The first reviews for the highly anticipated Steam Machine have gone live… and the verdict is decidedly mixed.

The SteamOS-powered mini PC is Valve’s latest attempt to deliver a premium, console-like experience for your Steam library. It starts at $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609 for the 512GB model and jumps to $1,428 / £1,208 / AU$2,228 for the 2TB model with a controller. Yes, this is one expensive piece of kit!

We’ll be getting a Steam Machine in soon for review, so for now, let’s take a look at what some prominent tech reviewers have to say about the Steam Machine.

What are reviewers saying about the Steam Machine?

One aspect that’s receiving consistent praise is the Steam Machine’s design. Digital Foundry calls it “beautiful hardware,” and the other outlets agree that the small cube form factor feels premium and fits a living room setup. Valve’s mini PC apparently runs cool and quiet, and the front-facing ports (such as a microSD reader) are well placed for easy access.

“Valve's beautifully tiny console-like PC is finally here," says Digital Foundry. "And from a form factor perspective, it's kind of irresistible. Imagine a taller Nintendo Gamecube, and you have some idea of how tiny this thing is.”

Another thing reviewers like is SteamOS itself, which I’ve praised on the Steam Deck. Digital Foundry says that SteamOS is “fantastic,” and IGN notes that the Steam Machine boots straight into big picture mode while still letting you drop into the Linux desktop mode for other tasks, if needed. Basically, you get the same basic UI experience as on the Steam Deck, which is great.

Things get more complicated when it comes to performance. Linus Tech Tips, in particular, noted some big swings in their benchmarks. For instance, Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran above 120 frames per second at 4K resolution, but Cyberpunk 2077, with ray tracing enabled, hobbled along at 15 fps at 1080p. However, without ray tracing and the frame-boosting FSR enabled, IGN got the latter to run at 42 fps.

Richard Leadbetter, Digital Foundry

Linus Sebastian, Linus Tech Tips

IGN

Comparison-wise, Digital Foundry says the Steam Machine performs between an RX 6600 and RX 7600, which are GPUs that can deftly handle 1080p/1440p high settings. However, the Steam Machine's 8GB of VRAM becomes a limitation for gaming at 4K with ray tracing.

"It is easily the best living room PC our reviewer has ever used, despite being a bit weaker than either of the base consoles," says IGN.

Naturally, the thing all reviews keep coming back to is the Steam Machine’s price. IGN says the cost is “a major factor in who to recommend this to,” while Digital Foundry wonders if the hardware justifies the cost, given the performance level.

“It cost more than we hoped, and Valve confirmed they feel the same way,” said Linus Tech Tips, which is likely why their video is titled: "Even Valve is disappointed." Linus also said, “I was really hoping that this was going to bring PC gaming to the mainstream living room... But this is a premium price, even though I wouldn't say it's a premium product," says Linus Tech Tips.

Many of the comments across all three video reviews say they can build a strong PC for a similar price, and that it’s hard to justify Valve’s platform over a PS5 Pro (currently $899) or a proper desktop.

IGN had the most positive take, saying: “We love a lot about it, had some issues with it, but overall came away from our time with it feeling very positive.” The outlet specifically says it’s great if you have a large Steam library and want something that just works in the living room without any tinkering.

Outlook

Overall, early reviews of the Steam Machine agree that it is a well-designed piece of hardware that delivers on the promise of a convenient SteamOS living room box. Of course, the main sticking point is whether the performance and convenience are enough to justify the lofty asking price.

Again, we’ll have a full review of the Steam Machine for you soon, so stay tuned for that and additional coverage on Valve’s latest gaming machine.

More from Tom's Guide

• I might ditch my gaming PC for the Steam Machine — here's why
• Valve announces Steam Frame VR headset
• Here's how I made Steam Deck even better thanks to this update

Hackers are once again targeting gamers on Steam, but this time, instead of using malware-filled games to do so, they’ve switched to hiding malicious code in desktop wallpapers.

As reported by BleepingComputer, these infected wallpapers can prove quite dangerous for unsuspecting gamers as they can provide an easy way to install a backdoor on one of the best gaming PCs or even to hijack their Steam accounts.

Any image you download online could contain malware. However, the hackers behind this campaign are leveraging an incredibly popular Steam app to do so instead. With 20 to 50 million installs according to SteamSpy, Wallpaper Engine is one of the most downloaded apps on the platform.

What makes Wallpaper Engine so popular, though, is that users can download hundreds of thousands of desktop wallpapers made by other users through Valve’s community hub, Steam Workshop. By abusing this feature, the hackers are easily able to disseminate their infected wallpapers.

Here’s everything you need to know about the latest malware threat on Steam and how you can keep your account — and your gaming PC — safe from hackers.

Malicious application wallpapers

For those unfamiliar, in addition to static wallpapers, Wallpaper Engine also supports four dynamic wallpaper types that can render videos, interactive scenes, webpages with audio and video, and applications. That last one is incredibly important in this campaign.

Unlike a JPEG or PNG file, Wallpaper Engine’s application wallpapers are full-on Windows executables that run like any other program on your PC. According to researchers at the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, not only do they pose a built-in security risk, but they’re also currently being used by hackers to deliver malware to unsuspecting Steam users.

In a blog post, Kaspersky’s researchers explained how they discovered dozens of malicious application wallpapers on Steam Workshop, many of which had been downloaded thousands or even tens of thousands of times. By analyzing the application wallpapers in question, the researchers found that the malware is either bundled directly into their installation packages or hidden inside password-protected archives that users are then tricked into opening. Unfortunately, the damage is done immediately after one of these compromised wallpapers is installed.

After a user installs one such asset posing as a game called NTRaholic, the wallpaper launches as expected. However, in the process, a backdoor file belonging to the DarkKomet malware is also installed in the background. In order to search for and steal Steam credentials, a custom version of a system library called ‘AggregatorHost.dll’ is installed as well.

In addition to DarkKomet, Kaspersky’s researchers also found other malware families installed in these malicious wallpapers, like the Lumma and Vidar infostealers. They were even used to spread ransomware, too.

How to stay safe from malware

Fortunately, after Kaspersky alerted Valve about this campaign, all of the infected wallpapers in question were removed from the Steam Workshop. Still, this is an excellent reminder to always be careful when downloading files online, even if they come from a trusted platform.

In order to stay safe from any malware contained within desktop wallpapers, game mods, or games themselves, you definitely want to make sure your gaming PC is protected with the best antivirus software. If you want to be extra careful, you might also consider investing in one of the best identity theft protection services. That way, if your credentials are compromised as a result of what you download online, you have a safety net to help monitor your data and recover financial losses from fraud.

When in doubt, stick to trusted creators when downloading new wallpapers and be extra cautious before running any executable on your gaming PC. This likely won’t be the last time hackers target Steam in their attacks, but Valve has an excellent track record of quickly responding to and dealing with malicious activity on its platform.

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• Update your Nvidia GPU drivers now to protect your PC from 9 "high-severity" vulnerabilities — here's what's at risk
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Price hikes come for us all and Valve just announced a significant price increase for the Steam Deck, which is finally back in stock.

The 512GB Steam Deck OLED now costs $789, up $240 from $549, while the 1TB variant now costs $949, up $300 from $649. As of this writing, both models are available for purchase from Steam.

The LCD models are completely missing from the product page as they were officially discontinued late last year. Additionally, while refurbished OLED models are on offer for the original prices, the LCD versions are still listed as out of stock.

According to a blog post the new prices "reflect the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry." Valve specifically blamed rising memory and storage costs in the announcement.

Valve is just the latest victim in the ongoing AI-greed festival that is RAMaggedon.

More expensive than a PS5 Pro

Amazingly, this price hike makes the Steam Deck one of the most expensive consoles on the market now. In fact, it's more expensive than Sony's PS5 Pro, which currently starts at $899 after its own price hikes earlier this year.

Even among the best handheld gaming consoles, the Steam Deck may not be the quality value pick anymore.

Here's how the new Steam Deck price compares to other consoles like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Nintendo Switch 2.

We looked at similarly specced handheld consoles here. The Asus ROG Xbox Ally comes in different storage sizes, including a 4TB one. For this comparison, we looked at the 1TB variant.

Honestly, at these prices, it might be better to pick up the Xbox Ally X. It's newer than the four-year-old Steam Deck and the Xbox streamlined Windows OS is a breath of fresh air, plus you can still use Steam.

Not confident about the Steam Machine

Valve has yet to announce a release date or pricing for the Steam Machine, it's living room PC-console hybrid. One of the worries surrounding the console has been about pricing especially since the memory shortage has made life difficult for manufacturers.

If Valve is pushing Steam Deck prices this high, I have concerns that the Machine might be similarly priced or more expensive. Which would defeat the purpose of the device in the first place.

At that point, it would be better to buy a pre-built or source your own parts for a gaming PC. The Steam Machine would be dead in the water.

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The new Steam Controller ($99 / AU$149) is arguably the best peripheral for playing Steam games on PC and on the Steam Deck. While we don’t yet have the Steam Machine this controller was supposed to ship with, having it available right now isn’t a bad compromise. Even without its parent console/PC hybrid, this is a brilliant controller that’s a major improvement over the controversial original that launched 11 years ago.

Don’t let pictures fool you, as the Steam Controller is only slightly bigger than an Xbox controller. Because of that, it feels natural to hold. Except for the large touchpads under the thumbsticks and four back buttons, the controller has the same basic layout you’re familiar with from other game pads.

Since this is a Steam device, pairing it with any machine running SteamOS or the Steam App is seamless. It’s also fun, as you can charge and pair the controller to your PC or handheld via an included puck. Though the puck makes charging and pairing simple, you can always connect via a USB cable or Bluetooth connection.

Though it’s pricier than a standard controller and isn’t compatible with gaming consoles, there’s no denying that Valve knocked it out of the park with the Steam Controller. As a dedicated Steam user, I might dabble with other controllers, but this will be my go-to from now on. Find out more in my full review.

Steam Controller review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? It’s an update of the original Steam Controller, with a more ergonomic and practical design.
• Who is it for? This controller is for dedicated Steam users who want a controller that works seamlessly with Valve’s ecosystem.
• What does it cost? The Steam Controller costs $99 / AU$149 and is available only on the Steam Store.
• What do we like? We like the comfortable design, easy pairing with SteamOS, smooth performance, and high customization.
• What don’t we like? We don’t like that it doesn’t support other PC launchers or consoles.

Steam Controller review: Specs

Steam Controller review: The ups

The Steam Controller is the perfect controller for Steam users thanks to its comfortable build, intuitive control layout, extensive customization options, and simple pairing and charging.

Ergonomic design

Design-wise, the Steam Controller is both traditional and unique. The top half has a layout similar to an Xbox controller, with a d-pad, face buttons, thumbsticks, and shoulder buttons. The bottom half is where things get interesting, as it’s rather large to accommodate the touchpads. This also gives your hands more room for a better grip.

The large back buttons are strategically placed right where your middle and ring fingers naturally rest. Since they’re pretty unintrusive, you can ignore them if you’re not a fan of back buttons. Like the back buttons, the shoulder buttons are also smartly placed where your fingers rest.

The controller has the same matte finish as the Steam Deck, which means it not only feels nice to hold, but it’s also very grippy.

Responsive controls

The Steam Controller is not only fun to hold, but it’s also extremely responsive. Valve could have easily just used the Steam Deck’s components, but the company went a step further by including some features you’d only find on pricier pro controllers.

First up are the new TMR thumbsticks, which are designed to be even more responsive and less prone to stick drift than Hall-effect sensors. I’ll spare you the details on how these magnetic technologies differ from one another, but suffice it to say that the TMR sticks on the Steam Deck feel amazing and allowed me to make small and large movements seamlessly.

Then we have the haptic touchpads beneath the thumbsticks. Every click and thumb movement makes them vibrate. Thanks to their large size, you can use them in place of thumbsticks, which isn’t just a gimmick, since it makes playing point-and-click games much more intuitive. The original Steam Controller had super huge touchpads instead of traditional thumbsticks, so I’m glad Valve shrunk them without sacrificing performance.

The other inputs are just as great to use. While I wish the ABXY face buttons were a tad clickier, they work as well as you’d expect. The left and right bumpers are also relatively quiet and have a satisfying travel distance. This also applies to the trigger buttons, though they don’t have trigger locks to cut down the actuation point.

