On Monday we told you that Valve would be dishing out its very own operating system called SteamOS, with the promise of being able to run on any “living room machine.” Well now we finally have some sort of idea as to what those mysterious living room machines will be, as Valve shed some light today on the proverbial “Steam Box.” And as it turns out, it looks like we’ll have multiple Steam boxes to look forward to in the New Year.
There will reportedly be several different models of Steam gaming machines to choose from, and if the artwork on the official announcement page is anything to go by, then it looks like you’ll have your choice from a variety of different colored and rectangular-shaped hardware. There’s no word yet on what kinds of specific factors will differentiate the various models of the Steam machine, other than being made by different manufacturers, but Valve promises more information on this very soon (as well as a screenshot of what the actual prototype will look like in person!).
All of the upcoming Steam machine models will be running on the new SteamOS operating system once they’re released to the masses sometime in 2014. However, there’s also a chance that you could be one of the very lucky few who will be chosen to test out a new Steam box as early as this year! Valve will be shipping out a limited run of 300 free Steam boxes before 2013 is over, so players have a chance to test it out and provide Valve with valuable feedback about the new system, as well as SteamOS.
On Monday we told you that Valve would be dishing out its very own operating system called SteamOS, with the promise of being able to run on any “living room machine.” Well now we finally have some sort of idea as to what those mysterious living room machines will be, as Valve shed some light today on the proverbial “Steam Box.” And as it turns out, it looks like we’ll have multiple Steam boxes to look forward to in the New Year.
There will reportedly be several different models of Steam gaming machines to choose from, and if the artwork on the official announcement page is anything to go by, then it looks like you’ll have your choice from a variety of different colored and rectangular-shaped hardware. There’s no word yet on what kinds of specific factors will differentiate the various models of the Steam machine, other than being made by different manufacturers, but Valve promises more information on this very soon (as well as a screenshot of what the actual prototype will look like in person!).
All of the upcoming Steam machine models will be running on the new SteamOS operating system once they’re released to the masses sometime in 2014. However, there’s also a chance that you could be one of the very lucky few who will be chosen to test out a new Steam box as early as this year! Valve will be shipping out a limited run of 300 free Steam boxes before 2013 is over, so players have a chance to test it out and provide Valve with valuable feedback about the new system, as well as SteamOS.
Interested beta testers will have until October 25, 2013 to log in to their Steam quest page and complete a number of actions that will grant them eligibility in the random beta drawing. The requirements for eligibility include joining the Steam Universe community group, agreeing to the Steam Hardware Beta Terms and Conditions, having a total of 10 friends on Steam, creating a Steam Community profile, and playing a game with a gamepad while in Big Picture mode.
For a more in-depth FAQ about the upcoming Steam machines and additional information on how the beta selection process will work, be sure to visit today’s official announcement page on Steam. We’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date on any new information we hear regarding the innovative new gaming machines, as well as the exciting third announcement that’s still coming from Valve later on in the week.
Will there be a Steam machine in your future? Sound off in the replies!
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