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
The announcement did not include Copilot? No mention of 300 useless AI features being shoved down our throats??!
It’s wild how by virtue of the fact that Valve isn’t a publicly traded company beholden to shareholders, the same Valve which has a history of putting out half-baked goods and which has an always-on DRM client called Steam, seems poised to surpass most of its competitors both in the user privacy and hardware hardware spaces with just straightforward products. They have a product to sell, and that’s it. They don’t need to micro-optimize for bullshit like seemingly every other large tech company does.
There are a lot of specs missing from what the streets were hoping for from the holy grail of VR headsets, but I’m starting to believe that they are not going for that. It seems they want to win in the mid-range market competing directly with Meta. Honestly, “Quest 3 without Meta” is already very compelling. I guess it’s not all down to how competitively they decide to price it. “Cheaper than Index” is already good news for my wallet at least.
I believe the cost of Meta devices is also subsidized by surveillance capitalism, so if this costs more, doesn’t spy on you, and lets you do whatever you want with your own hardware, then it’s worth voting with your wallet. If Valve somehow is able to price this similarly to a Quest 3 while having better specs and without exploiting their customers like Meta does, then all hail the great and mighty Gabe.
I just recently upgraded from my OG Vive because I didn’t want an inside out tracking or wireless, but… let’s see what the price is and if the thing is actually as good in real world conditions as Linus makes it look. I might just try those pancake lenses (because the Vive Pro 2 lenses are bad).
And yeah, I will never give Meta money. Not directly, and indirectly as little as I can.
I used to work with a guy who worked at Valve prototyping stuff like the steam controller. He was a boomer so he complained about how people were always playing games in the break room and what not. Said he hated that job, his reasons might as well have been a wishlist for my future career. If he wasn’t so damn helpful I would probably hate him to this day.
Ah yes, the gabecube
Steam Deck was the Gabe Gear, this is the Gabecube, all we need now is a smaller Steam Deck - the Gabe Boy.
Me in 2001 with a stuffed nose:
Stuffed because that cute person didn’t like me back cause they were busy blowing all their inheritance from their estranged uncle that died when the towers fell.
Oddly specific, but ok.
They really need to sell these in Walmart next to the Playstation. It’ll be the year of the Linux desktop!
I thought it was the okama gabe sphere. It’s spherical!
I guess this would be the appropiate post to ask under, isnt the steam frame using a last gen flagship arm soc and running linux a huge thing? That seems like its pretty close to us being abke to run linux on a newer phone. Tho at the same time i know phones are unhinged so thats why im asking, whether this is actually a big thing.
Gabephone in 2027? /s
I’d consider it a significant advancement. Phones have much tighter regulations than many consumer devices and this may not necessarily align with Valve’s long-term business objectives, however, so I have some skepticism but would be pleasantly surprised if they pursued such an endeavor.
The VR headset is going to be standalone??
That’s pretty nuts right?
even more nuts is that it will support pc games via FEX, an emulation layer that runs x86 windows games on ARM in Linux
In addition to streaming from your battlestation
Crazy…
But does it have a crazy price?
Im guessing Vive prices. Id be suprised at less than 1k, but no word on it yet.
I’m sure they’ll be as aggressive with price as the Steam Deck was. The tiny battery and knuckles hand tracking being an optional accessory this time suggest that.
Valve said they expect it to be cheaper than the Index, so it shouldn’t be more than 1k
Frankly it all three are logical next steps. With the way windows is going, valve needs to decouple it’s store from the windows dependency. The deck was the tester, now we get the not so cheep next generation
Any ideas on Linux support?
They talked about streaming VR games from the SteamOS based steam machine to it.
So with that I’d assume we’re finally getting some much needed progress to SteamVR on linux.
Yeah, this is what I’m most looking forward to in the immediate sense tbh. It’ll be nice to play HLA without crashing every time it loads a new level as it currrently does for me in SteamVR (Monado doesn’t have this issue, but I can’t use my left-handed controls without Steam input :-|)
pretty sure it’s SteamOS, an Arch Linux derivative, on a fairly popular Snapdragon platform. probably not too difficult to hack on it.
Its a standalone headset that runs steamos.
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.
Steam Machine is interesting. It feels like a solid time for someone to disrupt TV based gaming.
I’d jump on a steam deck with updated hardware, too bad it looks like it will be staying the same
Edit:
Yeeaaaahhhh it’s going to be a while, they want a great performance jump without sacrificing battery life
Literally I just want a steamdeck with thunderbolt 5 so I can plug it into an egpu. That is my dream; a handheld gamestation that plays locally, which I can beef up when I want to.
Big same. I can only assume one is in the works and likely the most anticipated piece of steam hardware. If we’re lucky they’ll be saving the news for the near future after these products gets their hype cycle. Marketers love to tease ya.
With a strong internet connection and more capable desktop device, you can already stream for hours with high fidelity graphics, 60+ FPS, and no fan noise.