Unique pairing and charging

One of the coolest features is the included Steam Controller Puck. It's a 2.4GHz USB-C transmitter that can also charge the controller and pair it with the device you’re playing on.

Speaking of pairing, you can connect up to four Steam Controllers to the puck in case you want to play games with friends locally. It also magnetically attaches to the controller with a satisfying click.

You connect the puck to your PC using the included USB-C to USB-A cable, though you can theoretically use any cable with power delivery. I like that you can keep the controller connected, easily snap it off to play wirelessly, and snap it back on when you’re done.

Valve claims the controller can last over 35 hours on a single charge. I haven’t had the controller long enough to fully drain it, but it has already lasted significantly longer than the PS5 DualSense. Based on what other reviewers have said about battery life, it appears Valve’s claims aren’t just baseless boasting.

Highly customizable

The Steam Controller offers a slew of customization options. For instance, you can program the dual touchpads to act as a mouse for shooters, a traditional D-Pad for 2D games, or even a scroll wheel for navigating menus. Other features also enable more fine-tuning for specific game genres, effectively giving you multiple controllers in a single device.

Naturally, you can remap all the buttons as you see fit. Beyond that, you can add visual overlays like Radial Menus to your screen to handle dozens of keyboard shortcuts with a quick thumb swipe. You can also make the haptic feedback provide clicks and notches to help guide your movements. These types of controls are perfect for games traditionally played with a mouse and keyboard.

There’s more I could detail, but let’s just say you could spend hours tinkering with all the customization options. And if you don’t, you can always download popular, pre-made configurations that players from the Steam community have created.

Steam Controller review: The downs

The Steam Controller is a brilliant peripheral for dedicated Steam users. However, it has one major flaw for those who play outside of Steam.

For SteamOS only

The Steam Controller works seamlessly with SteamOS. That’s certainly a strength, but it’s also its main weakness. If you hoped to easily use Valve’s controller on other PC game launchers like the Epic Games Store or the Xbox App for PC, you’re going to be out of luck. This also applies to gaming consoles.

If you’re like me and rarely leave Steam when PC gaming, then this likely won’t be an issue. And given how clever the PC gaming community is, I’m sure someone will find a workaround before I finish this sentence. Again, this won’t be the end of the world for most players given Steam’s ubiquity, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Steam Controller review: Verdict

Some believe that $99 / AU$149 is too much for the Steam Controller, but I say the price is more than justified for dedicated Steam users. Sure, Valve’s peripheral costs $20 to $30 more than a standard console controller, but it packs pro controller-like features for $50-$100 less than you’d pay for those premium devices. In that way, you’re actually getting a fantastic deal.

Though it’s admittedly strange to have the Steam Controller without the platform it was designed for, I’m glad that Valve decided to launch this peripheral now so we can get acclimated to it before the Steam Machine’s arrival. Like I said before, switching to another PC controller won’t be easy, since this one gives me everything I need. If you live in the Steam ecosystem, I’m sure you’ll feel the same way.

The Steam Controller launch week has arrived. Valve’s second stab at a dedicated PC gaming pad is now available on Steam. It already looks like a contender for our best PC gaming controller guide. However, it's proving popular and is currently out of stock after selling out in just 30 minutes.

As the name suggests, this PC controller is “built for steam” and is compatible not just with the best gaming PCs but also with gaming laptops, the Steam Deck OLED, and, naturally, the upcoming Steam Machine.

It offers all the basic controller features, including magnetic thumbsticks, haptic motors for rumbles, and 35+ hours of battery life on a single charge. Plus, it also packs two trackpads and mappable back buttons. It’s not a cheap pad at $99, but if you’re a serious PC player, it looks essential.

Again, the controller is currently out of stock as of 5 a.m. ET on May 5. Valve promises a stock update "soon," but we have no idea when that could be.

To that end, keep it locked to Tom's Guide for the latest restock updates. In the meantime, check out our full Steam Controller review if you're still deciding if it's worth all the effort.

Steam Controller - quick links

• Steam Controller: $99 @ Steam (check stock)
• Steam Controller: check stock @ Amazon
• Steam Controller: check stock @ Best Buy

Steam Controller - retailer listings

Welcome to our Steam Controller live coverage

Hello! PC gamers rejoice, today is the day that Valve launches its new Steam Controller, a premium pad designed specifically (and exclusively) for PC gaming, and here at Tom's Guide we'll be guiding you through launch day. In this live blog you'll find the latest news, our hands-on impression and the important buying info.

Steam Controller costs how much?

The biggest question you're probably asking about the Steam Controller is the price, and fortunately, Valve has confirmed this key detail ahead of the order floodgate opening in just a little over four hours time. The pad will cost $99, or for the folks in my native U.K., it'll run you £85. That makes it more expensive than a PS5 DualSense or Xbox Controller, but it is cheaper than either console's "Pro" pad.

Console players, this one ain't for you!

If you own a PS5 or Xbox Series X and you're eyeing up the Steam Controller, don't be fooled into picking one up. This is a dedicated PC gaming controller, and isn't compatible with Sony or Microsoft's gaming consoles. It's designed solely for use with Valve's Steam platform, and Steam-dedicated hardware (like the Steam Deck and the upcoming Steam Machine). Console gamers will need to stick with their DualSense or Xbox controller because the Steam Controller is for the PCMR only.

Steam Controller is just hours away!

Consider this is your four hour warning! The Steam Controller will be available to purchase at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST, as of the time of this post, that is just four hours away. So, if you're already sold, make sure you set a reminder, stock levels are unknown and you don't want to miss out. Of course, you can just stick with this live bog, and I'll be sure to alert you the moment the order button is live.

Here's our Steam Controller unboxing!

One of my favorite parts of getting new gaming hardware and accessories is the first unboxing experience, but if you don't mind having that moment spoiled ahead of time, check out our Steam Controller unboxing video linked above!

We've got our hands on a Steam Controller

My colleague Tony Polanco has spent the weekend with a Steam Controller. I swear I'm not jealous (okay... I totally am)! His initial impressions are pretty darn positive, and he even declares that it "lives up to the hype." If you're on the fence about whether to add one to your cart later today, be sure to read his article right now.

That's one powerful puck!

The Steam Controller comes with an extra in the box, the snappily named, Steam Controller Puck. This little device is a wireless transmitter that serves two purposes. Firstly, it provided a fast/stable connection for your controller, allowing you to use it as a wired pad (if you don't want to use wireless Bluetooth, or USB). It also serves as a charging station, with your Steam Controller snapping onto the puck with a click.

Just look at those back buttons!

One of the things that appeals to me most about the Steam Controller is in the in-built back buttons. Remember, typically on console, you need to spring for a "Pro" controller to get these, but on the Steam Controller you have four out of the box. These can be mapped as you wish, allowing you to pick which inputs they offer.

One hour to drop

We're just one hour away from launch.

While we wait, let us know what interests you about the Steam Controller?

Less than 20 minutes to go!

If you're planning to pick up a Steam Controller as soon as the order button goes live, now is the time to get in position. Get your tab open, and get ready. There's less than 20 minutes until the floodgates open and Valve lets people start purchasing.

Steam Controller orders are LIVE!

• Steam Controller: $99 @ Steam

And just as the clock strikes 10 a.m. PT, the Steam Controller order button has turned blue, and you can now pick up yours. At present, Steam is the only place to purchase a Steam Controller, so if you want one ASAP, get your order in right now.

Steam Controller stock seems to be holding strong

10 minutes later, and the Steam Controller is still in stock. Steam seems to be handling the traffic influx well, I did have a momentary issue reloading the page, but it's otherwise been smooth sailing. I can still add the Steam Controller to my cart with minimal fuss, so if you're late on the scene, you haven't missed out yet!

The dreaded "Out of stock" warning has appeared

Uh oh! Just shy of 40 minutes after the Steam Machine order page went live, and we've got the three words nobody wants to hear: Out of stock. It looks like the interest in this new PC pad has been high, and Valve's supply has run low. I'm staying on the page to see if more stock will appear, fingers crossed for a restock!

Still out of stock...

Hey, all! Tony Polanco here to take over the Steam Controller liveblog for the next few hours. Not only will I keep you updated on availability, but I'll also share some insights into the controller, since I wrote our Steam Controller review.

Right now, the Steam Controller appears to be sold out, as you can see from the image above that I snapped. This is disappointing considering how long people have waited for this peripheral. It's also not surprising given the demand for it. Hopefully, Valve can get more stock as soon as possible.

The Steam Controller is already on eBay

It shouldn't come as a surprise that people are already scalping the Steam Controller on eBay. As you can see above, users are selling the peripheral for $150+ above the original MSRP. There might be more exorbitant prices on eBay, but these are the ones I was able to find. Please wait for a restock and avoid paying these users your hard-earned cash.

Steam Controller sold out in just 30 minutes

Word is spreading that the Steam Controller is now sold out. I just hope most of those orders came from folks who are actually going to use the controller and not just scalpers looking to take advantage of people's excitement for the peripheral.

Yes, it's still out of stock

I realize these posts are getting repetitive, but as you might have guessed, the Steam Controller is still out of stock. It's hard to say whether Valve can restock today or if we'll have to wait a while for a refresh. Regardless, I'll keep an eye on the situation. Hopefully, it'll change for the better soon!

One of the coolest features

Yes, the Steam Controller is still out of stock, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about some of its amazing features.

As I said in my review, one of the coolest features is the included Steam Controller Puck. It's a 2.4GHz USB-C transmitter that can also charge the controller and pair it with the device you’re playing on. It attaches magnetically to the controller with a satisfying click and can be paired with up to four other Steam Controllers.

You connect the puck to your PC using the included USB-C to USB-A cable, though you can theoretically use any cable with power delivery. I like that you can keep the controller connected, easily snap it off to play wirelessly, and snap it back on when you’re done.

The controller is rated for 35+ hours, and in all my time with it (nearly a week), it still hasn’t drained its battery. That's something the PS5's DualSense controller can't match, that's for sure.

A comfortable controller

One of the main concerns folks had (including mine) about the Steam Controller was that it would be too big and heavy. Let me tell you, that couldn't be further from the truth!

Despite its appearance, the Steam Controller is only slightly longer and wider than a traditional Xbox controller. It's also lighter! I've used Valve's peripheral for almost a week, and it's become my favorite PC controller because it's so comfortable and intuitive. Don't let the pictures fool you. The Steam Controller feels great to hold.

Some useful reader comments

This is my last post for the day (don't worry, we're going to keep this live blog going), but I wanted to highlight two comments you might find useful.

TheVaudevillian has been keeping an eye on things since sales went live. They kept getting a "failed to initialize" error when trying to check out, and it took about 5 minutes of repeated clicks to finally complete the order. This is something our own Darraugh Murphy did to get his Steam Controller.

Jarred Hines also points out that stock has been sporadically coming back, saying it usually lasts less than a minute before going out of stock again. This is why we advise staying vigilant.

What Valve hardware is available?

Hey, this is Scott taking over for Tony, and for my first of the day, I thought we could take a look at what is available. Turns out nothing.

Yes, the Steam Controller is still sold out, but if you wanted to get into the Valve ecosystem, let's see what else is available.

Obviously, the Steam Machine and Steam Frame have not yet been released.

Which just leaves the Steam Deck...which is out of stock. Currently, every variant from the 1TB OLED to the 256GB LCD is listed as unavailable.

While we wait

With the Steam Controller immediately out of stock, I have a speculative leak that may be of interest.

Regular VR and Valve tipster Brad Lynch has posted a couple of times regarding recent shipments Valve has received to its distribution warehouse.

The shipments are listed "Game Console." It's possible that these could be Steam Deck shipments or as Lynch hints at, the arrival of Steam Machines.

We can see that "Wireless PC Controllers" arrived on April 4, and started releasing now. So, I expect if its the Machine, we might see it drop in early June. If its Steam Decks, maybe those will be available sooner.

Calling it for today

The Steam Controller is still out of stock as of 4:30 pm Pacific.

But don't worry, we're keeping track and we'll be back to tomorrow to let you know when the controller is available again.

Keep us in your tabs.

Have you managed to order a Steam Controller yet?

Tuesday morning stock check!

It's just ticked over 6:30 a.m. ET, and at present, I'm not seeing any sign of additional Steam Controller stock today. For now, that dreaded "Out of stock" message is sticking around. Some TG readers have reported seeing stock, but it reportedly only lasts for a few moments, so if you do happen to get lucky and get the chance to order, I advise checking out at speed. In the meantime, I'm still monitoring the page, and will update this live blog if the situation changes.

