We’ve been hearing news about Valve’s attempt to bring PC gaming into the living room every few months for a while now, but it looks like the company is finally ready to launch the Steam Machines its been talking about for years. After numerous delays and Valve’s trademark refusal to communicate to consumers, the company has announced that Steam Machines will be hitting stores this November, as well as the Steam Controller and Steam Link.
The first wave of Steam Machines, console-like computers designed to run Valve’s Steam software and its thousands of PC games, will be in some pre-order customers’ hands on Oct. 16 and in stores on Nov. 10, Valve announced today. The Steam Controller and Steam Link will also hit on Nov. 10. Alienware and CyberPower will be the first two computer designers to release their take on the machine under this program. Other Steam Machine manufacturers are expected to release plans for pre-ordering their systems in the coming weeks. All Steam Machines will run SteamOS, a Linux variant with Steam’s big picture mode of interface. While Steam Machines will be limited to games with Linux compatibility, the systems will be able to play any game purchased on Steam by streaming it from another local Windows or Mac computer. Meanwhile, Valve is working to add direct Linux support to as many games as possible. At launch, between 1,000 and 1,200 games will be natively supported, according to Dell and Valve officials. The Steam Machines will start at $449, the Steam controller will sell for $49/€54 and the Steam Link, which connects any TV to your PC, Mac or Steam Machine wirelessly, will also sell for $49/€54.
