Valve spent a long time trying to create something to get us hooked on Steam. It managed to do so in 2022 with a console that it presented months earlier and that turned out to be a miniature PC, but the work had already been going on for some time. They had launched a Steam Machine that didn't amount to much, a SteamOS that didn't seem to go beyond an anecdote and a controller that some people did like. But all of that only seems to be the drafts of what the Steam Deck is today. However, there are many rumors that make us think that they could be preparing something more.
Although to avoid the bombardment about video games in a blog about Linux we did not echo it, recently they have leaked el Steam Controller 2 and another controller, in two pieces, which would initially be used with VR glasses. The Steam Controller 2 is like the Steam Deck without a screen, with the D-pad, ABXY buttons, analog sticks, and then the option buttons and the STEAM and the three slightly displaced dots, in addition to the triggers. A detail that is nothing more than a curiosity. The important thing is that these controllers were leaked shortly before the Logos for third-party hardware.
What would the Steam Machine be like?
As they comment in GamingOnLinux, what would be the point of releasing a new version of the Steam Controller if it was for the Steam deck? Not much. The hardware already has its own controller, and if we connect it to a monitor, there are no shortage of options and we can use the controllers from any console such as Xbox or PlayStation. It makes more sense if we consider that, although it can also be purchased as an accessory, the Steam Controller 2 would be the controller that would be included in that hypothetical future Steam Machine.
As if that wasn't enough, a change has been discovered in the Linux kernel used by Steam Deck/SteamOS, which in turn mentions a change for HDMI CEC for Fremont, with code referencing AMD Lilac. Lilac on Geekbench is a mix of different AMD chips like the Ryzen 8540U and Ryzen 7735HS. This is all information about hardware that has nothing to do with the Deck.
As for what it would look like, well, first its release would have to be confirmed. And if it does go on sale, we only have to look at the Steam Deck to imagine a Steam Machine that would be a tower. Gaming at almost cost price, with SteamOS installed by default and everything designed to get us hooked and end up buying something on Steam. Although…
Steam Deck + Dock with graphics card
Since the Steam Machine is just a rumor right now and there is no information about what it would look like, There is not much more to do than speculate.. There is a YouTuber, Rafa from HandleDeck and World D, who talked about something interesting a while ago. The content creator imagined a future in which Valve would bet on a more powerful Steam Deck, the opposite would not make sense if we take into account that we are talking about something that is yet to come, but that Steam Machine would be achieved by connecting the Deck to a Dock compatible with a graphics card.
That is, what Rafa imagined was an updated Steam Deck that would become a more powerful tower by taking advantage of a graphics card that would be mounted in the official Dock. Does this make sense? I don't know, but it is interesting. And even more so if we take into account that Microsoft is also thinking of launching a portable, Sony has plans to release a kind of PSP with the power of PS5 and that the future seems to want to give more prominence to handheld PCs.
Whether it ends up being a Steam Deck with the ability to be hormonal or a tower, it seems clear that Valve is interested in continuing a project that is bringing them many benefits.
In just under 12 years it will be 10 years since the launch of the first Steam Machine, and it would be a good time to present a new, more mature option that takes advantage of what we have learned in recent years.
UPDATED: Just when we published this article, it has been confirmed via Reddit Valve is reportedly working on a “Steam Box” (codename: Fremont) with full-size HDMI, along with the new Steam Controller (Ibex), and Steam Link for streaming to the Deck and Deckard, likely on the 10th anniversary of the Steam Machine announcement next year.