Unfortunately, nothing new to report!

• Steam Controller: $99 @ Steam (check stock)

10:15 a.m. ET, and still no signs of a restock today. After selling out within 30 minutes of launch, there hasn't been a major restock of the Steam Controller, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Valve to find some additional supply soon. Till then we'll keep checking!

Official word from Valve

Things have been quiet regarding restocks, but Valve took to X to make an official statement. Here is what the company had to say:

"Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it. We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon."

Hopefully, that "soon" won't take too long!

Valve recently imported 50 tons of "game consoles"

The Steam Controller is still out of stock, so we figured we'd update you on something potentially related, namely, the Steam Machine.

As The Verge reports, Valve has supposedly shipped over 45 tons of "game consoles" into the United States. This follows the company shipping about 90 tons of orders since February (via PCMag). While we don't know what these consoles are, they could very well be the Steam Machine.

Valve hasn't disclosed the official price of its console/PC hybrid, but if the consoles the company is reportedly shipping are indeed the Steam Machine, perhaps we'll get an answer soon. Since this isn't official confirmation from Valve, take this report with a grain of salt. For all we know, this could be a new shipment of Steam Decks... a handheld which has also been sold out for some time.

The Steam Controller is the real deal. This is my conclusion after having used Valve’s new controller for over 48 hours. Not only is it the perfect controller for Steam users, but it’s also a smart redesign of the controversial original from 11 years ago. It’s a brilliant peripheral that only makes me yearn for the Steam Machine even more.

On top of a more traditional controller layout than its predecessor, the Steam Controller has unique features, such as large haptic touchpads, four back buttons, TMR thumbsticks, and a slew of software-specific customization options. The latter is particularly noteworthy, as you can fine-tune the controller for virtually any game genre. It also just feels good to hold thanks to its ergonomic, lightweight design.

I’ll have a full review of the Steam Controller for you soon. For now, here are my impressions after 48 hours with the peripheral.

First impressions

The official press shots and even reviewers’ photos made the controller appear as big as an old Dreamcast controller, but in reality, it’s just slightly wider and longer than a modern Xbox controller. I do have large hands, so folks with smaller hands might feel differently, but this controller fits my grip nicely.

The controller has the same matte-like finish as the Steam Deck. Thanks to that, it's easy to maintain your grip, even if your hands get sweaty. The ABXY face buttons and shoulder buttons feel like a more rigid, durable version of their Steam Deck equivalents. In fact, you could almost consider this controller a Steam Deck without a screen since it feels so similar.

Setting up the Steam Controller is extremely simple. All you have to do is connect the included receiver puck to your PC via the USB cable, then magnetically snap it to the controller to begin pairing. Snapping the puck on and pulling it off is immensely fun and reminds me of doing the same with MagSafe on MacBooks.

The gaming experience

You know a controller is great when it becomes a natural extension of your hands. That has largely been my experience with the Steam Controller, since it’s so intuitive to use. The TMR thumbsticks respond to even the smallest movements, while the buttons have a nice level of resistance when pressed. And as I said before, it feels awesome simply holding it.

When exploring the open-world setting of Cyberpunk 2077, I had no issues moving around and taking in the dystopian game’s sights. Whether I was walking down a neon-lit street or blasting cyborgs away with an assault rifle, everything felt just right. The triggers are excellent for shooting games and racers alike.

There are a ton of customization options within SteamOS’ Steam Input settings menu. Not only can you remap all the buttons, but you can even program the touchpads to act like a mouse or even a D-Pad. I haven’t toyed around with all the settings, but trust me, you could spend hours messing around with them. This high level of customization lets you tailor controls for specific games and genres.

I don’t play genres like RTS or MMOs that would make greater use of touchpads, but I do enjoy their haptic feedback when I scroll through menus. This isn’t a game-changing feature, but little touches like this make the experience more enjoyable and immersive.

Except for fighting games, where I prefer using a dedicated fight stick, I don’t see myself using another controller for PC gaming since it works so well for the main genres I play.

Outlook

My full review will be posted soon, but suffice it to say that the Steam Controller more than lives up to the hype. It’s a brilliantly designed peripheral that feels like a natural extension of the Steam ecosystem. While it’s not compatible with other PC game launchers, Steam users will be more than happy with this product.

The Steam Controller is already great on its own, but it’s a nice appetizer for the full Steam Machine experience. If that platform can deliver the same smooth and intuitive experience, we’re in for something special. But for now, we can enjoy the Steam Controller for what it delivers—and what it delivers is pretty darn phenomenal.

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The Steam Controller is almost here, and I couldn’t be more excited. The first wave of Steam Controller reviews began circulating today (May 27), and they’re almost universally positive. I was already on board when Valve announced the controller and the Steam Machine, but after reading some reviews, I’m even more eager to get hands-on with this peripheral.

This isn’t the same Steam Controller from 11 years ago. It features a brand-new, more ergonomic design. Standout features include TMR thumbsticks, large touchpads, and a unique USB dongle that also serves as a charger. Though the controller looks large and unwieldy, reviewers say it feels extremely comfortable.

I’ll have a full review once I’ve had some hands-on time with the Steam Controller. For now, here are the three main reasons I’m excited to try it.

TMR thumbsticks

Hall Effect magnetic sticks and buttons have been all the rage for gaming controllers in recent years, but Valve has taken the next step by using more advanced TMR technology. In short, these sticks should be even less prone to stick drift because they use magnetic sensing with no physical contact, unlike traditional analog sticks. This should, in theory, keep the sticks performing like new for many years.

The Scuf Valor Pro controller I reviewed also features TMR sticks, which I find extremely smooth and responsive. Given that the Steam Controller uses the same technology, I’m expecting a similar experience. Thankfully, virtually all reviews I’ve seen say the sticks are great to use and extremely responsive.

I’ll need to test the controller’s thumbsticks for myself to see if they’re up to snuff, but I have faith they’ll be as great as I imagine. This alone could make the relatively steep $99 asking price more than worth it—but there are other features I’m excited about as well.

Customization

Since it’s designed for PC gaming, the Steam Controller is highly customizable and reprogrammable, so you can adjust it for whatever game you’re playing.

You can remap every digital control to virtually any PC input, such as keystrokes, gamepad buttons, mouse clicks, or more. Reviewers say that sensitivities for analog sticks, triggers, touchpads, and gyro are also adjustable. For instance, triggers support separate actions for half-pull and full-pull, allowing for more in-game actions.

Some reviewers say that programming the controller can be daunting because there are so many customization options. Given the numerous inputs, I’m inclined to believe this.

I’m eager to dive into the Steam software configurator to explore all the customization options. If said options are as robust as reviewers claim, it’s understandable why so many of them now consider this the perfect PC gaming controller.

Battery life and charging

Valve claims the Steam Controller can last 35+ hours on a single charge. Reviewers who tested the controller said this claim isn’t just boasting, as none of them had the controller run out of power even during extended sessions. Considering how the PS5 DualSense lasts eight hours if you’re lucky, over 35 hours of endurance would be incredible.

Charging the controller is interesting because it’s done via the included “Steam Controller Puck.” This is a small 2.4GHz USB dongle that doubles as a magnetic charging dock and snaps onto pins on the back of the controller. The puck connects to your PC or Steam Deck via a 5-foot USB cable. Before you ask, the cable connects to the puck via a USB-C port, in case you want to use a different length cable. Additionally, there’s a standard USB-C port on top of the controller if you want to charge it that way.

The only concern I have is that the puck reportedly connects only one way and can be finicky on some desks. Bluetooth is supported as a backup, but it’s not recommended for the best performance, as Gizmodo notes. This, like everything else, is something I’ll need to experience firsthand to see how it works.

Outlook

With most reviewers saying the Steam Controller is now their preferred way to play PC games, I’m very stoked to try it for myself. The original Steam Controller was unconventional and polarizing, so it’s good to see the company release a controller that has received so much universal praise.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Steam Controller, and let us know in the comments if this is a peripheral you’re interested in.

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The first reviews of the Steam Controller have gone live. This peripheral is effectively a redesign of the original Steam Controller from over a decade ago, and is meant to complement the upcoming Steam Machine. It’s also compatible with PC, and of course, Valve’s own Steam Deck.

As we reported over the weekend, an industry insider named Brad Lynch on X found evidence of a "Steam Controller Unboxing" video that was uploaded to SteamDB. Soon after, reports of a potential Steam Controller price leak circulated online, suggesting the peripheral would cost $99. Given how reviews have gone live, it seems some folks spilled the beans prematurely.

The Steam Controller features TMR thumbsticks, rumble support, capacitive touch, and gyro controls. Like most controllers, it has four face buttons, four shoulder buttons, and the aforementioned pair of thumbsticks. Unique inputs include the large touchpads beneath the thumbsticks and four back buttons.

We’ll have our review of the Steam Controller soon. For now, here’s what tech reviewers are saying about Valve’s new peripheral.

What are reviewers saying about the Steam Controller?

Steam Controller reviews are largely positive, with many sites and YouTube channels saying this is now their favorite PC game controller. That’s high praise, especially considering how controversial the original Steam Controller was.

TechRadar’s Matt Hanson says the Steam Controller is “a massive improvement over the flawed original, offering some great innovations while also coming with a more conventional — and user-friendly —design.”

This is a sentiment that PCMag’s Will Greenwald shares, saying that the controller is “fundamentally better in every way thanks to a deep feature set, terrific feel, and customizable controls like those on the Steam Deck.”

“I’ve spent so much time with Valve’s second attempt at its Steam Controller that I can’t imagine playing my PC games with anything else,” says Polygon’s Giovanni Colantonio. Similarly, IGN’s Bo Moore said it was his “favorite controller for PC gaming.”

So what do reviewers love about the Steam Controller? Matt Hanson says the more conventional design is a major factor. “This makes it much easier to get to grips with if you’re used to other gamepads.” Gizmodo’s Kyle Barr echoes this sentiment, saying that the “new Steam Controller feels far more natural for anybody used to a PS5 DualSense-like design.”

The new thumbsticks also won over reviewers, thanks to TMR technology for improved performance. Not only does this lead to quicker actions, but it also allows them to glide smoothly.

“The new thumbsticks are no slouches, either, thanks to tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) technology, which is the tech of choice for most premium gamepads. This uses small magnets to measure even the smallest of movements, which improves precision, and excels in genres such as shooters and racing games, where even the smallest of movements need to be accurately recorded and reflected in-game,” says Matt Hanson.

Kyle Barr says that the Steam Controller’s “joysticks have the right amount of resistance to add a tactile feel to your movements.”

One sticking point is the controller’s price of $99. While that’s certainly less than many “pro” controllers like the PS5 DualSense Edge, it’s still $20-$30 more expensive than standard PS5 or Xbox controllers. However, given its features, most reviewers say the price is justified. “But considering everything it does,” says Will Greenwald, “the Steam Controller is a worthwhile purchase if you mostly play games on Steam.”

Right now, it seems like the Steam Controller is a hit among reviewers, and I’m certainly eager to go hands-on with it myself. I’m curious how the gaming community will view Valve’s latest peripherals. It won’t be long to get that answer, as the Steam Controller is set to launch on May 4.

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We're still waiting for a lot of info about the Steam Controller, but we may have just learned how much Valve's new peripheral could cost — and based on this potential price leak, if you're planning to pick one up, I'd start saving now.

Today (April 25), reports of a potential Steam Controller price leak circulated online, and if they're correct, it sounds like Valve's new hardware won't be cheap. If the leak is true, Valve's new Steam Controller could set you back $99 at launch.

I say "could" because this potential Steam Controller price reveal comes from a relatively unknown source. It was reported in a video review of the gaming peripheral that briefly appeared online (as reported by Vice).

Users on the Steam Controller Reddit have preserved a screenshot and reuploaded the full video online, and some have shared their concerns about the price (though users remain divided on whether the price leak is even real or not).

If the price they quote is correct, that would mean a Steam Controller will cost the same as a new set of Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons, and it'll be $25 more expensive than the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.

Steam Controller launch seems imminent

Whether this Steam Controller leak is true or not, it nevertheless seems like we're due to get more info about Valve's new pad soon. Just yesterday (April 24), we learned that the company had uploaded a "secret" Steam Controller unboxing video online.

That news came from industry insider Brad Lynch. On X, Lynch shared that he'd found evidence that an unwatchable "Steam Controller Unboxing" video had been uploaded on SteamDB.

