We don’t know yet what kind of gaming consoles the chefs at Valve are cooking up, but the makers of these consoles Steam surface It doesn’t seem like they only serve mobile devices. Eagle-eyed Reddit users have discovered what may be a device that can revive old ideas from the world Steam box, Steam machineand Steam linkbut in a way that can compete with streaming TV devices or perhaps consoles next to the TV.
Valve has a free-form work environment, meaning that projects are picked up and dropped based on the whims of its relatively young employees. In it Half life 2 20th anniversary Self-documentary Released last month, the company actually said its developers left Half-Life 2: Episode 3 on the drawing room table since so few were interested in making it. This means that any upcoming devices, especially those that have been rumored for a long time, may just be ruminations from a volatile company. Or, thanks to the popularity of the Steam Deck, this could be the first sign of Valve’s upcoming hardware renaissance.
Valve’s “Fremont” could be a streaming TV or console
Beyond speculation and data mining, there is no official information and little specific information. As one Reddit user In the proposed r/SteamDeck subreddit, the codename “Fremont” is used as a symbol HDMI CEC It has hardware “similar to Google ChromeOS hardware”. ChromeOS and SteamOS are Linux-based operating systems, but the code indicates there may be a streaming device that needs to connect to an external source like a monitor or TV.
All information stems from changes made to the latest SteamOS kernel release in Steam Deck. The poster added some speculation that the device is a streaming device, console, or Decoder. Google already has its own streaming devices, e.g Chromecast and Google TV Streamt, but ChromeOS console The profile linked by the Redditor is part of Google open source ChromeOS EC icon.
So, it could be a streaming device that you can connect to your TV, like the Nvidia Shield, that supports streaming games and movies. Furthermore, the SteamOS code referenced AMD Lilac, which the Redditor took to mean that the device could run on an AMD 8540U chipset. However, Valve and VR information is haunting Brad Lynch He pointed out AMD Lilac can simply refer to a chip maker’s developer platform and can refer to an entire lineup of chips across multiple generations.
We don’t know how powerful it is, but if we look at it as a whole, it could be just as powerful as the Steam Deck, if not more so. If Valve uses the same “Deck Verified” standards for a TV-based device, it could be a relatively cheap gaming console used to play your existing Steam game roster.
Valve may try to compete alongside or against the Meta with the Steam wireless headset
For years, rumors have circulated that Valve wants to follow up on the Index headset with a wireless headset. company last year It has updated its SteamVR platform To make it much easier to manage, but there has been no sign from the Bellevue, Washington company about any new VR hardware. The last thing we’ve seen regarding VR headsets is a patent for the “Deckard” module. Early rumors indicated as much It will require a specific SteamVR box to run without a PC.
Lynch has posted some unconfirmed and supposedly leaked renders of Deckard’s consoles, codenamed “Roy.” It’s clearly still in development, and different versions feature hand rings or flat-faced, mission-like controllers. Additionally, it may have more buttons than a standard VR controller, with an additional control pad.
The evolution of Valve Deckard’s Roy controllers from prototype to mass production kit (EV1 at least) pic.twitter.com/66VLcu5GuG
– Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) November 26, 2024
But when Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S are around, is anyone going to pay more for a machine that can’t run games anywhere natively? Meta has worked with Valve to power its Steam Link app for all Quest users, so perhaps Valve is heading in the same direction with Translation layer Intended for putting VR games on ARM-based platforms, such as Quest.
If Valve has the hardware (and that’s a big “if”), the software will be left behind. Valve’s Proton Compatibility Layer ports games from Windows to Linux through its Proton Compatibility Layer. However, if so Expands Proton to ARM64Not only could this be a great time for all the Snapdragon
Valve’s new Steam console makes no reference to Steam Deck 2
There are hints that we might finally see a Steam Controller 2. The last Steam Controller was lightweight, but players couldn’t get used to the bulky trackpads instead of the usual joystick. Touchpads eventually made it to the Steam Deck, where they were largely ignored by gamers.
But Valve’s rumored “Ibex” concept could be a whole new ballgame for a Steam controller that might work well with a new VR headset or set-top box. Lynch claimed, based on unidentified sources, that Ibex was already preparing for production. If it were separate from the Roy controllers, it would still be one of the most unique controller designs since the Wii-mote. Steam isn’t done trying to put trackpads on consoles, thinking that all those games with mouse controls might eventually also work on a handheld device.
Ibex model thumbnail leaked in SteamVR drivers pic.twitter.com/amw3SFExF5
– Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) November 26, 2024
The Steam Deck design language was well established at this point. Almost all OEMs are working on this Its laptop, so you shouldn’t expect a Steam Deck 2. Valve told Gizmodo that it won’t be rolling out a new, updated laptop for another Two or three years. The company issued Same hardware with new color swatchesBut she repeated this position It wanted a “generational leap” before producing another portable device.