With that in mind, buying a new Steam Deck is probably going to be multiple generations off for me.
I’ve given that a shot and just can’t stand the input lag I get, even on LAN, unfortunately, I’m glad it works for others though.
And I don’t like to use hotel or other public WiFi when I travel, I’d rather just have the device in hand
That’s surprising to hear, for me the latency is not noticeable even over WAN. We’ve had VR capable streaming for years now, and area where latency issues cause physical sickness.
You might have a network level issue. Gigabit ethernet to the host, WiFi 5 or better for the client, QoS configured to prioritize both devices in the router settings?
I think a wired connection is the key, one of my house projects this winter is running Ethernet through the attic finally
I want the Steam controller to succeed but why do they make it look like it’s from the 1980s
What controller from the 1980s looked anything like the Steam Controller?
I mean, the Sega Genesis controller was mostly black and had face buttons and a D-pad and was around in the late 1980s, but that’s about as close as I can think of, and that’a not much by way of similarity.
I feel like if I use this controller those trackpads will go crazy because of my fat hands.
The Steam Deck uses the capacitive thumb stick sensors to completely disable the trackpads as soon as the stick above the respective pad is touched. This works very well, so I think they‘ll implement the same thing here.
That’s so fucking cool
On the opposite of the spectrum, my small hands doesn’t play well with that feature. The capacitive sensors only works if your fingers touch the top of the sticks but I usually move the sticks by pushing on the round edges of it so I still occasionally brush against the touch pads which is annoying.
That brings up my following question.
If the thumb sticks are capacitive and they wear smooth over time how do you replace them? Are the capacitive sensors under stick caps? Do you just have to replace the rim only?
I’ve not had any wear like that on my deck, but I’m not crazy hard on controllers. At worse the whole stick can be pretty easily replaced. The repairability on Valve hardware gets a high priority.
Does your capacitive phone screen wear smooth over time?
(The point being hopefully they’ll be made of something that doesn’t wear down from human fingies)
The case around it does. That’s what I want to replace.
“The hands you have used to game are too fat. To obtain a special gaming wand, please mash the controller with your palm now”
I’m just glad they have dual thumbsticks now. I bought their last model on sale but quickly shelved it. Couldn’t get used to the touchpads and didn’t want to spend the next 2 months sucking at every game I played.
Steam did an amazing job on the controller management, you can already remap everything. Disabling track pads should be easy
You would need REALLY massive hands to touch those when your thumbs are resting on the analog sticks or the face buttons.
One question I have about the cube is will it be capable of doing full DRM streaming services like Netflix? Most living room systems have that, but doing it on an open linux system somehow would be novel.
I’ve been contemplating Steam Game Mode in Bazzite on a HTPC as a potential replacement for Android TV, and this might fit the bill nicely, in addition to supporting living room gaming of course. I bet this would run Jellyfin and VacuumTube quite nicely with a USB remote control. A Nvidia Shield from 2019 is still $200, so if Valve prices this similarly to a PS5, it’d certainly be a compelling option.
I bet it’ll run jellyfin really well!
You can install a browser with enabled DRM extensions on the Deck already, don’t see why this wouldn’t be possible on the cube.
As far as I know, browsers will only do Widevine L3. Meaning you won’t get resolutions past 720p or maybe 1080p (depending on service). That’s probably fine a small screen like the deck. Less fine for a 4k TV.
It doesnt advertise itself as a media device. Id love for it to somehow do it, but the high seas is the only way.
it advertises its self as a full PC though
So do other Linux PCs on the market, but they can’t help Netflix’s shitty DRM.
A full linux pc yes, which usually isnt allowed in most DRM protection layers.
But they all get abandoned or suck at launch to begin with.
A streaming 4K dedicated device is about 20 to 40 dollars, which always seem to work better then whatever a console offers and for longer.
I see no advantage to have a steam cube with it.
That said, I did put Plex and jellyfin on my steamdeck so I could watch my own library while flying, so I suppose you could add either of those to the cube. They launch as just another game by the way.
Why pay? 🏴☠️
Any educated guesses, or layman guesses, about the price?
My layman guess is 600-800, the low price being same price as the top end steam deck on release
From what I understand the Steam Machine performance is somewhere between Series S and Series X. I don’t think it will cost more than a Series X.
Maybe 600.
The Machine will apparently be about the price of “an entry level PC”.
The Frame will “not cost more than the Index”.
Not more than the index is a low bar considering it’s about the most expensive of the mainstream headsets
Literally every VR headset released this year is over 1k usd. Only meta (and now valve) care about budget headsets
True, but that’s all we got right now. We have to wait and see.
For the cube I expect 1k USD minimum.
I don’t see that being the case, it’s relatively low end silicon, with meh levels of RAM and very poor levels of VRAM.
Seems to me like they’re targeting a lower price point, which I think is a good idea if they want to take market share from Microsoft.