The video is set to private, but it nevertheless serves as an indicator that Valve is poised to reveal more about the Steam Controller soon.

Given Lynch shared his findings not long after Komodo Station — the Japanese storefront for Steam hardware — uploaded assets (which you can still view on the Internet Archive), all signs seem to point to an impending Steam Controller release.

And seeing as we still don't have a confirmed price point, precise specs or a Steam Controller release date, there's still more we need to learn about the new device. We'll just have to keep an eye on the Steam Hardware News Hub in the hope that Valve shares more details soon.

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Valve's Steam Machine may be taking its sweet time to arrive, but at least the company could be about to show off its new controller. According to a leak posted by industry insider Brad Lynch on X earlier this week, the Steam Controller could arrive any day now.

Lynch found evidence of a "Steam Controller Unboxing" video that was uploaded to SteamDB. It's set to private and can't be watched, but it serves as a good indication that the updated version of the controller is ready for primetime.

Separately, Lynch says he's seen shipping documents that suggest Valve has received its first large batch of the new controllers.

The Steam Controller was announced alongside the Steam Machine in 2025, but details have been very thin on the ground since then. While we expect it to be packaged with Steam Machine when it (eventually) launches, the controller is also going to be sold separately.

There's no reason why Valve has to release them at the same time; the company could easily decide to launch the peripheral first.

Assets appear on Steam's Japan storefront

Adding fuel to this fire came when Komodo Station — the Japanese storefront for Steam hardware — uploaded all the assets for the controller this week, before hastily pulling them down again. A trip to the Internet Archive will still let you see them, and since Komodo Station has a track record of following Valve's global sales schedule, the signs are good.

While we know Valve is also prepping the Steam Machine and the Steam Frame for launch, neither of those assets appeared on the storefront.

Of course, anyone that's following the Steam situation as it unfolds will know about the crushing impact of the current RAM crisis. Valve has already delayed the Steam Machine to "revisit" the cost of the device, but all these signs point to a new controller being the first product out the door.

There's still so much we don't know about the peripheral: pricing, release date, specs and feature updates — but hopefully it won't be a long wait before we find out.

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If you're going to spend $3,500 on a mixed reality headset, you're going to want to get the absolute most out of it. As cool as the latest Apple Vision Pro M5 is, there aren't a lot of reasons to justify spending that much money on the headset. But what if I told you that Steam will soon be accessible on the Vision Pro?

Valve has officially announced that it is bringing an official Steam Link app to the Vision Pro. This will allow a connection between the Vision Pro and your existing PC hardware via the local network, and stream games from your Steam library directly to your face computer.

You can already use Steam Link to stream PC games to a bunch of devices, including TVs and tablets, as well as other VR headsets like the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3s. The ability to stream to the Vision Pro means you can enjoy all your favorite non-VR games, untethered, with all the benefits of Apple's spatial computing system.

It's important to specify non-VR games, though. The Vision Pro will only be able to stream traditional 2D games from your Steam Library, and anything that requires an actual VR headset to play won't be accessible. There's no word on whether Steam VR games will ever be playable on Vision Pro. So if you want to play those games, you're going to need a Steam-compatible VR headset and some kind of physical link cable.

Steam has said that the Steam Link app is currently able to stream your games in up to 4K resolution and "allows you to dynamically adjust the curve of the display in panoramic mode." However, since the app currently isn't listed in the App Store, you're only able to access a beta version of Steam Link via Apple's TestFlight program.

Access to Steam Link isn't going to be the Vision Pro's killer feature, and something that finally makes the headset worth buying — not when the price tag is this high. But the ability to link up with your existing PC and play games that didn't come from the App Store is a big deal.

The lack of gaming ability is one of the things we criticized in our Apple Vision Pro review, and Steam Link support is going to make a huge difference. Stay tuned for our hands-on impressions.

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The $599 MacBook Neo was designed for lighter workloads, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play games on it. Sure, you’ll get better performance on one of the best gaming laptops or the M5-powered 15-inch MacBook Air. But if you want to play select titles on Apple’s most affordable MacBook, you aren’t just limited to mobile games.

I recently posted about spending 48 hours with the MacBook Neo and found it surprisingly capable of handling everyday tasks like web surfing and streaming. But as a gamer, I had to see where the A18 Pro chip would actually redline. To that end, I decided to push this machine to its limits, testing a range of titles from Apple Arcade, the App Store and Steam.

For my testing, I monitored frame rates using the Metal Performance HUD. I also played at a game’s default resolution and graphical settings when possible, since I know most folks don’t touch those settings. This gave me a solid (and fair) foundation to see how games run on the Neo.

Can the Neo’s 8GB of unified memory and fanless design actually maintain a stable, playable experience, or will the hardware buckle under the heat? Read on to find out!

Apple Arcade and macOS native titles

These games have native Apple Silicon optimization, which means the MacBook Neo should be able to run them decently. That’s not just Apple’s claims — I tested a few to see how they perform on the Neo. Overall, the results were impressive!

Resident Evil 4 Remake

By default, Resident Evil 4 Remake had a choppy frame rate in the mid-20s. However, enabling the upscaling and frame-boosting MetalFX option brought it into the mid-40s. Sure, that’s not the 60 fps minimum I want for games, but 40ish fps isn’t exactly sluggish either.

The game’s fps can dip during action scenes, but I never saw it drop below the 30s, which is commendable. However, it can reach the low 60s if you’re indoors, where the game doesn’t have to render large environments or dozens of crazed villagers.

Resident Evil 4 Remake also looks great on the MacBook Neo’s 13-inch Liquid Retina display. Whether it was the introductory dark forest or the overcast Spanish village, everything came through in sharp and vivid detail. I kept the resolution at 1080p and set the graphics settings to low.

Oceanhorn 3

We tested Oceanhorn 3 in our MacBook Neo review, but I wanted to try it for myself. This is basically Apple’s answer to The Legend of Zelda, and it’s one of the more visually ambitious games on Apple Arcade. Though it generally runs well, it pushes the A18 Pro further than Sneaky Sasquatch.

Oceanhorn 3’s performance differs depending on your current environment. For instance, the game can remain at a consistent 60 frames per second at 1408 x 881 resolution if you’re inside a dungeon or other indoor area. However, the fps hovers between 45 and 60 when you’re exploring outdoor environments. Performance also takes a dip during heavy combat sequences.

This test was a bit of a mixed bag. Oceanhorn 3’s art style is undeniably appealing, but at this resolution (which I wasn’t able to change), the game can appear blurry on the Neo’s display. This is a reminder that while the Neo is a capable laptop, it’s still balancing thermal headroom against raw visual fidelity. Overall, though, Oceanhorn 3 is very much playable on the Neo.

Sneaky Sasquatch

Sneaky Sasquatch is a popular game on Apple Arcade, and it’s the No. 1 title on the store at the time of writing. It’s a quirky game where you play as a, well, sneaky sasquatch who dodges forest rangers, steals food from park visitors, and even fails upward into corporate jobs. Due to its popularity, it was perfect for my testing.

Not surprisingly, Sneaky Sasquatch runs like a dream on the MacBook Neo. At 2816 x 1762 resolution, it ran buttery-smooth at 60 frames per second. The affordable MacBook doesn’t have to strain very hard, given this game’s simple graphics. The Neo’s fanless design is also as quiet as the silent sasquatch!

Overall, this is the kind of game the Neo was made for. Sneaky Sasquatch proves that 8GB of RAM is more than enough for Apple Arcade.

Steam games

Steam is available for Macs, but it doesn’t have many games available on Valve’s storefront. Still, there’s a decent selection. To that end, I decided to run a lighter title and something more demanding to see how the Neo would handle them.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 still makes even the best gaming rigs sweat, even five years after its launch, so I consider this the end boss for the MacBook Neo. How well does the MacBook Neo handle such a graphically demanding title?

At 720p resolution, low graphics settings, and MetalFX set to performance mode, the game fluctuated between 30 and 45 frames per second. In less crowded areas, frame rates got closer to 40, but I frequently saw them dip into the low 30s while driving through the densely packed Night City or when I had to teach some cybernetic thugs a lesson.

There are some tradeoffs here. Due to the aggressive upscaling, the game can look soft. Finer details, such as text or power lines, can look blurry or choppy. Because the Neo has only 8GB of RAM, the game may stutter in dense areas. And since the Neo is fanless, it can get pretty warm. After 15 to 20 minutes of playing, I noticed performance degradation.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

To counter the demanding Cyberpunk 2077, I fired up Hollow Knight: Silksong from the Steam store. This is still a very popular game, so that’s also a reason I wanted to see how it ran on the Neo. Let’s dig into the results.

There are very few compromises here. At 2816 x 1762 resolution, the game maintained a locked 60 frames per second. It only ever dipped during transitions between areas or during the 30 fps cinematics. I also didn’t feel any input lag, with every attack and parry feeling instant. The graphics also remained sharp throughout.

This is yet another game that’s perfect on the Neo. Silksong’s moody visuals and flashy effects pop on the Neo's 13-inch display. It also runs as smooth as silk, pun intended. Silksong shows you can have a great time playing small indie games on the MacBook Neo.

MacBook Neo: Limits

The MacBook Neo can punch above its weight when gaming, but don’t expect an experience comparable to that of a dedicated gaming laptop or even the iPad Air M4. There are some hard physical limits here that you just can't ignore.

The paltry 256GB of storage on the base model is one of the biggest hurdles. When games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Resident Evil 4 can easily devour 100GB combined, you’ll constantly find yourself deleting one game just to make room for the next.

Then there’s the thermal ceiling. Since the Neo is fanless, it relies on its aluminum chassis for passive cooling. This leads to something called heat soak. During shorter sessions, the laptop can handle the load well enough, but if you play for more than 30 minutes, the chassis starts to overheat. That’s when the A18 Pro hits its thermal limit and starts throttling, which results in graphical stuttering and lower frame rates as the system tries to stay cool.

Lastly, there’s the 8GB RAM cap and the limited memory bandwidth. At 60GB/s, the Neo’s data pipeline is much narrower than the 153GB/s on the M4 Air. When you're playing demanding open-world games, the system struggles to swap assets in and out of that small 8GB pool fast enough. This results in micro-stutters during high-speed driving or intense combat. While lighter games like Silksong aren’t a problem, the Neo can feel the squeeze once you play a more taxing title.

MacBook Neo: Gaming performance overview

Here's a recap of how each game I played performed:

Bottom line

The MacBook Neo isn’t a gaming laptop, but it’s more capable of gaming than you’d expect. If you mainly play Apple Arcade games, you’re going to have a fun time. However, you’ll have to compromise when it comes to bigger games.

If you want a better gaming experience, you’re better off with an M5 MacBook Pro or a dedicated gaming rig. If you just want to occasionally play less demanding titles or something light from Apple Arcade, then the MacBook Neo is enough.

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The stultifying RAM crisis has already made Steam Deck consoles intermittently available; now it might cause prices to increase. Prices for Valve's handheld are going up for buyers in Asia.

Komodo, the official distributor for the Steam Deck in Japan and other Asian countries, recently announced a roughly $100 price increase. Specifically, those in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan can expect the bump starting March 6.

The increase hits both the 512GB and 1TB versions. So in Japan, the increase is ¥15,000; the 512GB Steam Deck OLED moves to ¥99,800 (up from ¥84,800), while the 1TB OLED climbs to ¥114,800 (up from ¥99,800).

Komodo doesn't specifically blame AI, which has caused prices to go up for TVs, smartphones and laptops. "Due to increased logistics costs and shifting exchange rate conditions that have persisted," the distributor said.

That all may be true with President Trump's tariffs that were recently struck down by the Supreme Court. Though he has instituted a 15% global tariff instead.

Rising prices

As mentioned, the Steam Deck is currently intermittently available in the US, explicitly due to the memory shortage. It's possible this price increase could remain only in Asia, but it would not surprise us if the U.S. versions also see a bump.

Valve isn't alone here. The Nintendo Switch 2 is likely to see a price increase in the coming year, and it's possible the memory shortage has caused Sony to delay the next-generation PlayStation 6.

It's unclear how Xbox will shift under the leadership of new CEO Asha Sharma, but before her ascension, it was rumored that the company was working on a hybrid console/PC that could have versions made by OEMs. That device for sure will be impacted by the RAM crisis as every PC manufacturers have been forced to raise prices or alter production tables.

