS operating system, which runs Steam Deck. Tom’s Hardware writes about it.

Because Arch Linux is FOSS (Free and Open Source Software), the developers of the distribution work on it in their spare time on a volunteer basis. Valve will fund the developers’ work on the distribution, allowing them to focus on development.

“Valve is generously providing backing for two critical projects that will have a huge impact on our distribution: a build service infrastructure and a secure signing enclave,” writes Arch Linux head developer Levente Polyak. “By supporting work on a freelance basis for these topics, Valve enables us to work on them without being limited solely by the free time of our volunteers.”

This collaboration will give developers the resources to solve some of the long-standing problems they have faced for a long time. This collaboration will accelerate progress that would otherwise take much longer, says Polyak.

In the long run, the funding in question should at least allow Arch Linux to improve the security of its distribution and provide more structured releases than the current almost continuous update cycle. It should also indirectly benefit SteamOS by improving performance in games.