Valve is making a recreation console that will earn on Sony and Microsoft. It’s also making a gaming headset to compete with Meta. These are gargantuan, ambitious, and messy efforts, and we now possess heaps of questions. So end you!
We’ve gotten moderately quite so much of questions on Valve’s gargantuan 2026 hardware push and entry into the console wars, and we’re compiling the answers we’ve obtained up to now. A pair of of them are tell answers to your subscriber questions in our AMA; thank you for paying our salaries!
So, let’s originate up with…
The Steam Machine is a particular lounge gaming PC coming out in early 2026. It’s no longer your in model Home windows PC. The 6-poke dice is barely bigger than a field of Kleenex (bless you), can come bundled with a wireless controller that connects on to the sector, and runs Home windows games on the snatch-up-and-play SteamOS. It’s in general a recreation console.
So the Steam Machine is exclusively a gargantuan stationary Steam Deck for the TV?
Primarily! Valve says it has six instances the performance, will creep your complete identical games, and runs the real identical SteamOS below. Valve says you will want the option to even pop the microSD card out of your Steam Deck, build it within the Steam Machine, and your games ought to tranquil fair work.
I don’t possess a field of Kleenex helpful. How dinky is it if truth be told?
To be real, Valve tells us it’s 152mm tall (148mm with out feet), 162.4mm deep, and 156mm huge. The Nintendo GameCube is 150mm tall, 161mm deep, and 110mm huge, so that they’re rather shut.
Can I name it the GabeCube?
We received’t waste you! Since you will want the option to swap out the entrance plate, there are moderately quite so much of enjoyable puns to change into reality, fancy The Orange Field. Or earn Dbrand’s recommendation to build it a Accomplice Dice.
How noteworthy will it fee?
We don’t know. Valve received’t reveal us yet.
Wait, Valve announced a console and received’t even negate what it costs?
Yeah, Valve says it hasn’t finalized the cost. Valve told IGN that it’ll be “as inexpensive as that you just may have the option to enlighten.” Valve told us it’ll be “positioned nearer to the entry stage of the PC dwelling” and “very competitive with a PC that it is seemingly you’ll create your self from parts.” And Valve told Tom’s Hardware it’s aiming for “a colossal price,” nonetheless it’s advanced to fee real now due to “the market is blueprint of bizarre” and “reminiscence costs are going up fancy real as we be in contact.”
Does it come with Half of-Lifestyles 3?
Cease you if truth be told focal point on Valve can count to a pair? As we’re writing this, no. Nonetheless Valve is maybe, blueprint of, likely, blueprint of, likely hinting that… something… may well even be revealed soon.
Need more “hopium,” as the chilly teens name it? Here you toddle.
Does it come with a gamepad?
It is a long way going to attach you money by buying it with out one, nonetheless it will furthermore come bundled with this Steam Controller:
Photo by The whole lot Time Studio / The Verge
What within the Dreamcast is that?
It’s the Steam Controller, and it has its hang share, scroll down! Or you will want the option to bring your hang gamepad.
Is the novel Steam field more extremely efficient than a PS5? Why is all people tweeting “8GB VRAM” fancy it’s an insult?
Some PC avid gamers are getting accurate bored stiff in precisely GPUs hamstrung by insufficient video reminiscence, and the Steam Machine’s 8GB isn’t loads for a console that claims it will end 4K! That talked about, Valve is upfront that you just’re finest getting 4K after the employ of AMD’s FSR upscaling, and the PS5 has to count on upscaling strategies too.
We don’t if truth be told know how extremely efficient the Steam Machine is, but both its specs and our early Cyberpunk 2077 take a look at counsel we’re having a search for at PS5-plus, maybe PS5 Legit graphics. (It has a newer Zen four CPU, and the closest AMD GPUs boast a identical sequence of teraflops to that of the PS5 Legit.)
How upgradable is the Steam Machine?
Now not terribly! It’s a proprietary motherboard with a soldered CPU and GPU, so you will want the option to’t upgrade these unless Valve provides them as a kit deal. Nonetheless the SSD storage ought to tranquil be straightforward (M.2 2280 or 2230 sticks are swappable), and it takes commonplace DDR5 laptop laptop reminiscence modules.
Does it end HDR and VRR? FSR4 and body gen?
Both the HDMI and DisplayPort provide HDR, but they finest wait on the AMD FreeSync flavor of variable refresh rate (VRR) for refined gameplay even when your body rate dips. Valve says it’s “hoping to enhance” the FreeSync implementation, too.
