This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
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
FEX is the most exciting thing for me!
Right? It's a huge bridge between x86 and ARM, it just opened up a potentially huge market for lower power consumption gaming devices. You could have like a Gameboy that runs silksong or something.
Why does the controller look very uncomfortable to use? I hope it's not.
Still looks better than the first Steam Controller. It was atrocious.
Im hyped for a new vr headset.
Me too. I bought the first quest before Facebook acquired it. Now that Facebook/Meta own quest and stuff ... I've been staying away from VR for now.
I'll definitely be doing my best to get one as soon as it's available. Everything about it sounds hype.
FYI, technically Meta/Facebook had already owned Oculus for something like five years before the original Quest came out. They just started getting really blatant about the branding shortly after that time, probably to acquiesce to Zuck Zuck and his huffing of his "metaverse" crack pipe increasingly frequently.
I’m really hoping that the price of the vr headset meets or beats the Facebook models.
I do too, but I'd highly doubt it will. It's well known that Meta sells every headset at a loss and funds the expenditure via revenue from their gargantuan advertising and spy network, specifically to squeeze out competitors and make it harder to enter the VR market as a newcomer. Zuck Zuck still thinks all the prime real estate in the metaverse is going to be his, because he only read the first half of Snow Crash.
Gabe is a rich man and I assume he and his company could take this approach as well if they wanted to, at least temporarily. But based on their pricing for their past hardware (particularly the Steam Deck), I predict they won't.
I’m curious about the “it’s a PC” aspect of the Steam Box. Because a device that plays all Steam games but isn’t a Windows computer is extremely appealing, but I admit if I can’t install a few non-Steam games on it, that’s a spoiler for me. But if the whole “it’s a PC” provides some avenue to that, I’m definitely ready to stop building a gaming PC every 5 years.
Yeah, you can. SteamOS is basically just a customized arch Linux. It's what runs on the steam deck, which you can install non-steam games on. They integrate really well into the console experience as well.
Steam Box
Ahem, it's a GabeCube.
It's going to be like the steam deck, I've yet to find a old Non-steam game that I couldn't run on the steam deck.
Short of explicit developer lockout
Time to sell my never used old steam controller
Never fear! I will happily spare you the trouble, and take that old thing off your hands - free of charge! ;D
I loved that controller. Best damn gamepad I ever had. It was a sad day when it finally gave in, and broke, last year.
Ok but HL3 wen
You just added 3 more years to its release
It's at least 6 years now.
Glad Valve is making a console but that's an ugly fucking controller
Am I the only one who preferred the "skinnier" style of controller like the old GameCube or even N64 controllers? I loved that grip control, now it feels like we've been either trending towards bloated controllers like this one that suck for people with smaller hands or those tiny little joycons that hurt to use long term.
I give 0% of shit how it looks, all I care about it ease of use and performance. Track pads at your finger tips takes getting used to, but it’s a game changer for any game that isn’t classically easy to play with a controller.
If a game isn't easy to play with a controller then I'm probably just not going to play it with a controller to begin with honestly, track pads or no. If I have to mess with stuff in desktop mode on my steam deck then I use the pads but otherwise, I haven't really found them useful.
To each their own, but you don’t really need to mess with stuff.
For me, a game like fallout 3 or NV where I prefer fps style controls but don’t care enough to sit at my pc to play, the steam controllers track pads are perfect.
I do get it though, it takes practice.
