Microsoft has recently revealed that it's launching the new Xbox One Wireless Adapter that will enable users to connect Xbox One controllers to their PCs. Their Windows 10 PCs. From the looks of it, the adapter won't work with SteamOS or Steam Link, or pretty much any other operating system.



The Xbox One Wireless Adapter is already available for purchase from the official website and Amazon will get it soon enough. Right from the start Microsoft said that it required Windows 10 to work, but there was hope that it could be adapted to other systems as well, like SteamOS for example.
Other devices, such as the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 controllers, seem to work just fine, and there are already drivers in the Linux kernel, but Microsoft is being Microsoft again, and it has blocked this kind of functionality from the hardware.
For all its talk of openness, Microsoft still pulls stuff like this that really gets people going, although it's easy to see why they would think that it's a good idea. Their main concern right now is to promote the use of Windows 10, by any means necessary. This means that locking the Xbox One Wireless Adapter to only work with Windows 10 seems like the normal way to go.
Microsoft has big plans for Windows 10 and Xbox One interoperability

At one point in the future, Windows 10 users (and only them) will be able to play Xbox One games, with the same kind of streaming that is done right now with the Steam Link. There is no launch date attached to this new feature, but it's coming. The Xbox One Wireless Adapter might be an important part of that future.
According to a report on venturebeat.com, Valve has confirmed that support won't be possible for Xbox One Wireless Adapter, not now and not ever. The hardware is locked, and it will only work with Windows 10 systems.
For what it's worth, the Xbox One controllers work just fine with a cable. Moreover, you might also want to wait for the soon-to-come Chinese adapter that will surely work.