Valve Reveals New Steam Hardware For 2026, Microsoft Gaming Boss Applauds The News

Phil Spencer applauds the news, calls Valve’s move a win for open, cross-platform gaming.

GabeCube

Expectations were high this week for news on Half-Life 3 after rumours began circulating that Valve were set to make a big announcement. However, rather than a new game, the company revealed last night (Nov. 12) that it’s expanding the Steam hardware family.

The reveal consisted of a Steam Controller, Steam Frame (a VR headset) and perhaps most intriguing of all, the Steam Machine (already dubbed the “GabeCube” by gamers on social media). People are understandably impressed with the overall reveal, including Phil Spencer, the CEO of Gaming at Microsoft.

“Gaming moves forward when players and developers have more ways to play and create, especially across open platforms,” he posted on X shortly after Valve made the announcement.

“Expanding access across PC, console, and handheld devices reflects a future built on choice, core values that have guided Xbox’s vision from the start. As one of the largest publishers on Steam, we welcome new options for players to access games everywhere. Congrats on today’s announcement.”

Steam Machine

Valve reported that, in 2023, it had already sold “millions” of Steam Decks, but were playing coy with actual numbers. However, market information from the IDC (International Data Corporation) this year reported that Valve likely sold over 4 million units by February. While the Steam Deck may have been winning the handheld gaming war, Valve never targeted actual PC gaming, until now.

“With over six times the horsepower of the Steam Deck, Steam Machine has the power to play your whole Steam library, including your favorite AAA titles,” Valve said on the official product site.

The Steam Machine is nice and compact at six inches in size.

The Steam Machine packs a lot of power into its little body, and like other mini PCs it also allows for a degree of customization. It comes with SteamOS, but Valve notes that users can easily swap this out for their preferred OS and apps. An LED strip on the front that helps show, for example, if something’s downloading even when the console’s powered down, can itself be turned off or have its color changed.

As for the Machine’s guts, it’s filled with a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T CPU, semi-custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs GPU, and 16GB DDR5 + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM. There are two models, one with 512GB NVMe SSD and the other with 2TB NVMe SSD; both include a high-speed microSD card slot.

It has two display ports: one for up to 4K @ 240Hz or 8K@60Hz, and the other a HDMI 2.0 for up to 4K @ 120Hz. Both ports support HDR and FreeSync. It also has two USB3 inputs, two USB2, and one USB-C. And of course it supports wifi, Bluetooth, and wireless controllers.

Steam Controller And Frame

Valve also revealed a new Steam Controller, which may technically be the company’s second swing at it since it involves a complete redesign after the original version failed (it launched in 2015 but ceased production in 2019 after poor sales and player feedback).

It’s arguably better designed than the original but still a bit of a chonker.

It includes high-tech things gamers expect, like magnetic thumbsticks using TMR technology and mappable triggers, but also adds two trackpads (placed lower than on the original) and Grip Sense, a trigger-enabled gyro feature for motion control. It’s charged by a Puck that also connects it to another Steam device, although players who prefer Bluetooth or USB connections can also use those.

And then there’s the Frame. Valve already has the Index VR kit, which has been available since 2019 but recently ceased production so the company can focus on the Steam Frame. It’s billed as a “streaming first” experience with dual radios: “One radio is dedicated to streaming the audio and visuals, and the other connects to your Wi-Fi. Two dedicated links, no competition for bandwidth.”

Valve is also making it clear that the Frame is actually comfy to wear for extended periods of time.

The Frame incorporates Foveated Streaming, a new feature designed to enhance by 10x the detail wherever a player’s looking. The included handheld controllers use the same magnetic tech as the Steam Controller and can be used for non-VR games, although they can’t be joined together so the handling might feel a little weird.

Perhaps most interesting of all is the reveal that the Frame is self-contained: “Steam Frame is a PC, and runs SteamOS powered by a Snapdragon 8 Series Processor,” Valve said. “With 16GB of RAM, Steam Frame supports stand-alone play on a growing number of both VR and non-VR games without needing to stream from your PC.”

Exciting news for PC VR game devs, too: Valve is opening up a Steam Frame Developer Kit program, with these being sent out in limited numbers to start with. Anyone interested in getting hold of one needs to request it through the partner dashboard.

At the moment, everything’s coming out in 2026, although Valve hasn’t set specific release dates yet, and has noted that device specs may change before release.

Got your eye on any of these? Contact Wayne via or