Valve’s legit acknowledge on FSR: “Steam Machine supports the AMD technologies that AMD supports on RDNA3 hardware, including FSR 3 and body gen.” It’s a Navi 33 GPU, so a model of FSR four may well even be technically that you just may have the option to enlighten…
Can it play Fortnite? Will it play [INSERT GAME HERE]?
Linux can now play nearly any Home windows recreation, many of them higher than Home windows. Nonetheless the main exceptions are gargantuan multiplayer games so lucrative that their publishers tell on extremely efficient anti-cheat systems that don’t allow Linux since the apprehension currently outweighs the Linux opportunity.
That draw multiplayer games fancy Fortnite, Name of Responsibility, PUBG, Battlefield 6, Apex Legends, GTA On-line, Valorant, Future 2, Roblox, and sports games fancy EA FC all received’t work on SteamOS.
“We hope that the originate of Machine will replace the equation around anti-cheat wait on and elevate its wait on,” Valve told Eurogamer. Sounds fancy Valve is exclusively crossing its fingers.
Can I build Home windows on it to play these games?
Valve received’t waste you! It’ll even support by making Home windows drivers readily available at its web affirm (no longer by Home windows Update). Accurate know its notice file of Home windows wait on for SteamOS hardware isn’t colossal, and we focal point on we’re tranquil looking ahead to Valve’s hang twin-boot resolution.
If this runs Linux, how is it playing Home windows games?
Brief model: it tricks Home windows games into thinking they’re working on Home windows.
For the long model, right here’s Valve tool engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais:
You’re going to be playing it by Proton, which is largely a distribution of Wine, bundled with everything you may well likely want to creep any blueprint of recreation that’s made for Home windows.
The recreation itself is a Home windows executable, real? At a core stage, the Linux running map does no longer even know how you will want the option to load the program, and so, as a replace of invoking it by the OS, you invoke it by Proton, which is going to complete the main step of developing the address dwelling, loading the segments of code into reminiscence. The code coming from the app is all x86, and so Proton is a facilitator. It puts the code of the existing code of the app in a structure and a structure that the Linux OS can understand and then begins executing that code.
At any time when that recreation code makes an API name for something it was built against in its normal vogue atmosphere, both only a core C runtime library or increased-stage APIs fancy DirectX or DirectSound, or USB enumeration or enter — at any time when the recreation calls these functions, these functions exist in Proton’s code, and it’s going to be Proton enforcing that and providing you with results. Or giving the recreation a end result in line with the Linux OS, as against the so much of atmosphere that the recreation was designed for.
Wait a second. Didn’t Valve end this already?
This isn’t if truth be told the main Steam Machine! The normal from 2013 by no draw went on sale but was meant to existing third-web together manufacturers the model; these third-web together efforts (fancy the Alienware Steam Machine) flopped, and Valve seemingly deserted the foundation in 2015.
So what makes Valve focal point on it’ll work this time around?
Valve learned its lesson with the Steam Deck handheld, which the company built itself and uses a compatibility layer to build Home windows games play colossal on the Linux-basically based mostly SteamOS, and the tool didn’t flop. Now it’s bringing everything it learned to a field for your TV.
Are we getting third-web together Steam Machines again?
Presumably! Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais tells us Valve is “angry to accomplice” with corporations on Steam Machines fancy it did with Lenovo on a SteamOS handheld. “I focal point on the main step is for us to ship what we now possess, and it will maybe existing the model. Then it’s all in line with the conversations we now possess after that.”
Enough, so fair how versatile is this novel Steam Machine? Does it creep Discord for chatting, OBS for streaming? What about Netflix and varied streaming apps?
Yes, yes, and yes. It’s a PC with an optionally available desktop mode, and that it is seemingly you’ll earn a complete app catalog there. Steam carries OBS Studio for livestreaming, too.
And since it’s a SteamOS tool fancy the Steam Deck, you’ll nearly completely have the option to make employ of with out a doubt one of many so much of readily available web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, and so forth.) to originate streaming products and companies, then turn them into more with out problems accessible web apps.
They may be able to no longer search for their finest on a 4K TV, though. Even on a Home windows PC, many streaming apps don’t provide the identical quality 4K HDR Dolby streams they end on even a low-fee streaming stick.
What about varied recreation stores fancy Memoir, GOG, Battle.ranking? Can I movement games from GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud?