What is up with Valve and their obsession with those stupid touchpads? I hated that on the old Steam D-Pad. Hypersensitive seemingly every moment except when you needed it to be.
The XBox and the PS figured out how to make traditional controllers very well. Nintendo loves to get freaky with it and does a better than average job of innovating in the space. But Valve just seems to want to cobble together spare parts into a janky whatever the hell this is. I don’t get it.
Whomever is making these things, you don’t have to keep doing this. Just be normal!
I used to think XBox controllers were the best controllers on the market. I still think they’re very good. That changed when I held the Steam Deck for the first time. The feel is better overall, and in my opinion the track pads are such an obvious and great improvement on the traditional controller design.
Nowadays when I use other controllers, they just feel “bare bones” and like they’re missing something.
Yeah, I feel like the steam controller was a little hard to get used to, the touchpads always felt a little off, but the steamdeck’s touchpads (and presumably the steam controller 2’s touchpads) are absolutely perfect.
Easiest way to play games made for the PC on a controller. I’ve been playing a lot of early 2000’s RPG’s and they’ve been perfect on the steamdeck: Baldur’s gate 2, Dungeon Siege, Neverwinter Nights, Morrowind, Age of Empires, etc
Indeed. I very much liked the original steam controller in concept, but the execution left a lot to be desired. Like not using the most “plastic” feeling controller I’ve ever touched…
Yeah I love that I can play old PC games from my couch! I recently played through Fallout 1 (partly) on the Steam Deck. Amazing times.
What do you use the Trackpads for? I never felt the need so far and always wondered why they are there in the first place.
Not who you asked, but I use them for PC games that were built for keyboard and mouse. The track pads on the steamdeck are excellent for emulating a mouse. Baldur’s Gate 2, Dungeon Siege, Neverwinter Nights, Morrowind, Age of Empires, etc.
Newer games were built with controllers in mind, so the joysticks probably feel better in those cases.
The track pads on the steamdeck are excellent for emulating a mouse.
They were passable at best. Finicky and imprecise more often than not.
Yup. You’ve made it clear you hate them.
Mouse control that is more precise than a joystick.
IDK what the fuck the left one is really for tho; a stick or even buttons would be just fine for movement. I am of the camp that thinks they’re uncomfortable and work less reliably than a joystick. Even a laptop trackpad is used with an index finger not normally a thumb and I never could get used to it. I hate my Steam controller and regret buying it.
It can be one button, or it can be 16 buttons or a radial menu or an axis or… I think it’s great especially for older PC games that weren’t designed with gamepads in mind.
I use laptop trackpads with my thumb all the time
I use Dualsense for controller which has a trackpad, but I can’t imagine using it for anything other than the occasional click or two. Do you find them good enough for games? If so, which ones?
My absolute favourite thing about them is that they allow me to play games designed for mouse and keyboard from my bed! Like any old PC games (fallout, wasteland, baldurs gate, etc).
I don’t play enough “first person” games to have any valuable input, but when I’ve played things like Elder Scrolls I’ve honestly preferred using the track pads for controlling the camera.
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
Those pads exist for PC games designed for mouse and keyboard. Sony and MS can get away without them because the games are designed arround for the controllers, while the Steam controller was designed for the games.
In games like point and click adventures, city builders, older 1st person shooters and others made for KB&M, the pads are a god-send when playing on the steam deck or on a TV from the couch.
You’ve obviously never tried them and are just talking out of your ass
I mean he’s being really extreme about it but he’s not exactly wrong. The touchpads on my Deck are more of an annoyance than help because of my smaller hands. I can only remember using it in one game and disabled in others because of how my hands would accidentally brush against them so I would love it if they had a touchpad-less version.
I love the trackpads thanks.
You could, like, not buy them, you know?
That is the plan.
I get that the touch pads are meant for mouse emulation. But, it’s a PC! Why wouldn’t I just pair my trackball to it?
For any gaming I’d prefer a mouse for, the gamepad is better. But for some games, the trackball is superior to both. Games like Diablo. I’m not into most of the games that would benefit. Someone named a bunch and yeah, I don’t play those games. But for those games, I have a Logitech trackball I love, the MX570 or whatever. The trackball everyone uses. Not very original, I know, but hey, the thing’s good! It’s why I haven’t bought the Apple Magic Trackpad for my Mac. If I had a mouse, I would have. But the trackball bridges the divide. So yeah, as a trackpad guy (you can’t beat the one on the MacBook) I get it… but not for gaming. Like trying to play Cyberpunk on my MacBook is an exercise in futility. First, there’s no traffic or pedestrians because it’s a base M2 with no GPU (something like a 12th generation Core i5 on the Intel side?) but it runs! At like 720p. But when I look with the trackpad, I randomly shoot because the stupid game doesn’t know how to use a trackpad right. And you shouldn’t use a trackpad for a shooter. But for something that’s 2D or 2.5D or isometric or whatever? Probably the best thing you can use.
