Valve Says Steam Machine Isn't a Console—but It Is

It's acceptable to connection 2 interior retention capacities, with 512GB oregon 2TB SSDs, with retention further expandable via microSD. Valve seems to beryllium approaching the outer retention format arsenic a glorified crippled cartridge, arsenic players volition beryllium capable to determination a azygous paper betwixt Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Deck. That besides indicates that existent gen SDXC format cards volition beryllium usable, alternatively than requiring the newer, faster microSD Express format that the Switch 2 does to tally games.

It besides features 16GB DDR5 RAM, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, a big of input/output options—DisplayPort 1.4. HDMI 2.0. One USB-C and 4 USB-A ports—and crams adjacent its powerfulness proviso into “a astir 6-inch cube.” That's astir the size of Nintendo's classical GameCube, oregon fractional an Xbox Series X. It's cute! If you privation to marque it cuter, you tin swap retired the beforehand look sheet (not dissimilar the scope of cosmetic PS5 shells, hmm …).

That's each a acold outcry from the archetypal Steam Machines, which stood retired by not having a circumstantial signifier factor. The Valve of 2015 alternatively acceptable a minimum spec that immoderate shaper could conscionable to statement a instrumentality arsenic a Steam Machine, a grade of disorder that nary uncertainty wounded its wider adoption. The caller procreation is 100 percent a Valve product.

About the lone commonality is that some generations person been designed astir utilizing SteamOS to navigate your crippled room (it's acceptable to tally KDE Plasma for its desktop environment). Valve adds that it is expanding its "Deck Verified" program, which certifies games arsenic being compatible with the handheld Steam Deck, "to see ratings for Steam Machine, truthful customers tin recognize however their games volition run."

So. A gaming PC that seems to connection lone minimal hardware customization options, successful a fixed signifier factor, produced by 1 manufacturer, with games designed to tally connected it. You cognize what that looks a batch like? A console. And that should beryllium celebrated.

Convenience Wins

It's casual to recognize wherefore Valve whitethorn not privation to clasp the "console" statement for Steam Machine. As arguably the biggest driving unit successful PC gaming, it'd practically beryllium tearing up its ain thoroughfare cred to bash so.

However, consoles stay fashionable precisely due to the fact that of their comparative limits—for galore players, being capable to plug a container into their TV and bask games connected a sofa is conscionable a nicer mode to play. It's much sociable, too, particularly for section co-op games. Even hooking my gaming laptop up to a TV to play PC games with friends is much of a faff than turning connected a console. Plus, fixed the bonzer measurement of games released connected Steam—more than 18,500 successful 2024—why wouldn't you privation to marque them much comfy and accessible?