If it’s fancy Steam Deck, the Intrepid Games Launcher and Lutris can allow you to more with out problems web admission to games from varied stores on your Steam Deck, though you desire to complete a minute bit of labor to web them affirm up.
Associated care for recreation streaming. You’ll possess to complete a bit legwork to web them affirm up in Game Mode alongside your varied Steam games. Oh, and you desire to have the option to movement games from your PS5 to the Steam Machine with Chiaki.
Can I install recreation mods? Might per chance I employ it as a Plex server?
It’s doable, including in Bethesda games fancy Skyrim and Fallout. Accurate don’t persistently expect it to be straightforward. And it looks fancy Plex has a service for Arch Linux, which underpins SteamOS and thus the Steam Machine, but we’ve by no draw tried it!
That sounds colossal. So I will replace my gaming PC with a Steam Machine?
Possibly no longer for one of the up-to-date AAA releases on high settings. And unless you twin-boot into Home windows, you will want the option to’t play a bunch of the largest multiplayer games due to their anti-cheat tool doesn’t work on Linux. Nonetheless in case your gaming PC is getting dilapidated and you’re fair with PS5-stage performance…
I will work with that. What’s there to worry about?
It’ll fee a bit draw too noteworthy — folks are tranquil frail to spending $500 or less on the console below their TV! It also fair may no longer work as well to a Steam Deck crossed with a PlayStation. We’ve finest frail it in transient, we don’t know exactly how agreeable the hardware is yet, and compatibility layers build it less of a obvious enlighten than a PS5, which has games namely made for it.
That talked about, we had been rather impressed during our preliminary fingers-on, especially with the novel Steam Controller.
Photo by The whole lot Time Studio / The Verge
What’s a Steam Controller?
It’s Valve’s novel controller, and some of us may well even be a teensy bit impressed with it.
What’s so spectacular?
This one may soon rule the roost the place PCs are interested. It now feels fancy a mature gamepad within the fingers — not just like the normal Steam Controller — but with your complete additional inputs and unparalleled customizability of the Steam Deck’s integrated gamepad. It has novel TMR joysticks and capacitive sensors within the grips, a D-pad, four face buttons, two bumpers, two triggers, four reduction buttons, four menu buttons, a gyro, and two touchpads for replicating a mouse or trackball or for simultaneous two-thumb typing.
Will I even possess to interchange this controller in a One year since the sticks originate as much as float?
Possibly no longer! Valve is the employ of custom drift-resistant TMR (tunneling magnetoresistance) joysticks within the controllers. Magnetic joysticks fancy these are getting more in model in aftermarket pads, but Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft haven’t made the swap yet.
I will’t web over the touchpads. Why are they tilted? They search for miserable.
They will most definitely be! We finest obtained to earn a search for at the novel controller for a minute while. Nonetheless we’re followers up to now, and Valve says folks most original it this vogue. You don’t wait on a gamepad the model you end a gigantic Steam Deck, end you?
What in regards to the grip sensors, what’s going to those end?
“Grip Sense” tells if you’re exclusively spirited it, and you would have the option to employ that as a digital on/off button to complete whatever you fancy to possess in games. A Valve employee wanted it for more uncomplicated gyro aiming: fair grip the controller to activate, no want to circulate your thumb off the face buttons or joysticks. It will likely be helpful for stunning-tuned aiming in FPS games.
How end I fee the controller?
The controller comes with a puck that doubles as a charging affirm and a low-latency web admission to point for as much as four gamepads. Accurate lope the puck below the controller, and it will magnetically snap into affirm for charging.
It’s called the “Steam Controller Puck,” but a Valve employee talked about that internally, it was called the “chongle,” so end with that what you may.
Does it possess a headphone jack? I fancy the one on the DualSense and Xbox controllers.
No, unfortunately. “We fair didn’t feel fancy it was vital,” hardware engineer Steve Cardinali tells us.
How many Steam Controllers are you able to join to the Steam Machine?
You would join as much as four to the computer’s internal antenna, which is devoted to Steam Controllers. Every additional puck supports four more pads. Valve’s engineers told us they tried 16 controllers, though that isn’t officially supported.
Can I employ my hang controller with the Steam Machine? Which ones? What about keyboard and mouse?
Keyboard, mouse, your PS5 DualSense or Swap Legit Controller, nearly any Bluetooth gamepad, and even some racing wheels ought to tranquil work! Steam Input natively supports many of their additional buttons and gyros, and can allow you to remap and put macros on nearly in regards to the leisure. Even the Google Stadia controller is supported. The Xbox One controller may no longer work, though. Valve tells us it’s tranquil figuring out how you will want the option to wait on the Xbox One wireless adapter for Home windows.
