By Nelson Schneider - 11/16/25 at 02:25 PM CT
For decades now, Gamers have believed that Valve, the once-small-time developer and publisher of the ‘Half-Life’ and ‘Portal’ IPs was incapable of counting to three, since none of their games have ever gotten a third, officially-numbered sequel. Well, this week, Valve, the no-longer-small-time owner of Steam, the non-monopolistic, yet still biggest storefront in all of PC gaming, just announced THREE new hardware devices that they will be bringing to market in the first quarter of 2026 (provided no doo-doo comes into contact with any turbines regarding global trade and supply chains).
And I’m going to buy ALL OF THEM!
The world’s most charismatic nerd, Linus of the LinusTechTips Youtube channel, got a special invite to a Valve preview session with these devices, and based on what he showed off, they all look quite amazing.
First up is the Steam Frame, the long-awaited sequel to the Valve Index VR platform. Far from being a mere Index 2.0 as was speculated, the device formerly known by the code-name “Deckard” takes what Valve has learned about hardware from their experiments with the Steam Deck and migrated all of that to a stand-alone wireless VR headset that runs the same SteamOS as the Deck, plus a couple of new open-source tricks that Valve has been supporting in the background. Not only does the Steam Frame run VR games, but it also features the ability to run any non-VR game on a massive virtual screen using the beautifully-refined VR motion controllers (code-named “Roy”). My only hang-up here is that I REALLY want to use the Roy controllers without having to use the headset at the same time. I spent $4K on a real-life massive screen, and I want to use it, thank you very much!
Next up is the second iteration of Steam Machines. While many vocal PC Gaming Master Racists online have been decrying the mid-range specs of the new Machine, dubbing it “dead on arrival” or “instant e-waste,” according to interviews with the Valve employees in charge of the project, the Machine 2.0 was designed specifically to meet or exceed 70% of Steam users’ current hardware, based on the Steam Hardware Survey. We still don’t know the price of it either, but ultimately, the Steam Machine is attempting, once again, to lure out the last handful of console-only die-hards who think PC gaming is still the way it was in the ‘80s and ‘90s: “Complicated,” “difficult,” “expensive,” and “requires you to know stuff about computers.” With its small form factor, Gamecube-like appearance, and SteamOS running under the hood to abstract away most of the scary PC stuff to the point where it “just works,” the new Machine is the perfect emissary to run diplomatic mission into a community that thinks running Windows Update is rocket surgery while waiting for an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo to authenticate its DRM online and update is somehow so much easier. While I AM a PC Master Racist and already own a dedicated gaming rig that beats the Steam Machine in every category, I still wouldn’t mind having one of these as a replacement for my aging and deprecated Android box under the living room TV that used to be a ChannelMaster DVR before Google discontinued all of the software that made it work. That Android box has been nothing but a dumb terminal for SmartTube and KODI for several years now (Plex doesn’t run well on it, nor does the head-end viewing app for the Tablo DVR that replaced it), and it crashes often enough that replacing it with a newer, better, Linux-based box that would ALSO allow me to do some secondary gaming without going down to the home theatre is an appealing thought.
Finally, the third device Valve showed off is the second edition of the Steam Controller, confusingly called “Steam Controller,” instead of “Steam Controller 2” or something else cute and memorable. Either way, with its dual analog sticks, real d-pad, and better dual trackpad placement, the new Steam Controller looks like it fixes all the problems in the decade-old original design, while adding a new problem of its own: A rechargeable battery instead of slots for normal batteries. Still, I loved the OG Steam Controller for specific genres – like Grid-Based Dungeon Crawlers with heavy mouse-based interfaces – and am looking forward to getting my hands on the revised version.
What’s even more incredible is that, even though I couldn’t care less about the Switch 2 and Nintendo’s continuing descent into evil, or the ROG X and Xbox’s attempts to bring their subscription BS to PC gaming, or Sony’s ongoing attempts to wring a profit out of their Cinematic Budget-Busters with remaster after re-remaster after re-re-re-master, I’m super excited about everything Valve showed off. And, no, it’s not because I’m super-biased toward PC gaming, it’s because Valve didn’t show off anything with caveats or anti-consumer trickery attached to it. They aren’t trying to force subscriptions down everyone’s throats. They aren’t trying to re-sell a slightly prettier version of the same game on new hardware – they let you play your existing library in its entirety ANYWHERE. And they aren’t chasing unrealistic profit margins through rapacious and self-destructive policies, because Valve isn’t publicly-traded, and is thus not beholden to shareholders or private equity – only Lord GabeN himself.
So, bring it on, Valve. My wallet is ready to fly open for all of this Steam hardware. I’ve been waiting for a definitive VR experience, updated motion controllers that can replace my Hydra for certain genres, a small/powerful/cute set-top box unhampered by EULA restrictions, and a Steam controller with a real d-pad. Valve is delivering what I want, so I’m buying. Maybe the other Industrial Gaming Phat Cats should pay attention to what Valve is doing: They might just learn something.
