SCOS Standard Public Beta: available now
Public Beta Announcement

SCOS Standard Public Beta is now available

SCOS has reached its first public milestone. With SCOS Builder v0.1.2, users can now create a SCOS Standard installation ISO from their own official Windows ISO.

SCOS is independent and not affiliated with Microsoft, Valve, Steam, or any third-party launcher.

Release: SCOS Builder v0.1.2 · SCOS Build Package v0.3.6.4 · Standard Edition · Stable channel

A first public milestone for SCOS

Today marks the first public milestone for SCOS. The project now has a public build pipeline through SCOS Builder, allowing users to create a SCOS Standard installation ISO locally from their own official Windows ISO.

SCOS Standard is a Windows-based Steam console environment for living-room gaming. It is designed to boot into Steam Big Picture / Steam Gamepad UI as the main shell, while restricting normal Windows desktop access in the public Standard edition.

What is included in this public beta?

  • SCOS Builder v0.1.2, the public tool used to create SCOS installation ISOs.
  • SCOS Build Package v0.3.6.4, the official setup package downloaded by Builder.
  • SCOS Standard Edition, the public locked-down console environment.
  • Steam shell behavior, using Steam Big Picture / Steam Gamepad UI as the final shell.
  • Standard restrictions, including reduced access to normal desktop tools.

Why SCOS uses Builder instead of direct ISO downloads

SCOS does not include, provide, sell, or activate Windows. Because of that, the public release uses SCOS Builder instead of distributing a ready-made Windows ISO.

With this approach, users provide their own official Windows ISO. SCOS Builder then downloads the official SCOS Build Package from GitHub, injects the SCOS setup files, replaces required setup placeholders, and rebuilds the final bootable SCOS installation ISO.

SCOS Builder keeps the project cleaner: SCOS provides the console environment and setup package, while users provide their own official Windows ISO and handle Windows activation separately.

What SCOS Standard does

SCOS Standard is focused on one goal: making a Windows-based gaming system feel closer to a living-room console.

  • Boot into a Steam-focused console environment.
  • Use Steam Big Picture / Steam Gamepad UI as the main shell.
  • Restrict normal Windows desktop access in the public Standard edition.
  • Keep Windows compatibility for games, launchers, drivers, and anti-cheat systems that expect Windows.

Important notes

  • SCOS is currently a public beta.
  • SCOS does not include Windows.
  • You must provide your own official Windows ISO.
  • Windows activation remains separate from SCOS.
  • When creating a bootable USB from a SCOS ISO, do not enable extra Windows customization options.

What’s next?

The next development steps focus on improving setup reliability, hardware preparation, and Builder-based customization.

  • SCOS Builder v0.1.3: Time zone selection and SCOS configuration options.
  • SCOS v0.3.6.5: Time zone and internet clock sync improvements.
  • SCOS v0.3.7: Driver setup phase foundation.
  • SCOS v0.3.8: GPU driver update support.
  • Future: Optional SCOS Recovery Environment integration through Builder.
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