The RAM crisis isn't expected to begin to abate until 2027 at the earliest, so expect more price increases or device shortages over the next year.

Meanwhile, here are three Steam Deck alternatives that are currently available and for similar prices.

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When Valve announced the Steam Machine and Steam Frame in November 2025, the company declined to share pricing for either device. But we may have an idea of pricing thanks to a Czech retailer and some code snooping.

Video games and consoles have gotten more expensive in the last year, and unfortunately, if this rumor holds up, the Steam Machine will not alleviate those concerns.

Pricing for the Steam Machine was discovered on the website for the Czech retailer Smarty, reportedly an authorized seller of Valve devices in Europe. You can find the Steam Machine on the front-end of the Smarty website, but it doesn't show pricing.

However, ClawSomeGamer explored the site's source code and discovered prices for both the 512GB and 2TB versions of the hybrid PC/console. They discovered unlisted prices of 19,826 CZK and 22,306CZK or about $950 and $1,070 USD, respectively.

Of course, take all of this with a grain of salt.

They do note that Smarty apparently adds a 17% markup on products it sells, meaning the price could be closer to $814 for the 512GB model and $916 for the 2TB version. They added that these prices might be internal guesses by Smarty.

For comparison, even with price hikes, the PS5 Pro and the Xbox Series X's most expensive variants are still under $800. The cheapest version of the PS5 and the Series X, both with 1TB hard drives, are $499 and $649.

With all that in mind, anything sold directly from Valve might feature a lower price. The Steam Deck OLED sells for $649 directly from Valve, but is nearly $200 more expensive on Amazon because its sold by a third party.

Prices are going up everywhere

Regardless of whether the Smarty leak is true, I would expect to the Steam Machine to have a hefty price tag. Across the tech world, prices will be going up.

The worsening RAM crisis due to AI's insatiable need for memory is forcing companies to raise prices across the board, from phones and MacBooks to laptops and gaming consoles. At CES 2026, Samsung execs admitted that prices are going to go up due to semiconductor supply issues.

RAMaggedon may not find any kind of resolution until well into 2027. So whenever Valve's hybrid console launches, expect the price to reflect the shortage.

There is no current official release date for the Steam Machine or the Steam Frame VR headset. Stay tuned for more info.

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There's been a lull in the VR space. Since the release of the Meta Quest 3, along with the more affordable Quest 3S, there hasn't been much in the way of headsets to expand the scope of virtual reality. Well, Valve changed this with the announcement of the Steam Frame.

Kicking off a new era of hardware devices from Valve, along with the Steam Machine and new Steam Controller, the upcoming VR headset is gearing up to be the virtual reality device to grab for PC VR gaming. It's not like it has much competition, with the latest HTC Vive Focus Vision arriving back in 2024 and Meta pausing plans for third-party VR headsets from Asus and Lenovo.

In any case, that gives the Steam Frame plenty of time to shine. Not only is it a bonafide "PC," according to Valve, but it's also made for VR and non-VR gaming. It may not be the mixed-reality headset some were expecting (no full color passthrough cameras here), but with a huge backlog of VR and non-VR PC games via SteamOS it can delve into, the gaming giant's priorities have become clear.

This is a VR headset made for PC gaming, through and through, and Valve is delivering a host of unique features I can't wait to try out. If these tools give me the best experience while playing the mythical Half-Life 3 (if it ever comes out), then the Steam Frame will have achieved its goals.

Optimized for your eyes

One of the most premium features to come out of headsets like the Apple Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR headset is eye tracking. Lo and behold, the Steam Frame will arrive with two interior cameras just for that — but for something more than just navigation or selecting apps.

A unique feature Valve is introducing with the Steam Frame is Foveated Streaming. This feature will track your eyes to bring the best image quality to where you're looking. It's said to bring "over a 10x improvement" in details, and works for all games in Steam.

Essentially, it uses eye-tracking data to boost the quality of pixels of exactly where you're looking, with everything else in your peripheral vision at a lower quality. Not that you would notice, as this would be blurry, anyway. Not only will this give you the best visual quality, but it also reduces bandwidth needs for smoother, less resource-heavy gameplay.

It's a genius move from Valve, one that will take full advantage of the 2160 x 2160 pancake lenses with up to a 144Hz refresh rate, especially for streaming. That should beat the quality of its standalone headset competitor, the Quest 3, with its 2,064 x 2,208 pixels per eye resolution.

Since Meta's headset can already offer up some truly stunning VR games, I imagine the Steam Frame will push the bar even further in visual quality thanks to this feature. But speaking of streaming...

Seamless streaming

Initially, I wasn't too impressed with Valve opting for a last-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip over the latest and greatest processors on offer. It's a standalone headset, after all, but that wasn't much of an issue when I saw that it was made for a "high quality streaming-first experience."

Valve includes a 6GHz wireless adapter with the VR headset, and it aims to bridge the gap between wireless, standalone VR gaming and powerful PC VR gaming. How so? Through a simple dongle that connects the Steam Frame to a PC.

The adapter uses a dual-radio system that has one dedicated to streaming the audio and visuals, and the other purely for Wi-Fi. It lightens the load on bandwidth, and it should be a wildly significant improvement for wireless PC VR gameplay and 2D Steam titles, especially over Meta's Air Link.

For those with one of the best gaming laptops or best gaming PCs, it will turn the Steam Frame into a mighty VR headset — no wires needed. I mean, imagine having an RTX 50-series GPU while playing a VR title like Half-Life: Alyx or a non-VR game such as Cyberpunk 2077, right on your face.

Now, I've heard that the Steam Frame doesn't support stereoscopic 3D rendering, meaning we won't see 2D games or content with a three-dimensional effect like the Quest or Vision Pro headsets. It would make gameplay that much more immersive, but at the very least, the gaming giant states that it's "on the list."

So, better visuals and PC-powered gameplay via wireless streaming, but how easy will it be to play VR and non-VR games on the fly? Valve found a solution with its controllers.

Controllers for everything

Those Steam Frame VR controllers sure look familiar... some inspiration from the Meta Quest 3's Touch Plus controllers, perhaps? No complaints here, but there's a key difference that gives Valve's new VR controllers an edge.

The controllers feature a full range of VR-focused tech, including 6DoF (degrees of freedom) tracking, haptic feedback, capacitive finger tracking and sensing on all input surfaces and dual-stage grip buttons, too. Plus, they run on AA batteries to offer up 40 hours of gameplay, as Valve claims.

But put those two controllers together, and you'll find that these look more like a traditional gamepad split in two. That's for good reason, as the VR controllers will also work on Steam's entire library of non-VR games.

You'll get your typical D-pad, triggers, bumpers, ABXY buttons and thumbsticks as with the best gaming PC controllers, just with VR optimizations. So, 6DoF (degrees of freedom) tracking, haptic feedback, capacitive finger tracking and sensing on all input surfaces and dual-stage grip buttons, too.

What may be the best addition of all is the full-size magnetic TMR thumbsticks (Tunnel Magnetoresistance), which offer up even more precise levels of accuracy than what Hall Effect is capable of.

I'm sure the upcoming Steam Controller will be a better fit for playing PC games on the Steam Frame for a more precise, traditional feel (there will even be a virtual Steam Controller that shows up in the headset's VR space if you grab one), but a full-blown set of controllers for both VR and PC gaming? I mean, the split Joy-Cons work for the ever-popular Nintendo Switch 2, so why not for Valve's VR headset?

Of course, it's only a matter of time until we see all of this in action once Valve launches its Steam Frame. But already, it's looking to have the features to top our list of the best VR headsets. Fingers crossed the price isn't too high...

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Since introducing its RTX 50-series GPUs, Nvidia changed the landscape of modern PC gaming with DLSS 4 and its Multi Frame Generation technology. Upscaled resolution and smoother frame rates with minimal downsides is an impressive feat. But a $7 frame generation app on Steam does the same thing.

Thanks to Lossless Scaling, just about anyone can boost their PC game performance with higher frame rates and improved image quality. Over the years, it's become a powerful tool that gives virtually any rig, whether that be one of the best gaming laptops or best PC gaming handhelds, a substantial upgrade.

This isn't just a "we've got a frame rate booster at home" kind of app, as it's received major updates since its launch in 2018. With its AI-driven LSFG 3.1 frame generation feature now offering a multiplier of your choosing (x2, x3, x4 and beyond if you want!), Fixed and Adaptive modes to fine-tune the frame rates you're after, reduced ghosting and object flickering and its multiple scaling models, including its very own (and good) LS1, It's become an essential utility for many PC gamers.

You know what beats spending upwards of $249 for an RTX 50-series GPU (and well over Nvidia's $1,999 MSRP for its RTX 5090) just to get DLSS 4? An app for any PC gaming rig for just $7. In fact, for under $5, thanks to sales.

But is Lossless Scaling really as good as Nvidia's DLSS 4? I've put them to the test, but the answer isn't as simple as I thought.

Lossless Scaling vs Nvidia DLSS 4

Using an RTX 5070 GPU in a Quoted Tech gaming PC, I tested out three different titles that would make full use of developer THS and Nvidia's game-enhancing tech. This includes Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 6 and Black Myth: Wukong — all demanding titles that eat up resources, especially at 4K resolution with settings maxed out.

Running benchmarks for native, DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation x4 and Lossless Scaling in Fixed Mode at x4, you can check out the results below.

That's right. Since Lossless Scaling offers frame rates at x4 (and now more with LSFG 3.1), it can match the extra frames for every frame your PC actually draws and renders on-screen. In fact, in Adaptive mode, you can put in a specific number of frames you want to target, and Lossless Scaling will do it's best to match it. Sure, most frames are generated in this mode, but it shows how customizable the app has become.

With this being the case, it's not a matter of how many frames per second each frame generation technology can hit, but how each tool handles and presents these frames on screen.

A matter of visuals

Using AI trickery to generate frames is enticing, but only if the game actually looks any good. The larger the multiplier used in DLSS 4 or Lossless Scaling, the more "AI" frames that are used for every "real" frame of gameplay your PC renders. Essentially, that means "fake" frames.

Depending on how good the frame boosting tech is, this can lead to ghosting, object flickering, border artifacts, and an overall loss in visual quality and responsiveness. That last one is important, as it results in input lag, and there's nothing worse than nailing movements down to a tee in games like Elden Ring, only for an input delay to have a boss completely wreck you.

Well, all of this was far more apparent when using Lossless Scaling. Don't get me wrong, it's improved over the years, but when using Adaptive mode to try and hit 200 FPS (THS notes that quality and performance may be lower here) or x4 frame generation in Fixed mode, there was noticeable object ghosting and slight input lag.

For example, when waving around the Destined One's staff in Black Myth: Wukong or watching grass sway in the breeze, I could see a noticeable blur and after-images of everything that moved. Plus, dodging felt a tad off, and I wouldn't want to lose out on a well-timed Perfect Dodge.

Now, with the base frame rate being incredibly low at 4K, which results in more visual artifacts and even worse input lag, I dropped down to 1440p resolution and had a much better time. However, not nearly as clear and detailed as what DLSS 4 offers.

There's a key reason for this, and that's due to Nvidia's DLSS 4 relying on motion vectors, per-pixel data showing how far a pixel has moved from a previous frame. In games that support DLSS, the tool has access to the game's data to gather a better picture of delivering accurate AI frame generation. On the opposite side, Lossless Scaling is a post-production app that doesn't have access to this data, and solely relies on AI to guess frames (albeit fairly well for what it is).

So, of course DLSS 4 will offer cleaner, smoother gameplay with minimal input lag. And it's the same for AMD's FSR and Intel's XeSS upscaling and frame generation tech. Well, only for PC games that support it, as Lossless Scaling doesn't have that problem — and that's how it truly shines.

Lossless Scaling for all

Nvidia's list of PC games that support DLSS 4 is growing, with each new major release adding to its pile. But Steam has just about 30,000 titles on its platform, and a vast majority of them don't have any support for DLSS.

What they do support is Lossless Scaling. Just boot it up, customize the frame rates and scaling you're after, hit "Scale" and enter your game of choice. That isn't just a boon for classic hits or indie titles that could use a boost, but also a huge advantage to gamers with entry-level gaming laptops or PCs that aren't equipped with pricey RTX 50-series GPUs. I mean, you can even get it working on a Steam Deck.

Tinkering with the app will give you a good sense of how well its frame generation will perform, but using Fixed mode with LSFG at x2 will double your frame rates while still keeping ghosting, flickering and input lag to a minimum. After some fine-tuning, your gameplay will get an immediate upgrade.

