[UPDATE] 'Steam Machine' Section Removed From Steam Page

steam machine.JPG

The Steam Machines seem to fade away from existence as unceremoniously as they came.

Announced back in 2013, those machines were meant to be akin home consoles but delivering PC-worthy games, using Steam's Big Picture mode to display on TVs all in an ecosystem separate from Windows. Those "PC-console hybrids" would even be powered by Valve’s very own Linux-based operating system, SteamOS! The latter was designed to make it easier for developers to port Windows games to Linux. A much-awaited boon for Linux gamers!

However, as ambitious as they sounded, the Steam Machines never really took steam (pun intended). Several delays (they launched in 2016), ludicrous prices and a lack of flagship SteamOS games made for an easy lackluster recipe. You'd be totally forgiven if you forgot about the existence of those machines! And it seems like Valve has taken a hint and might slowly take steps to phase out the Steam Machines.

As spotted by a user over on GamingOnLinux, the whole 'Steam Machine' section under the 'Hardware' tab has been taken down. While the machines are still listed (for now) and can be found by a simple search, the dedicated section has been quietly taken down. Users can no longer check for different hardware configurations or prices like before.

bye steam machines.png

What do you think? Will Valve phase out Steam Machines or is the company preparing for a Rise of the Steam Machines announcement? Will you miss them if they are phased out or are you looking forward to new machines? Share your thoughts below!

[UPDATE]

Following the reports of the quiet demise of the 'Steam Machine' section from the 'Hardware' tab on Steam, Valve has issued a response in an update post. In it, Valve employee Pierre-Loup Griffais maintains that "that section of the Steam Store is still available, but was removed from the main navigation bar based on user traffic" and that "Steam Machines aren't exactly flying off the shelves".

The post also mentions that Valve is "still working hard on making Linux operating systems a great place for gaming and applications" and that the company has "other Linux initiatives in the pipe that we're not quite ready to talk about yet; SteamOS will continue to be our medium to deliver these improvements to our customers, and we think they will ultimately benefit the Linux ecosystem at large".

You can read more about Valve's response right here.
 
Last edited by Prans,

KingVamp

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As people are saying, I don't think the idea was bad, just a complete lack of focus on the concept. I'm sure some people would have like to update the console they have, rather than buy a whole new console. (i.e. PS4 vs PS4 Pro)
 
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orangy57

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There was never really a point to it. Linux runs games slower than on Windows, SteamOS was often buggy and didn't set up properly, and Steam machines are basically just prebuilts with the Steam name slapped onto them.
 
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TotalInsanity4

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There was never really a point to it. Linux runs games slower than on Windows, SteamOS was often buggy and didn't set up properly, and Steam machines are basically just prebuilts with the Steam name slapped onto them.
While that may have been true in the Steam Machines'... er... prime?..., supposedly games using the Vulkan API actually run marginally better on Linux now
 

xdarkx

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Forgot there was such a thing call Steam Machine. Now that I look this up a bit more, it was more like I didn't give a damn when I first saw the price tag.
 

netovsk

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As weak as the pc wannabe consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox are, they're a steal for their price, specially with pc hardware prices going boom . They went as low as $200 with 2 controllers last holidays, thats $100 for the hardware itself including the hdd. Which PC can you build for $100? lol

The steam boxes that many tried to make appear "the end of consoles", though, turned out to be an expensive grain of sand in the desert. I love playing PC games with a controller, on my couch, and would never buy one of these.
 

CathyRina

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The whole concept was just flawed from the get go.
With consoles you have only one box (or multiple iterations of the same box) that has set specs and every game you buy for the Box will run on that box. So that aspect of a Console was ruined once Valve started shitting out multiple Steam machines all with different specs and different prices which is no different than buying a pre build PC which is more expensive than just building one yourself. It's a shame because I was really looking forward to it.
What valve should've done is just one box with maybe upgradeable parts (like GPU)? and then 6~8 Years later release a second box that is more up to date. Not like 30 at once.

At least we got the Steam Controller out of this. I love that controller.
 
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Taleweaver

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I don't know how I really feel about this. I kind of worry this *might* (but not at all) put off developers porting games to GNU/Linux but at the same time Steam has no games.
It really depends on the engine. Unity and gamemaker-based programs are but a click away to compile the code for linux. Larger studios have their own engine that's all tweaked for windows (meaning: makes full support of directx). Porting a game takes much longer, and I guess it doubles test times (of games with a larger scope than indie titles) as well. That's why small games are far more often found on linux.

I'm not sure what your last remark is meant to be...I guess it's an error, because you must be the very first person in about ten years saying that steam has no games. :unsure:


Note: strictly speaking, it's not true of linux steam games either. that list is well comparable to the amount of games for real consoles. It just appears small because it has no exclusives and a lot of known AAA-titles run only on windows.
(for comparison: steam currently has 2696 linux games...a number larger than any traditional console thus far).
 
