The
second
announcement of Valve's
promised three
announcements is live, following
news of
plans for SteamOS with details on Steam Machines, a "powerful new category of
living-room hardware" they say is "on the horizon." Join the hardware beta now.
Choose the model right for you in 2014. They describe plans for a variety of
such machines coming from several partners to account for differing needs, and
outline a Valve Prototype, saying they are shipping 300 of these free to Steam
users to test. They outline how to qualify as a tester and also have a FAQ
covering the topic. The FAQ indicates that some games will use "in-home
streaming," saying Steam Machines can play: "The nearly 3,000 games on Steam.
Hundreds already running natively on the SteamOS, with more to come. The rest
will work seamlessly via in-home streaming." Here's word on testing:
While these products are still in development, we need your help. As
always, we believe the best way to ensure that the right products are getting
made is to let people try them out and then make changes as we go. We have
designed a high-performance prototype that’s optimized for gaming, for the
living room, and for Steam. Of course, it’s also completely upgradable and open.
This year we’re shipping just 300 of these boxes to Steam users, free of charge,
for testing. You can make yourself eligible to get one. How? Read on!