Phoronix article: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Steam-Machines-Frame-2026
Also listed here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/hardware
Valve has already sent support for the new Steam Controller upstream: https://www.phoronix.com/news/New-Steam-Controller-SDL
As a Mac user with an Xbox, this thing looks like a breath of fresh air! My Xbox (Series X) is still running well, so I continue to use it, but I kinda want this Steam cube thing, if the price is right. I don't want to buy any more products from Microsoft, and while I tolerate Xbox, I do not like Windows. (I tolerate it at work because I have to, but I'd prefer not to have to mess with it.) I could hang with Linux if I wanted to go down that road, but it looks like this will be a suitable alternative for gaming... if the price is right.
Steve from Gamers Nexus has a solid video where he met with people about Valve and goes into a lot of details on the announced hardware. He reported that they told him that the Steam Machine is not aiming for a console price. This made sense to him as he pointed out it’s basically an ITX computer and you can do computer things with it. Anyway I don’t know what it will cost but I’m guessing north of $500 easily.
I’m in a similar boat. I have both PS5 and series X. Consoles are getting enshittified at an increasing pace. I welcome valve improving Linux compatibility as they invest more in their devices. I don’t think I’ll be getting Sony or Microsoft’s next consoles.
Same. I have a PS5 and a switch, both that I hardly use now.
I've been an Xbox user for the longest time and have been dreading them losing the latest console war. I've never been a huge Nintendo fan, and fuck Sony. This sounds like it'll be my next big gaming platform.
There isn't really any point in comparing this to a games console. There would be no real point valve developing a console because pretty much all of the games on their platform expect to run on a PC so they'd end up having to emulate keyboard inputs as a lot of their library won't really work with a controller in any logical sense, so they might as well just make a PC.
Have you, uh, seen steam input and the new controller with the touch pads? It sounds like you haven't...