14 DAY TRIAL // SteamOS is a Linux distribution built by Valve that will eventually power the Steam Machines consoles. It's based on Debian 7.x "Wheezy" and there is no sign that Valve has any intention of moving to the new Debian 8 "Jessie" base anytime soon.
Right after Debian 8.0 "Jessie" got released, people started to ask on the official forums if SteamOS is going to make a change anytime soon, but there is no official information on this aspect, as of yet. Users want to know if changes will be made to the operating system, especially since Debian 8.0 comes with a huge number of changes, not to mention the implementation of systemd.
Valve said right from the start that it didn't plan on changing the base or SteamOS from one Debian version to another, especially for the Alchemist branch (Beta), which means that things are not going to change anytime soon. On the other hand, a Valve developer said last year that they might consider an upgrade only after Jessie became stable, which just happened.
A move to Debian 8.0 "Jessie" won't happen too soon
The problem with moving from one base to another is that it usually involves upgrading a lot of moving parts and the result is usually not something stable. So, if Valve decides to take the jump, it will take them quite a while to fix everything, which might interfere with their plans of launching the Steam Machines in November.
SteamOS is pretty stable now, and it provides the best gaming experience for the users, although the desktop experience is lacking. Valve is investing a lot of money into this project, so it's very likely that it's here to stay.
If we also take into consideration that Debian Wheezy is a long-term support release, it's easy to surmise that it will remain the base for SteamOS, at least for the stable branch that will end up running the consoles.
Check out the video below past the 20 minute mark.