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Alex4nder001

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I was hoping someone would hack steamOS to get free games

The problem with hacking consoles is that eventually the games stop being updated or new releases are unavailable on older consoles but with a PC the games are always released and updated

But I guess it’s impossible anyways cuz of the way linux is built
 

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The problem with the steam machines can be summarized in the following points:
  • They ran Linux. - As much as I am a fan of Linux, the majority of AAA games nowadays are still being released for Windows only. Indies are better in this regard, but I'll admit that my sheer love for the indie scene is a bit of an acquired taste.
  • Requiring stupidly high specs. I can't dig up the exact trickery on the exact specs, but they required every Steam machine to have at least 1TB of space allocated to it and a powerful GPU and CPU. For a regular computer this is fine, for what essentially is a souped up console except for Steam games, it's overkill.
  • SteamOS in general was just a plain mess, effectively being a neutered debian with everything you would find on a normal OS removed. Seriously, if you want to experience SteamOS, install debian and use a lightDM session file to start steam in big picture mode. I can guarantee you it's exactly the same experience and it's even better since it still works as a normal device.
I was hoping someone would hack steamOS to get free games
With all the frankest politeness, have you hit your head. It's a Linux operating system. It's not some bloody custom designed OS made by Valve like Horizion or the PS firmware.

What you're effectively saying is that you want someone to hack Steam.
 
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Taleweaver

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I was hoping someone would hack steamOS to get free games
Erm...it's an operating system. Steam starts automatically, but you can just quit it and fiddle around with it. I'm not sure what your definition of hacking is, but you're setting it as low as "download a torrent client, torrent some warez and install them"...then yeah: I can "hack" steamOS to get free games. And so can you.
 

Tom Bombadildo

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I remember that there were some delays on Valve's side (I think?) and that an initial wave of "Steam machines" shipped out with Windows (like the Alienware Alpha, dunno other examples). For the later, actual wave of Steam machines, what OS was primary, then? Because I only know of SteamOS being installed, or Windows on the earlier-wave machines. You could install new OSes on Steam machines as they weren't locked, but as far as I know, they had SteamOS open by default.
All Alienware Steam Machines offer Windows as stock unless you choose otherwise, and the other Steam Machines that used to be on offer the past few years always had Windows as stock unless customized. Unfortunately, it's hard to find much info any longer because nobody sells them anymore :lol: Looks like Alienware and Syber are the only two retailers who actually still have some kind of "Steam" brand PC, with Alienware still offering Windows and it looks like Syber does actually offer SteamOS.

The problem with the steam machines can be summarized in the following points:
  • Requiring stupidly high specs. I can't dig up the exact trickery on the exact specs, but they required every Steam machine to have at least 1TB of space allocated to it and a powerful GPU and CPU. For a regular computer this is fine, for what essentially is a souped up console except for Steam games, it's overkill.

Not entirely sure where you got this idea, because most of the Steam machines "base" offerings were garbage tier specs. Alienware's "base" is a dual core 6th gen i3, 4GB of RAM, a GTX 960, and 500GB HDD. Not exactly what I would call "powerful specs".

Their prototypes might've had big fancy specs (I remember one of them had a Titan in it :lol:), but that wasn't the requirements to actually be a Steam Machine. AFAIK there weren't any official requirements, beyond perhaps having to put a Valve logo on your case or something along those lines.
 

V0ltr0n

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The idea that the company that dominates the pc market would be coming out with a "console" that would essentially play pc games without having to pour a couple grand into the setup was great. I was highly sceptical, but if anyone could do it, it's the company that arguably has a monopoly as "THE" pc game marketplace.
Welp, they failed. Not much more to say other than...what happened to that epic atari system that was coming out?
 

TotalInsanity4

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Not much more to say other than...what happened to that epic atari system that was coming out?
Still on track for release later this year, supposedly, though there's no hard date. Although, if there's anything that could possibly pull of the "low end console-like PC" shtick in today's market, it's probably going to be that, followed by that concept "DreamCast 2"
 

GorrillaRIBS

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Every now and again we get some nice Linux ports, like DOOM or the recent XCOM games, but every other game that gets ported to Linux is just indie garbage nobody cares about.

Wait DOOM got a linux port? Or are you just refereing to how well it runs in wine because of Vulkan? And all the indie games on linux aren't trash (Axiom Verge, Hyper Light Drifter) but yeah there is a lot. There are some companies like Feral trying to bring windows games over though, and with Vulkan their recent ports have been top notch, so there is hope we'll see more linux releases if Vulkan really takes hold.
 

pedro702

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if they wanted to make it they needed to have standards, like x specs needed for low model,y for medium and a for high, so all games would run on the desired setings on each machine, but nope they just licensed the logo to companys and they branded random computers as a steam machine lol, no to mention steam itself barely has any games, every game in there is also on windows so using any normal windows pc in the world connected to your tv would be the same...

no to mention the worst and crapiest one was 450$... every other one was like 700+ ... you cant compete with consoles with those price tags.
 
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Tom Bombadildo

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Wait DOOM got a linux port? Or are you just refereing to how well it runs in wine because of Vulkan? And all the indie games on linux aren't trash (Axiom Verge, Hyper Light Drifter) but yeah there is a lot. There are some companies like Feral trying to bring windows games over though, and with Vulkan their recent ports have been top notch, so there is hope we'll see more linux releases if Vulkan really takes hold.
See the posts after that, I did indeed forget DOOM didn't see an actual Linux port, it's just got very good WINE support.

As to Feral, they do some good work porting games over to Linux, but unfortunately it's still "not enough" to really push Linux gaming into a viable platform. They've only ported around 20ish games since they started Linux ports 5 or 6 years ago, which is a good amount to be fair, but what we really need are the original developers themselves pushing Vulkan and Linux support during the original development cycle. Which is, unfortunately, something that doesn't seem too likely these days.
 

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