Photo by The whole lot Time Studio / The Verge
Valve’s novel SteamOS VR headset is designed to play both flat-show mask and VR games. It’s a standalone headset with an Arm chip, fancy the Meta Quest, and it will play Home windows games domestically or off a microSD card due to Valve now has an emulator for Home windows on Arm, too.
It’ll furthermore movement your games from a shut-by PC with very low latency the employ of a dedicated wireless adapter and conception-tracking cameras.
Why does that matter for the Steam Machine?
Whilst you have a Steam Machine and a Steam Frame, you will want the option to bound the Steam Frame’s wireless adapter into your Steam Machine to movement the games from it. They’ll search for heaps higher than if you occur to ran them on the Frame without extend. Or that it is seemingly you’ll fair employ a in model PC, fancy Valve did for our demos.
Wait, it’s tracking my eyes? That sounds creepy.
Yeah, it’s looking at your eyes circulate, checking their affirm between 80 and 125 instances every second. And in a technique we exclusively forgot to inquire Valve whether it’s keeping notice of what you search for at.
Straight to jail, Sean and Jay, straight to jail. You’ll inquire Valve for us now, real?
We fair did, and we’ll let if we hear the leisure. And Valve is the employ of it for something chilly! The conception-tracking unlocks “foveated streaming,” which puts the absolute best-fidelity bits real in entrance of your eyes whereas lowering the resolution on your peripheral imaginative and prescient.
Is there something special in regards to the controllers?
The controllers for Valve’s old headset, the Index, had been enjoyable, but they had been also fats and didn’t possess everything you may possess to play flat-show mask games.
The Frame’s novel controllers, on the so much of hand, are two dinky wands packed with your complete buttons and inputs required for both flat-show mask games and VR games. AB and XY, triggers and bumpers. The Quest’s wands don’t possess these additional inputs.
Why end you wait on talking about flat-show mask games for a VR headset?
Valve’s pitch is every recreation on your Steam library — VR or flat-show mask, domestically or streamed — will work on this lightweight headset, no wire required.
Nonetheless you ought to tranquil know that the performance of a pair flat Home windows games working domestically on the headset — Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II — was a bit uneven.
Uh-oh. Cease why?
Valve told us after our demos that what we noticed was a worm, and that it hadn’t yet exclusively utilized a shader pre-caching map that will possess smoothed things out. So it’s that you just may have the option to enlighten the transport product will originate higher. We’ll possess to test.
Nonetheless concerns with Home windows games on Arm aren’t that ravishing. Sean has messed around with Silksong on a cell phone, and whereas it labored, it wasn’t smartly-behaved. The processing vitality on the Frame is dinky, too — it’s an older smartphone chip, but with rather more vitality and cooling than you web in a cell phone.
Valve plans to possess a Verified program for games it expects to creep smartly on the Frame, so we hope that checkmark shall be a hallmark of fair performance.
Why employ Arm for the Frame at all if there are additional hurdles to soar by?
Battery and warmth! “We selected Arm for Steam Frame for its vitality efficiency and low warmth technology — especially well-known for a headset,” Valve hardware and tool engineer Jeremy Selan tells us. The battery right here is draw smaller than in a Steam Deck, though, if you occur to’re questioning how long it’ll play Home windows games. Cherish half the size. 21.6 watt-hours.
What’s the battery lifestyles?
Now not six hours of Hades II, due to we requested and Valve talked about no. Valve told Digital Foundry to expect one to four hours of gameplay looking on settings; it told Avid gamers Nexus it currently consumes as much as 7 watts streaming and 20 watts playing local games, which works out to about three hours and one hour minimum runtime, respectively. Valve says it’s tranquil optimizing, and the rear USB-C port is in a colossal place to bound in an external battery.
So pack a battery for flights… Wait, can I employ it on a airplane at all?
Selan says yes:
Yes, we’ve performed Frame on a airplane from takeoff to touchdown with out tracking concerns. The onboard cameras work in tandem with the motion sensors within the headset to offset any external motion skilled when in a automobile.
How about in mattress?
Selan once again:
A bunch of us play this vogue. The recreation theater show mask in VR is repositionable and resizable, and you would have the option to circulate it to be on your ceiling if you occur to do away with.
Is it joyful to position on?
