Valve Announces 3 New Pieces of Gaming Hardware
Carlos Ramierz
Valve, a video game company notorious for releasing epic games with polished stories such as Portal, has announced the release of three consoles: Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller. It’s obviously diminished all the chances that Meta has of producing a profit from this holiday season, but what about the specs? Here’s the report.
Source;pcgamer
The Background
A portion of people are unaware of the overall existence of Valve itself, compared to big names such as Xbox and PlayStation, in which you may need a background summary of the company yourself. Valve is an American game company and digital distribution company.
For the game company part, it’s produced titles such as Half-Life 2, where a Morphine-Fueled HEV-wearing Theoretical Scientist named Gordon Freeman fights off the interdimensional Combine Empire after a 20-year stasis. The plots sound bland, but they’re implemented well.
As for the digital distribution part, there is a chance you’ve used it before. Valve’s Steam is a digital distribution application/website where developers and players alike can sell games, buy games, socialize with others, and use a variety of features. Developers make games with any game engine and tools, meaning games can run on different systems, not just one (example is one game uses Unreal Engine 5, whilst another uses Unity.) HOWEVER, this means they will not have tools provided by Steam itself to aid them in development, only those provided by their respective game engines. To publish a game, they will have to pay a 100$ publishing fee.
Source; screenrant.com/half-life-2-remaster-rtx-remix-changes-op-ed/
Steam Machine
Prices for all 3 hardware pieces are yet to be disclosed but it is said to start delivery early 2026. The Steam Machine is a console-like gaming PC, integrated with SteamOS, allowing you to access ALL games in your Steam Library, and features found in the application! Valve Corporation claims that the console is six times more powerful in performance than its previous console, the Steam Deck (Valve’s equivalent of the Nintendo Switch). Storage options include a minimum of 512 GB, extendable to up to 2 TB with the aid of SSDs. Since it is a computer in reality, you can install other programs or even an operating system. It is compatible
with the upcoming hardware: The Steam Controller.
Steam Controller
The Steam Controller is Valve’s second (and possibly successful compared to last time) try at a controller, with a long list of features, including:
dual trackpads for mousepad-like control
gyro and sensors to detect when you are holding the controller to activate certain features
HD haptic feedback, dual-stage triggers
magnetic cap-sense thumb sticks with grip buttons
2.4 GHz connectivity with low-latency performance
full size controls
quick access menu
steam input
customized bindings
battery life that lasts up to 35 hours
The controller comes with a "Steam Plug”, allowing you to take the controller out of charging mode with relative ease by snapping the controller on and off the plug port. It’s also compatible with any device running Steam, and the Steam Frame.
Steam Frame
Finally, the Steam Frame. The Steam Frame is a second-generation lightweight VR headset integrated with SteamOS, where you can stream all Steam-based software. Opening any software is generally as easy as sliding on the VR headset. The controllers include the same features as the aforementioned Steam Controller, on top of motion control and capacitive tracking for your fingers. You can stream any game from any device with the wireless adapter that it comes with, running over a fast and dedicated Wi-Fi connection. It even includes a feature, where if you look at a specific area, the Steam Frame will increase resolution where you look! In addition to features such as Desktop Mode, seamless updates, SD card slot to expand storage, Steam Input, notifications, Steam store, cloud save, remote play, and all features that the Steam Application offers. It isn’t just a headset that streams high-performance games; it runs the games themselves.