Again, all this for under $10? It's amazing frame gen software at an affordable price, and it counts as one of the many Steam utility apps any PC gamer can make use of in their library.

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2025 was a banner year for the best handheld gaming consoles. We saw new and updated systems from Asus, MSI and Lenovo. And these weren’t just spec bumps, as SteamOS finally left Valve’s ecosystem, and we finally got a more handheld-friendly version of Windows. There were several handhelds to choose from, but one stood out above the rest.

And which handheld was that? If you’ve read my articles or have seen our handheld videos on the Tom’s Guide YouTube channel, then you know it’s the Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS. This machine has exactly what I’ve wanted from a handheld, namely, it runs on SteamOS and packs the still-powerful AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip. That one-two punch helps it compete with the more powerful Legion Go 2 and ROG Xbox Ally X.

Here’s why the Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS is my favorite gaming handheld of 2025.

SteamOS is the magic sauce

SteamOS is the most handheld-friendly operating system since it is specifically designed to work for such systems. Because of that, it’s easy to navigate through menus and jump straight into your games. If you’re familiar with the Steam Deck OLED or Steam Big Picture mode on desktop, you’ll feel right at home.

Unlike with Windows 11 handhelds such as the original Asus ROG Ally, you won’t spend an inordinate amount of time setting up the Legion Go S. Like the Steam Deck, you can start playing games in less than ten minutes. This is impossible on a Windows 11 handheld. This alone makes the Legion Go S more palatable to the average person.

The Legion Go S might not be the most powerful handheld available, but the fact that it runs on SteamOS gives it a huge advantage over machines that run stock Windows. It’s the first third-party manufacturer to utilize SteamOS on a handheld, but I suspect it won’t be the last. In that sense, we can view the Legion Go S as a pioneer.

Strong handheld performance

I reviewed the high-end SteamOS Legion Go S, which packs an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip and 32GB of RAM. You might not get the best performance out of the box; however, with the right settings, you can enjoy extremely smooth gameplay for a handheld.

For instance, at 1200p resolution, medium graphical settings and FSR disabled, Doom: The Dark Ages runs at a pretty poor 25 frames per second. The frame rate can hit 35 fps with the frame-boosting FSR enabled, and between 56 to 61 fps if you drop the resolution to 800p. Games don’t look as sharp at that lower resolution, but they also don’t look terrible.

While the Legion Go S with SteamOS doesn’t deliver mind-blowing performance, it’s still a very capable machine if you’re willing to spend some time fiddling with a game’s settings. Seeing this kind of performance on a handheld is quite impressive.

Comfortable design

The Legion Go S ditches the removable controllers of the Legion Go (and Legion Go 2) and instead has a uniform design that’s similar to the Asus ROG Ally X or MSI Claw A8. While detachable controllers are cool, I prefer this kind of handheld design. Not only is this design classy, but it also helps the Legion Go S feel more comfortable to hold.

I’m a fan of the asymmetrical Hall Effect thumbsticks, which accurately respond to even the most subtle movements. I also can’t forget about the rounded D-pad, which is pretty darn good for fighting games. The big face buttons and easy-to-reach shoulder buttons are also great.

Though the Steam Deck is still more comfortable to hold since it’s thinner and lighter, the Legion Go S is still one of the most ergonomic handhelds available.

Bottom line

The Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS was tailor-made for me since it features my favorite handheld OS on a device with strong performance and an ergonomic design. It’s a great system on its own, but it also promises a brighter future for handhelds since we’re no longer shackled to Windows on non-Valve machines.

Though it’s admittedly pricy, the SteamOS version of the Legion Go S is worth the money if you want something more powerful than the Steam Deck that offers the same user-friendly interface. It’s not the Steam Deck 2, but it’s close enough for me.

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There are literally thousands of titles available on Steam, from the latest AAA blockbusters to classic indie titles and everything in between. One of the best ways to play these games is on a Steam Deck, which gives you instant access to the best Steam games. If you’ve received or plan to get a Steam Deck and want to know which games you should buy first, you’ve come to the right place.

I’ve been an avid gamer for most of my life and have covered the games industry for over 15 years. Steam is my go-to digital storefront and platform for playing the best PC games, and it’s the first one I recommend to most people. That’s why the Steam Deck is arguably the best handheld gaming console for PC gaming. It just makes PC gaming on the go so much easier.

To help get you started I’ve listed the best 15 games to play first on the Steam Deck. These titles will run without much trouble, though you might need to adjust graphical settings and resolution to get better performance for some. You can always check the Steam Deck: Deck Verified page to see which games are optimized for the system. Let’s dive into the list!

Quick links

• Aperture Desk Job: Free @ Steam Store
• Baldur’s Gate 3: was $59 now $44 @ Steam Store
• Cyberpunk 2077 UE: was $82 now $38 @ Steam Store
• Dispatch: was $29 now $26 @ Steam Store
• Elden Ring: was $59 now $38 @ Steam Store
• Forza Horizon 5: was $59 now $29 @ Steam Store
• Gwent: Free @ Steam Store
• Hades II: was $29 now $22 @ Steam Store
• Hollow Knight: Silksong: was $19 now $15 @ Steam Store
• The Last of Us: Part I Remake: was $59 now $30 @ Amazon
• Portal 2: was $9 now $1 @ Steam Store
• Resident Evil 4 Remake: was $39 now $15 @ Steam Store
• Street Fighter 6: was $39 now $19 @ Steam Store
• Streets of Rage 4: was $24 now $8 @ Steam Store
• Vampire Survivors: was $4 now $3 @ Steam Store

Best Steam games to get first

After years of keeping it under wraps, Valve finally unveiled the Steam Frame. Not only has it easily become my most anticipated VR headset of 2026 (I mean, there isn't much competition... for now), but I also foresee it being the main way I play VR games and non-VR PC games.

There's a lot going for this standalone headset: Valve introduced Foveated Streaming that enhances image details to where your eyes are looking, there's a 6GHz wireless adapter for uninterrupted, high-quality PC gaming, it brings pancake lenses featuring 2160 x 2160 panels with up to a 144Hz refresh rate and the controllers are essentially a normal gamepad split in two.

That's just to name a few of its many welcome features. The Steam Machine and new Steam Controller impress, but as someone who makes the most of the Meta Quest 3, I have high hopes that the Steam Frame will introduce a new era of VR and PC gaming — Valve does call it a "PC," after all.

But there's one element that's been nagging me after pitting the Steam Frame and Quest 3 against each other. There I was, scrolling through Valve's list of specs until I came across its processor, and in a very Jack Skellington-like fashion, I exclaimed, "what's this?"

Valve decided to use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor to power its Steam Frame, despite the chip launching in 2023. It's not the latest, nor has it been used for XR devices. Surely, there was room for an upgrade. So, just how powerful will it be to play demanding VR and non-VR titles? And will it be able to keep up with the best VR headsets?

Behind the times?

Based on a 4nm process and using ARM64 architecture, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Steam Frame is the very same chip that powers the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 and OnePlus 12. In case you missed it, we should soon see the Galaxy S26 equipped with the next-gen might of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

That's just around the corner, and Qualcomm has even dubbed it the "world's fastest mobile system on chip." That's not just marketing hype; we've benchmarked the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 ahead of its official launch on smartphones, and it beats the likes of the A19 Pro found in the iPhone 17 Pro Max in performance and graphics.

I don't know about you, but that sounds like a great fit for a next-gen VR headset that's also releasing in 2026. But perhaps there are a few reasons the Steam Frame was given the Gen 3 processor over the latest and greatest. One could be that it wasn't geared to deliver the performance of a Gen 5 chipset, and it just wasn't the right timing.

Valve has been working on the Steam Frame even before its first VR headset, the Valve Index, was released in 2019, as noted by Road to VR. It's clearly been long in development, and in those six years, the company may have settled on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and worked around the chip.

Now, while it would of course be great to see one of the most powerful mobile chips on the market make its way onto the Steam Frame to deliver cutting-edge performance, I wouldn't want to knock the VR headset so soon. One perk, at least, is that a past-gen processor should take the price down a peg or two, but there's more to it.

Unexpected power

So, if not the latest chip Qualcomm has to offer, then why not an XR-focused chip? Well, this is where Valve will have made the better choice.

Valve wanted to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 over usual XR chips, like the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 in the Quest 3 or the XR2+ Gen 2 in the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, to prioritize gaming performance thanks to its higher CPU frequency, according to SteamDB.

Plus, it will support Valve's Proton translation layers and Fex emulation to allow Windows PC games on Arm devices (a.k.a. the Steam Frame), which is a massive leap forward in letting PC games be played on, well, anything. However, for a standalone VR headset, using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will see performance benefits.

It's tricky to benchmark the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chips, but we know it's based on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Plus, the XR2+ Gen 2 processor offers 15% higher GPU and 20% higher CPU max frequency for XR headsets, but is only a minimal bump to support higher display resolutions for spatial computing.

With this in mind, we can see the performance gains based on our benchmarks in smartphones, like the OnePlus 12 with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and the Xiaomi 13 with a Gen 2 processor. Samsung's Snapdragon chips are made for Galaxy phones, so I've left these out.

As you can see, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vastly outperforms its previous-gen sibling, especially when it comes to graphics. That said, you can see how well the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 performs, and while we didn't get the 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited test for it, we did see it perform incredibly in the much harder Wild Life Extreme Unlimited benchmark, which runs at 4K.

In any case, the main takeaway from all this is that, yes, Valve's Steam Frame will perform better than the Meta Quest 3. Well, that's hardly a surprise, seeing as the Frame comes with double the RAM at 16GB and storage at 1TB, too. But there's another interesting point.

I have to give credit to Reddit user wwbulk, showing the differences between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and its Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 counterpart. The 8 Gen 2 comes with a CPU frequency of 3.2GHz and a GPU frequency of 680MHz, while the latter sports a CPU-heavy frequency of 2.05GHz and a GPU-heavy frequency of 599MHz.

So, not only is the XR2 Gen 2 in the Quest 3 not up to par with the 8 Gen 2, but it also shows that it will be far behind the 8 Gen 3 in the Steam Frame. Of course, we'll have to see this performance in real time, but either way, when there's seamless, wireless streaming straight from the power of a PC, this standalone VR headset's power reaches new heights.

The performance of a PC, too

It took some time, but the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S offer up PC VR gaming wirelessly via Air Link. It's improved over the years, but you'll need a strong 5GHz Wi-Fi network connection (and even then, it's a tad spotty), or simply use a USB-C 3.2 wired connection for low latency. At the very least, it works well when streaming Xbox Cloud Gaming (with fast internet).

A strong start, but the Steam Frame? It's essentially made for wireless streaming to a gaming PC. Using the 6GHz wireless adapter that comes in the box, you can pop it into your rig and start playing VR and non-VR games with a high-quality streaming experience.

Whether you've got yourself one of the best gaming laptops or best gaming PCs, you can get the power of that beamed straight to your face — wirelessly. Think playing the likes of Half-Life: Alyx with the power of an RTX 50-series GPU, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset becomes an afterthought. (Perhaps "Stream Frame" may be a more fitting name? Probably not.)

Valve is making sure the Steam Frame has the finest streaming connection, using a dual-radio system that has one dedicated to streaming the audio and visuals, and the other purely for Wi-Fi. It lightens the load on bandwidth, and it should make wireless PC VR gameplay and 2D Steam titles a heck of a lot better to play on the VR headset.

Yes, the Steam Frame will work for standalone games, too, as there will even be a Steam Frame Verified program for titles, just like the Steam Deck. That will put its processor to work, but if it's not enough power, just plug in the wireless adapter and you'll be off to the virtual races.

Regardless of the Steam Frame not having the latest Snapdragon chip Qualcomm has to offer mobile devices, it will still have more than enough power to play the best VR games around. And even if it doesn't, that wireless adapter should solve the problem. My high hopes still remain for Valve's VR PC for your face, and it's only a matter of time until we see the performance this headset brings to the table.

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Valve's Steam Machine is gearing up to be a hugely anticipated launch in early 2026, but thanks to the ongoing RAM crisis, we may have to wait longer to get our hands on it. And now, it could also mean one of the biggest releases in PC gaming could be pushed back: Half-Life 3.

