Valve introduces Steam Machine, Steam Controller and Steam Frame

Philipp Rüegg

13.11.2025

Translation: machine translated

The Steam Machines are console-like mini PCs. There is also a new, innovative controller and a new VR headset.

Valve is making its second attempt to conquer the living room. Over ten years ago, the company behind the Steam gaming platform presented the Steam Machines of the same name. Compact PCs that were supposed to work like consoles, but with the flexibility and game selection of PCs. The Steam Machines flopped despite well-known partners such as Alienware.

PC for the living room

Valve was obviously not discouraged by this. On Wednesday evening the company unveiled three new products. First and foremost the Steam Machine. This is a small box that resembles an Xbox Series X but is half the size. Like the Steam Deck, it runs the Linux-based SteamOS. Valve's operating system is ideally suited for operation with a controller and also for a television.

The Steam Machine should be able to display games in 4K with ray tracing and activated FSR at 60 frames per second. The experts at Digital Foundry estimate the performance to be between an Xbox Series S and a PS5, or as Valve puts it: six times as fast as a Steam Deck. This is made possible by a CPU and GPU combination developed with AMD. The RAM can be upgraded, just like the storage. One interesting feature is that you can insert the Steam Deck's microSD card into the Steam Machine, giving you direct access to the games installed on it.

Here are the most important specs:

• CPU: AMD Zen 4 6C/12T, up to 4.8GHz, 30W TDP
• GPU: AMD RDNA 3 28CUs, 2.45GHz, 110W TDP, 8GB GDDR6
• Storage: 512 GB or 2 TB, 2230/2280 NVMe SSDs, microSD card slot
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 SODIMM

The interchangeable front covers provide a little individuality. The device also has an LED bar that provides information about the system status and download progress, but can also be customised with your own animations.

The Steam Machine has several advantages over a Windows PC. Like the Steam Deck, the device wakes up from standby at the touch of a button and is immediately ready for use. Game downloads and updates are downloaded in the background so that there are no waiting times.

Because the Steam Machine is still a PC despite its console design, you can install any Linux desktop programmes on it or connect a mouse and keyboard. Alternatively, you can install Windows via dual boot.

The Steam Machine is available individually or in a bundle with the new Steam Controller. The price was not disclosed. It is due to be released at the beginning of 2026 in all countries where the Steam Deck is available. This includes Germany, but not Switzerland.

A controller like a compressed Steam Deck

Valve's controller is also getting a successor. The first version had no analogue sticks, but instead two trackpads that looked like owl eyes. They are still there, but now in a square shape. And they have been moved to the lower edge of the controller to make room for two analogue sticks above them. This should make it possible to play all Steam games. Even those that require mouse control.

The sticks are magnetic analogue sticks with TMR technology. This promises greater sensitivity and a longer service life. Vibration and gyro control are also on board.

The Steam Controller Puck also looks practical. This connects the controller directly to the Steam Machine via a dedicated Wi-Fi 6 connection. It also serves as a charging station. Alternatively, you can connect the controller via Bluetooth or USB-C.

VR headset for all Steam games

The third new product in the group is the Steam Frame. A standalone VR headset comparable to the Meta Quest 3, the predecessor model Valve Index still has to be connected to a PC via cable. Visually, the Steam Frame is reminiscent of the ski goggle design of the Apple Vision Pro.

The headset is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 ARM64 and 16 GB RAM. As with the Steam Machine, the headset runs SteamOS, which for the first time does not come in an x86 version. Nevertheless, all games from the Steam library should be playable - VR and non-VR. You can then simply play the latter flat like on a giant TV. If you don't want to download the games manually, you can use the microSD card of another Steam device, just like with the Steam Machine. Then you have immediate access to all the games installed on it. Otherwise, you have 256 GB or 1 TB of internal memory at your disposal.

To ensure that the Steam Frame can also cope with demanding titles despite the ARM chip, the headset is capable of «Foveated Streaming». Thanks to this technology, only the area of a game that is in the field of view is calculated in full detail. This saves bandwidth when games are streamed from the PC. «Foveated streaming» works for the entire Steam library.

The headset can also be connected to the PC via the supplied 6 GHz wireless adapter (the headset also supports Wifi 7). Content is then streamed in the conventional way, directly from the PC, without going through the Wi-Fi network. You then benefit from better graphics because the PC does the computing work.

The Steam Frame contains LCD pancake lenses with a resolution of 2160 × 2160 pixels per eye. The refresh rate is up to 144 Hz. The field of view is up to 110 degrees wide.

The included controllers are typical VR controllers, as established by Meta Quest. However, they have more buttons so that all Steam games can be played. Magnetic analogue sticks are also used here.

A price is also not known for the Steam Frame. It will also be delivered at the beginning of 2026, but we do not yet know when or whether we will have the devices in our range.

A new Steam Deck is still a little way off. Valve is waiting until a significant leap in performance and better battery performance are possible

In the latest podcast episode, we talk in detail about the new Steam hardware.

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles. more

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