The Lenovo Legion Go 2 came out back in September 2025, and while it was an extremely premium handheld gaming PC, it was held back by Windows 11. Luckily, Lenovo is fixing that at CES 2026, where it just annouced the Legion Go 2, powered by SteamOS.
The lenovo Legion Go 2 with SteamOS will still come with the same AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. The only differences, really, are the menu buttons, which are now aligned with something like the Steam Deck or the Legion Go S, and, of course, the operating system: SteamOS.
Existing Legion Go 2 owners can install SteamOS themselves, of course, but you’d still have to go through the laborious process of installing Linux. With it coming out-of-the-box with SteamOS, new owners will never have to even look at the Windows desktop. Lenovo also claims SteamOS has been optimized to make full use of the hardware. If it’s anything like the Legion Go S, when it launched back in June 2025, it may take the Z2 Extreme to another level.
Lenovo hasn’t released any kind of release date for the Lenovo Legion Go 2 with SteamOS yet, but I do know that it will start at $1,199 – $100 more than the original Legion Go 2 with Windows. That’s odd, given that Lenovo doesn’t have to pay a fee to license the operating system, but we’ll have to wait and see what exactly the starting configuration is before we pass judgement. After all, its not like RAM is getting more affordable any time soon.
Linux, Finally
Like many other handheld gaming PCs out there, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 was held back a bit by its software. Windows 11 still just isn’t that great when you’re using a controller, and while the new Xbox Full Screen Experience – which is available on the Legion Go 2 now – solves this a bit, SteamOS still offers a much better user experience.
One of the first things I did with the Legion Go 2 was install Bazzite, a SteamOS-like Linux distro that offers better hardware compatibility. And in the weeks that followed, the Legion Go 2 has become my most-used handheld. These gaming-centric Linux distros are just better for handheld gaming right now, and until Microsoft finishes everything it wants to do with the Full Screen Experience, I’d expect to see more handheld manufacturers shipping their devices with SteamOS. Lenovo already learned this lesson with the Legion Go S – now I just hope other manufacturers do too.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