As noted by Insider Gaming's Mike Straw in its podcast, Valve is still working out the price of its Steam Machine in response to the price hikes set by RAMageddon. Unfortunately, this may delay the launch of the small gaming PC past its expected spring 2026 release, and this is backed up by the long-awaited Half-Life 3 missing key reveal dates.

"Every single date that they were told has passed," said Straw in the Insider Gaming podcast. "Everybody I've talked to are still adament this is a game that will be a launch title with the Steam Machine. There is a concern, however, that they haven't made a decision on price... and the reason is because of PC RAM memory prices and storage prices right now."

Not only is the memory shortage rumored to be pushing back the launch of the Steam Machine and a PC title gamers have been wanting for two decades, but it also means a possible higher price point for Valve's compact PC when it does arrive.

Valve has yet to officially announce the price of the Steam Machine, including its Steam Frame VR headset and new Steam Controller. However, we know not to expect console pricing, as it aims to match the rest of the PC market. Many have speculated it could cost around $700 to $800, but with RAM prices rising dramatically, there are big concerns that number will be much higher.

RAM crisis isn't just affecting pricing

It's been 20 years since the release of Half-Life 2 (and just under since Episode 2), and we've heard rumors of the now near-mythical Half-Life 3 ever since. Recently, some had hoped for a massive reveal during the Game Awards 2025, but (perhaps unsurprisingly) this didn't happen.

As Straw mentions, the DRAM shortage holding up the hardware likely means Valve pressing pause on software reveals. With Half-Life 3 tipped to be the Steam Machine's major launch title (which makes sense considering this is a major hardware release), this means the sought-after sequel will be pushed back.

There's still time before the Steam Machine's early 2026 launch, so Valve may land on a price by then. That said, it's clear that the company is in a tough spot in terms of the small gaming PC's cost, as it's already tipped to be more expensive than consoles like the PS5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch 2.

It goes without saying that Valve would want to entice console buyers, and keeping the price as low as possible is how to do it. But the RAM crisis just puts another hurdle in Valve's way, so it isn't surprising we're yet to hear a decision on the final cost of the system. After all, we're excited for the Steam Machine, but the price could be a deal-breaker.

Perhaps Valve is waiting for RAM pricing to even out after the initial impact, or thinking of another strategy to keep the starting price low. In any case, we may have to wait longer for the Steam Machine, and now, even the release of Half-Life 3. Then again, after 20 years of waiting, what's a few more months? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Since the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 over the summer, a new (champagne) problem has entered my life. My beloved Steam Deck OLED was always the first thing added to my backpack ahead of a trip, but now I find myself having to choose between Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam Deck OLED whenever I’m heading out of my apartment for an extended period.

So, on my most recent trip (to picturesque Edinburgh, Scotland), I decided there was only one way to settle this debate for good. Take both the Nintendo Switch 2 and the Steam Deck OLED with me, and finally determine the best gaming handheld, all in the name of science!

I’ll get into the results below, breaking things down into categories, from handheld design to the games available on each system, but the top-line conclusion is that it’s a close contest, with both Switch 2 and Steam Deck making a pretty compelling case for themselves.

Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED: Design

A gaming handheld’s form factor is critically important. After all, you’re going to be holding the device for potentially multiple hours at a time. In this category, there’s a clear winner for me: Steam Deck OLED.

Valve’s Steam Deck OLED is a near perfectly sculpted handheld; it’s got significant weight to it, which I personally love, and thanks to the in-built ergonomic grips on either side, it's comfortable to hold in almost any position. The four customizable back buttons are a nice touch, and while I rarely use them, the two trackpads on the front are highly responsive.

Unfortunately, the Switch 2 comes up short in comparison. Its smooth design lacks grips for larger hands, and I find it a little uncomfortable to hold for extended periods. To remedy this issue, I use a d brand Killswitch case, which mimics a design much closer to a Steam Deck. But for this test, I’m only considering the features of the base Nintendo Switch 2 unit.

Winner: Steam Deck OLED

Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED: Game library

Determining which handheld has the best game library is a highly subjective call. Personal preference plays a major part in the decision.

Based purely on quantity, the Steam Deck OLED is leagues ahead of the Switch 2. Per Steam Deck HQ, there are more than 19,000 games (and counting) rated either “Verified” or “Playable" on the device, and even Steam titles listed as “Unsupported” can often be played on the Deck, such as The Witcher 2 - Assassins of Kings and Sunset Overdrive.

The Switch 2 is only six months into its lifecycle, so naturally, the library is on the smaller side, but it is growing with each passing week. The big advance Nintendo’s current flagship console has in its corner is its stable of first-party exclusives. You can’t play the likes of Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid and Pokémon on any other gaming platform, handheld or not.

For me, the Steam Deck edges this category, because being able to play full-featured blockbuster games on the go is still an incredible novelty to me (I grew up on the Game Boy Color!), but the Nintendo Switch 2 does have its own solid collection of AAA ports including Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, Hitman: World of Assassination and Star Wars: Outlaws.

So, due to the highly subjective nature of this one, I'm ruling it a draw.

Winner: Tie

Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED: Battery life

To test battery life, I fully charged up both handhelds and then ran them until the “low battery” warning appeared. Both had Wi-Fi switched on and AirPod Pro 2 earbuds connected. First up, I tested out Nintendo Switch 2, playing Star Wars: Outlaws.

I noted in my original Switch 2 review that battery life was relatively poor, and that proved to be the case in this secondary round of testing. Just 90 minutes into my open-world Star Wars adventuring, and the Switch 2 was warning me that my battery life was dwindling. Which isn’t a great time.

Turning to Steam Deck OLED, I opted to start a fresh playthrough of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, and it breezed past the 90-minute mark with the battery counter reading just over 50%. I was able to continue playing for another 80 minutes before the battery life warning indicator appeared. No contest here, Steam Deck OLED takes this key category with ease.

Winner: Steam Deck OLED

Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED: Extra features

Did I create this category as a bit of a “freebie” for the Switch 2? Perhaps, but I do think it’s important to note the versatility of Nintendo’s handheld compared to Valve’s portable PC.

For this face-off, I’m not factoring in Switch 2’s included docking station, letting you seamlessly switch between playing on a TV and a handheld (I’m judging both devices purely on their handheld merit). But even with TV mode aside, Nintendo Switch 2 still offers a lot of flexibility.

The ability to instantly snap off the Joy-Con 2 controllers and make use of the Switch 2 unit’s kickstand to play in what Nintendo calls “Tabletop Mode” is nifty. This allows you to place the console on a table and give your arms a nice little rest. While the Switch 2 itself isn’t exactly heavy, it is more comfortable in Tabletop Mode than holding an entire handheld.

Steam Deck OLED, on the other hand, is a more traditional handheld gaming device; everything is built into the main unit. And the only way to replicate “Tabletop Mode” is to buy a stand (or a case with a stand feature) and connect a controller, which isn’t ideal if you want to travel light.

Winner: Nintendo Switch 2

Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED: Final verdict

Purely on points, Steam Deck OLED takes this bout thanks to its fantastic form factor, astonishingly deep library (half the time when I boot up my Steam Deck, just picking what to play first is a challenge), and superior battery life (based on my real-world testing). But the Nintendo Switch 2 has an awful lot going for it as well, which makes this a tough choice.

Nintendo makes some of the finest, usually family-friendly, games in the entire industry, and you can’t play masterpieces like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild anywhere else. A strong exclusive software lineup goes far in my books. Plus, the flexibility of three separate modes of play is a pretty killer feature, letting you start a game on your television and within seconds continue your progress on the Switch 2’s great 7.9-inch display.

Both device makes for a fantastic handheld gaming experience, so you can’t really go wrong with either choice. I suppose the big determining factor might be whether you want access to Nintendo's exclusive games, or whether you own one of the best gaming PCs, which in turn allows you to continue your progress in thousands of Steam games on the Deck.

Even after all this testing, it appears that my selection headache will continue for the foreseeable future. Perhaps I’ll just start traveling with an extra-large backpack and bring both handhelds with me on every trip.

More from Tom's Guide

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• Valve just dropped a massive hint about Steam Deck 2
• Best Nintendo Switch 2 games in 2025

Windows gaming saw notable improvements in 2025, and Microsoft plans to go even further in 2026. In a blog post, the software giant detailed all the ways it has updated Windows gaming on PCs and handhelds, and improved compatibility with Arm PCs. The question is, can these updates help Windows gaming truly compete with Steam?

One of the biggest enhancements we saw this year was on the handheld front, thanks to the Xbox full-screen experience (FSE) that debuted on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally. This launcher not only provides a more Xbox-like experience for the best handheld gaming consoles, but more importantly, minimizes Windows 11 background tasks to improve frame rates and battery life. Though SteamOS is still a better handheld operating system, the FSE makes Windows handheld gaming more viable.

Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) on the ROG Xbox Ally is another substantial update that gets you into a game faster by delivering precompiled shaders when you first install a game. If you’ve ever had to sit through shaders getting installed separately from the initial install, you’re no doubt happy about this change.

Microsoft also discussed how Windows gaming has improved on Arm-based computers. Users can download and play supported games directly from the Xbox PC app, which includes many of the games available on Xbox Game Pass. There is also support for AVX and AVX2 extensions to the Prism emulator that allows x86/x64 software to run on Arm. This results in greater game compatibility on Arm PCs such as the best laptops running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips.

Looking to 2026, Microsoft wants to bring the FSE to more Windows devices. Windows and Xbox Insiders can actually test this feature right now for the best Windows laptops and best 2-in-1 laptops, and desktops running on Windows. Microsoft also plans to expand ASD support for more devices and bring a public preview of Auto SR (Microsoft’s answer to Nvidia DLSS and AMD’s FSR) to the ROG Xbox Ally X. We can also expect the company to continue improving performance and graphics through software updates.

Outlook

There’s no denying that Microsoft is taking PC gaming more seriously, especially since Valve now allows SteamOS on non-Valve hardware. That said, Steam is the de facto leader of PC gaming, with wide support from gamers and developers alike.

Microsoft has a tough battle ahead in this space, but if it continues improving, then perhaps Windows gaming can be a viable competitor to Steam.

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Valve's upcoming Steam Frame VR headset is set to arrive in spring 2026, but if you were hoping to play 2D games or view content with a 3D effect, we now know the feature won't be available — at least, not at launch.

Currently, the Steam Frame doesn't support stereoscopic 3D rendering, a feature that can create a three-dimensional view of 2D content. This can be found on the Apple Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR headset, which can render depth in spatial content and convert 2D photos or videos into 3D on the fly.

However, the feature could still be coming in the future. Valve has stated that stereoscopic 3D content for the Steam Frame is "on our list," according to a spokesperson speaking to RoadtoVR. In fact, the gaming giant is considering bringing support for any stereoscopic content when streamed from a PC via the 6GHz wireless adapter or just on the VR headset.

This means we may see stereoscopic 3D content for flat games, photos or videos in the future, bringing a new level of immersion. That is, if 2D games support stereoscopic 3D rendering, as there aren't many around unless used with a third-party mod to create a 3D effect.

In light of this, Valve was also asked if it was working on a way to automatically convert 2D Steam games to 3D on the Steam Frame, but stated that this wasn't something it's looking into at the moment.

A future goal

We're impressed by how XR headsets can turn any 2D photo into a 3D one, like from Apple's Photos app on the Vision Pro and Google Photos on Samsung's Galaxy XR headset. Plus, 3D movies are also gaining traction, and seeing this implemented on Valve's Steam Frame would give the VR headset another perk.

However, this has been an exclusive feature for more premium headsets for now, although Meta has partnered up with Universal Pictures and Blumhouse to feature movies with 3D special effects on its Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S via its new Horizon TV hub.

With Valve working on a so-called "Lepton" compatibility layer (via GamingOnLinux) to allow Android on its Linux-based SteamOS devices like the Steam Frame, this could bleed into a way to utilize Android XR. This could take full advantage of more stereoscopic 3D content, but it would still be trickier for 2D gaming.

If Valve finds a way to render stereoscopic 3D for a game in real time, it would add another dimension to playing flat Steam games on the Steam Frame. But in the meantime, this won't be something that's immediately available on the anticipated VR headset.

For now, Valve has been working on other ways to bring games to more platforms, as it's been laying the groundwork to deliver Windows gaming to more Arm-based devices. And it could be a sign of the Steam Deck 2 switching to an Arm-based chip.

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With Valve announcing its Steam Machine and Steam Frame, it's set to deliver its Linux-based SteamOS to the living room, virtual reality and beyond. But the company has another trick up its sleeve — bringing Windows games to Arm devices.