We’ll possess to test more, nonetheless it’s smaller and lighter than the Quest 3 with a luxurious and more balanced head strap real out of the sector. It felt rather colossal in a transient demo.
How about with glasses?
Our friend Scott Stein at CNET writes:
There’s wait on for prescription lens inserts, but my high index likelihood wasn’t readily available at the demo, so I had to squeeze my glasses in. They fit, but fair barely.
Cease the vents smell as fair as the Steam Deck’s?
Sorry, too busy tasting Swap 2 cartridges to verify.
If it’s Arm, can I play Android games on it too?
That’s the conception! Builders will have the option to publish the Android APKs on Steam, and Valve will ship Steam Frame devkits to a pair of these builders.
Is it more extremely efficient than a Quest 3?
It is a long way going to tranquil be, in line with the raw specs.
Does the Frame possess any varied chilly tricks?
We fancy modular equipment as a in model rule. Did we mention the Frame is modular?
Modular?
Modular. The “body” and “lenses” come apart. The headscarf, speakers, and battery detach from the core compute module of the Frame. And on that core module, real above the place your nostril is, there’s a ramification slot for additional cameras to slot in.
Will Valve sell varied headbands I will slot in as a replace?
Now not Valve, no lower than to originate up, but you will want the option to expect varied corporations or in model folks to cook dinner up their hang ideas. From Selan:
We are going to be sharing specs and external CAD to allow of us to build instruments for the entrance growth port (fancy an additional camera) and alternate head straps. For companies who fancy to sell Steam Frame instruments for these ports with our legit accomplice branding, there shall be a accomplice program.
Why would I want an additional camera?
Valve decrease corners on its passthrough cameras to bring the cost down, it claims, so you can’t see the accurate world in color by it fancy Meta’s most up-to-date headsets.
What about varied XR stuff? Can I creep a pair of apps, pin them to varied locations in my dwelling, and expect them to cease?
Selan isn’t promising a prosperous catalog of apps yet, but about a of this, yes. “You’ll have the option to bring up a browser, possess floating windows, all of the multitasking environments you’d expect.” Room setup and a pair of windows are “on the listing” for originate. He didn’t address pinning namely.
How does the Steam Frame’s pixel density evaluate to varied headsets?
The Samsung Galaxy XR is 4K per conception, with extremely clear visuals. We can read a cell phone rather with out problems by the headset, as long because it’s no longer too shut to the headset’s cameras.
Here is 2K per conception, loads nearer to the Meta Quest 3, the place it’s only ample to build out a cell phone, but grainy.
Charging headsets is a bother. Will Valve sell a dock for the Frame?
Selan:
Now we possess nothing to assert, but we’ll be sharing external CAD, if others fancy to build docks (corresponding to Steam Deck).
Is the streaming adapter fair for the headset, or can I employ it to movement games from PC to varied items?
Accurate for the headset for now. Selan again:
By the employ of a dedicated Wi-Fi adapter for a tell connection between an untethered tool and the PC, we’re eager about that doable but possess nothing to assert at this time.
Cease I want quick USB ports for the 6GHz adapter?
The adapter “works colossal” over USB2 and USB3, Selan says.
Why no longer build the headset even lighter by making a battery or compute puck?
“We explored many varied alternate choices and determined on the built-in battery for simplicity, weight balancing, and ease of employ,” Selan says. “External compute by capability of puck is attention-grabbing, but with the ability to leverage your existing PC’s compute is the form of compelling trip that we selected to prioritize wireless streaming technologies as a replace.”
I noticed photos of the Controller and Frame with clear shells that I desperately want. Is Valve going to sell these?
It’s no longer planning to, but you will want the option to admire them in our represent gallery!
Will Valve sell replace parts for the Steam Frame and Steam Machine fancy with the Steam Deck, and if this is the case, when?
Selan and hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat told us, for both merchandise respectively, that Valve plans to possess replace parts readily available.
Linus Tech Pointers obtained rather more context: “While Valve hasn’t if truth be told told iFixit that this product is coming yet, they did negate that they’re hoping to continue their partnership that they’ve had on the Steam Deck making replace parts readily available for waste users.”
Furthermore, the Steam Controller’s battery is user-replaceable and pops real out.
I noticed a represent of a Steam Machine with an e-paper show mask. How about that?
Sadly, Valve received’t sell it. “The e-paper faceplate may no longer be readily available for sale,” Aldehayyat tells us. “That was a (very chilly) mod that with out a doubt one of our engineers made internally during vogue.” We want it, too.