Steam unveils hardware lineup: 3 new devices are here!
The future of PC gaming according to Valve
Valve's hardware family is expanding: Steam Deck will soon be joined by three other gaming devices, obviously optimized for Steam and designed to make the PC gaming experience more accessible. All these devices will be launched on the market in the first months of 2026 (prices have not been communicated). Let's take a look at them.
Steam Controller
Looking at the Steam Controller, the first thing that stands out is the presence of two large trackpads on the front, below the usual buttons and joysticks we are used to seeing on most gamepads. However, this device offers many other features, some taken from Steam Deck and others new. Like the two analog sticks, which feature new TMR magnetic technology that should ensure greater precision and durability.
The buttons are fully customizable via Steam Input, which allows you to completely personalize the Steam Controller and adapt it to any game, even those not designed for a gamepad. Motion control has been improved thanks to the new Grip Sense functionality, which allows you to activate the gyroscope through the grip: for example, you can aim simply by tilting the Controller.
Steam Controller is compatible with any device that uses Steam and is completed by Puck: this is a connector that performs two functions, acting as a wireless transmitter and at the same time as a magnetic contact charging base. Steam Controller can be used for a full 35 hours wirelessly, thanks to its 8.39 Wh lithium-ion battery. The controller also works via Bluetooth, or connected via USB-C cable. You can find more information and technical specifications on the official website.
Steam Machine
The new devices are born from Valve's previous experience in hardware: it's no coincidence that the new Steam Machine seems to have little or nothing to do with the failed experiment of the same name from about ten years ago. Characterized by a minimal and elegant design, a black cube of about 16 cm per side, with a customizable LED strip on the front, this machine promises 6 times the power of Steam Deck, which should allow gaming at 4K and 60 fps with FSR active.
Steam Machine achieves these performance thanks to a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6-core processor, with RDNA3 GPU. The RAM will be 16GB DDR5 and the device will also feature 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM. Regarding storage, there will be two models, equipped with NVMe SSD hard drives of 512 GB and 2 TB respectively, both expandable with microSD cards. Like the Controller, Machine also draws on some of Steam Deck's functionalities.
The philosophy is the same as the portable device: Steam Machine is designed to make gaming simple and quiet, but it is still a computer with the SteamOS operating system and can therefore be used as such, installing not only games but also the programs you prefer. Connectivity is guaranteed by Wi-Fi 6E 2x2, plus Bluetooth 5.3 with a dedicated antenna. You can find more information and technical specifications on the official website.
Steam Frame
Among Valve's previous generation hardware, the virtual reality viewer is perhaps the one that achieved the greatest success, thanks in part to a certain Half-Life: Alyx. Valve returns to the VR field with Steam Frame, a device that aims to let us play all titles with the headset, not just those specifically designed for VR. The device has been conceived to be particularly lightweight: the main unit weighs just 185 grams, which rises to 440 with the head strap.
The quality of the experience will be guaranteed by the quality of data transmission: Steam Frame comes with a 6 GHz wireless plug-and-play adapter, to be connected to the computer, and reception uses two radio antennas: one is dedicated to audio and visual transmission, the other connects to Wi-Fi. Regarding video, the big novelty is foveated transmission.
This technology improves pixel quality up to ten times at the point you are looking at (determined by eye tracking). According to Valve, foveated transmission works with all games in its library. Another innovation of Steam Frame is that… it is a real computer, where you can directly install games, which can then be run without the need for a computer to act as an intermediary. You can find more information and technical specifications on the official website.