Valve has been laying the groundwork to make games that are generally only playable on Windows devices available on Arm, as SteamOS architect Pierre-Loup Griffais explains in an interview with The Verge. This is made possible by using Proton, a compatibility layer for Steam, and Fex, an open-source emulation layer, with a combination of both allowing x86 games for Windows PCs to run on Arm-based devices.

As noted, the game distribution giant has been funding open-source developers since 2016 to make this possible, with the goal of making it easier for game developers to see their titles on multiple platforms. Essentially, this takes the pain out of porting games to different devices that go beyond Windows-based x86 machines. More importantly, it hints that SteamOS (and more Windows titles) can be used and played on your smartphone, tablet, Arm-based laptop and more.

There were already signs of this on the Steam Deck, with the Linux-based gaming handheld being able to run games otherwise reserved for Windows that use Microsoft's DirectX application programming interfaces (APIs). And with the GameHub app for Android, you can play games from Steam on your Google Pixel 10 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S25 and more.

Does that mean SteamOS will come to phones? It's a possibility, but as Griffais points out: "I don’t know if that’s going to be a big focus for us to develop local content or try to develop SteamOS for devices like that." But there's one device that would see huge benefits from an Arm-based chip, and that's the Steam Deck 2.

Steam Deck 2 on Arm?

We've seen a push for Arm-based gaming recently, with the Snapdragon X2 Elite for laptops playing games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong running as high as 90 frames per second (FPS) after testing. Moreover, I'm impressed to see that the Steam Frame VR headset with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip will be able to play VR and non-VR Steam games.

It's become clear that gaming on Arm-based devices is only getting better, and this could be an advantage for the future of gaming handhelds. Namely, in battery life, as Arm-based chips from Qualcomm have shown incredible power efficiency while still offering peak performance. While the ROG Xbox Ally X shows strong battery life at nearly three hours, an Arm SoC that uses Valve's Proton and Fex to play games on Steam would push battery limits further.

When asked about the future of handheld gaming with Arm, Griffais states: "I think Arm devices are definitely a good fit for lower performance, like anything lower than Steam Deck. But it’s possible it’ll be a good option for something on the order of the Steam Deck performance envelope."

Of course, this shows that Valve is staying tight-lipped about what its rumored Steam Deck 2 will come packed with, with previous tips indicating it will feature an AMD chip (as with the current Steam Deck). Still, with the advancements Valve is funding to deliver Windows games to Arm, and how these chips are already seeing a big boost in gaming performance, there's good reason for Valve's next gaming handheld to run on Arm.

"There’s a lot of price points and power consumption points where Arm-based chipsets are doing a better job of serving the market," Griffais says. And with the goal of making Arm-based devices a platform for all games to run, so gamers and developers don't have to worry about the architecture a device is using, it looks like a good fit for a next-gen Steam Deck.

There's no telling when we'll see a Steam Deck 2, as we're still waiting for the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and all-new Steam Controller to drop in spring 2026. But it's clear Valve’s Proton and Fex will make Arm chips a viable option for the next Steam Deck, and I, for one, would love to see SteamOS on more devices.

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Microsoft may have been developing operating systems for decades, yet the Redmond colossus still hasn’t cooked up an OS that feels great to game on. 20 years ago, the House That Bill Built conquered the console market with the Xbox 360. Despite that short-lived spell of class-leading success, booting your favourite titles on one of the best gaming PCs through Windows often remains a chore two decades on.

Full disclosure: I initially didn't mean to go on an anti-Windows 11 rant, as I wanted to delve deep into my impressions of the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) — Microsoft's answer to finally fixing playing games on Windows. Alas, such is the pain of downloading new updates on Microsoft’s latest OS; a night of failed testing misery quickly put paid to that idea.

First launched on the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally last month, Xbox FSE quietly rolled out on all Windows-based handhelds on November 21. A few days later, it was then made available on rigs and the best gaming laptops, provided you’re a Windows Insider member.

Tom’s Guide Jason England described Xbox FSE as a “stellar UI to navigate." I’m guessing this is partly because it reduces Windows 11’s overall background power and performance overheads to allow for more responsive interactions with launchers like Steam and the Epic Games Store. I’ll just have to take Jason’s word for it, because try as I might, I can’t get the damn thing to work.

Most of the time, I don’t have many issues updating Windows 11. Sadly, this was not the case when trying to download the snappily titled “Windows 11 Insider Preview Feature Update (26220.7271).” The latest Insider build is required to test drive Xbox FSE ahead of its full launch on Windows PCs, laptops and tablets, and oh boy, is it a pain to get working.

Despite being hooked up to a 1GB full-fibre optic connection, both my gaming PC and Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) took a veritable Ice Age to download the update. I’m pretty sure I could have skimmed "War and Peace" in the time it took to install on my two main gaming devices. When it comes to downloading apps or games from the Windows Store or key updates via the settings menu, Windows 11 is about as swift as a heavily sedated sloth.

After multiple restarts, Xbox FSE kept refusing to play ball. The three main methods of switching to this UI involve either hitting the Windows + Tab keys, Windows + F11 or by accessing it through the Windows 11 Game Bar overlay. And to my complete lack of surprise, not one of these shortcuts worked for me.

Part of the problem was that I was accessing the update through Windows Insider’s dev channel — an enthusiast-level tier that Microsoft freely admits has “some rough edges and low stability” — so I can partly accept the early FSE teething pains. The trouble is, I’ve been using Windows 11 for years now, and there are almost always rough edges in day-to-day usage.

Win-d’oh!

Even if you’re lucky enough to have built the coolest gaming PC ever that houses an RTX 5090, top-tier hardware can’t entirely solve Windows gaming woes. I’ve been using Microsoft’s operating systems since the dreaded days of Windows Vista, so I’m dealing with a shedload of OS-based PTSD. I’d wager that over that time period, I’ve endured hundreds of random crashes and infuriating instances of the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

It’s not just that gaming on a Windows system often feels about as stable as driving an 18-wheeler across quicksand. Instability issues and constant grating updates are things you’re eventually forced to get used to if you want to play the best PC games at frame rates far higher than even the PS5 Pro can manage.

Regardless of how many updates Microsoft drops, though, Windows 11 still delivers a somewhat cluttered UI, especially when you dive into its menus. The Windows Store is a hideous beast blighted by slow downloads. I constantly find Copilot repeatedly sneaking back into my taskbar, no matter how many times I uninstall it, while HDR on many PC games feels borked compared to how PS5 and Xbox Series X handle High Dynamic Range content.

That last annoyance really grinds my gears. Despite owning one of the best gaming monitors — the glorious Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 — blacks often don’t look inky enough on my display. This is an even more glaring issue for older games that need to rely on Windows Auto HDR; a feature that still doesn’t look right years after release. To this day, I constantly find myself in the Nvidia Control Panel tediously tweaking brightness and contrast sliders to fix black levels in titles.

Unreliable Windows HDR implementation is also an issue on my beautiful ROG Zephyrus G14. It’s only by using the excellent fan-made NvTrueHDR software that I can get my favorite Steam games looking their best on its sensational OLED screen. I really hope Microsoft improves its subpar HDR features before Windows 12 inevitably launches.

No matter what improvements Microsoft makes to Windows — and make no mistake, I think 11 is a much better OS than Windows 10 — the software giant keeps scoring needless own goals. Just look at the recent (KB5066835) system update, a patch so disastrous for gaming performance, it pretty much halves frame rates in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (thanks, Digital Foundry). Granted, Nvidia swiftly released an emergency patch to remedy this issue for owners of Team Green GPUs, but it’s still an embarrassing misstep for Microsoft.

Letting off SteamOS

If Windows were my spouse, I’d be getting ready to file divorce papers. A newly single me would then try to slap a ring on a Linux system’s imaginary finger. Let me explain.

Due to its efficiency and winning compatibility features, I’ve really come to appreciate Linux as an operating system since picking up the fantastic Steam Deck OLED a couple of years ago. That’s mainly due to the effortlessly excellent SteamOS — hands-down my favorite UI on any current gaming platform.

I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had genuine issues with this Linux-based operating system. It’s responsive, it’s stable, it’s not dragged down by bloatware and it gets you into the heart of the action of your favorite games with the minimal amount of fuss. SteamOS is the main reason why I’d always choose Valve’s handheld PC over more powerful Windows-based alternatives.

It’s this love for Linux’s portable operating system that has got me so jazzed for the upcoming Steam Machine. As a bit of a hardware snob, Valve’s new mini PC should leave me cold on paper. Though its Gamecube-style aesthetics make me want to cuddle Gabe Newell and company’s teeny device, its specs are a little lacking. It may be 6x more powerful than the Steam Deck, but a GPU with just 8GB of VRAM means it's going to struggle to run demanding triple-A games at 60 FPS going forward.

And yet, I’m still totally into the concept of the Steam Machine. As much as I adore my mid-tower gaming PC, it’s a pain to use in my living room. That’s mainly because it houses an RTX 5090 that’s longer than an Xbox Series X… oh, and the small fact that it weighs well over 50 lbs. On the occasions I do carry it from my home office into my lounge, I can practically feel my knees shatter every time I have to lug the beast around my apartment. So long cartilage, it was nice knowing you.

GabeCube

The Steam Machine obviously won’t be able to run Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty at 4K/120 FPS with full path tracing enabled like my chunky rig is capable of. Yet it should be great at delivering 4K/60 FPS experiences in slightly older titles by utilising AMD’s frame-boosting FSR upscaling tech. As such, some of the best Steam games should hopefully be able to hand in performance that’s closer to PS5 than the Nintendo Switch 2.

I’ve been a huge fan of Steam’s Big Picture mode for years. While it’s not flawless, Valve’s TV-friendly UI makes navigating through your Steam library on a controller a relative breeze. SteamOS on the Steam Machine is set to deliver a comparably intuitive experience for fans of the best PC game controllers, and the mini PC’s UI should play especially nicely with the upcoming Steam Controller.

Jumping between numerous games on my embarrassingly large Steam library is a doddle thanks to the Linus-based SteamOS. Give me the option of having that fantastic UI on a box you can hold in your hands rather than a Windows PC that flirts with giving me a hernia every time I pick it up, and it’s no wonder my spine wants me to buy a Steam Machine.

If nothing else, playing games in hassle-free fashion on a purpose-built Linux OS is going to be a lot more pleasurable than maddeningly messing around with Windows Insider settings. Now, let’s just hope Valve can ship the Steam Machine for less than the price of a PS5 Pro.

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• Don’t expect console pricing for Valve’s Steam Machine — unless it’s a PS5 Pro
• I didn’t think I could love my Steam Deck OLED more — then I bought this cheap accessory
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After the success of the Steam Deck in recent years, it was still a surprise to see Valve announce even more gaming hardware.

Alongside the Steam Frame and new Steam Controller, the Steam Machine has captured the attention of many, packing a gaming PC into a Gamecube-like form factor that’s just as well suited to being next to your TV as it is on your desk.

With Valve remaining tight-lipped about pricing, though, we haven’t had a lot of information to go on — and now, we know a little more.

Valve’s Steam Machine expected to be priced like a PC

Valve has suggested that the Steam Machine will not have its price subsidized, which is what you see from traditional console manufacturers.

Essentially, consoles are sold at a little less than what they cost to make, with platform holders like Microsoft and Sony making money back through the sale of software. That helps keep the prices of consoles down, and as we saw with the PS4 and Xbox One generation, having the lowest sticker price can be a huge deal.

Still, Valve will be sticking to what it did for the Steam Deck back in 2022. The Steam Machine will cost what it costs, essentially — so what will it cost?

YouTuber Dave2D said Valve told him they’re not targeting console pricing, but that the system will be priced competitively with a compact PC.

Estimates suggest that it could start at a low of $700, with prices going up to around $800. But Pierre-Loup Griffais, a Valve Software Engineer, told YouTuber SkillUp the following:

“No, it’s more in line with what you might expect from the current PC market. Obviously, our goal is for it to be a good deal at that level of performance. And then you have features that are actually really hard to build if you are making your own gaming PC from parts.”

“Things like the small form factor, the noise level that we achieved, or lack thereof, is really impressive and we are excited that people are going to find out how quiet this thing is. But also, some integration features like HDMI CEC., the Bluetooth and wireless work that we’ve done, the four antennas, the very deliberate design, so that you can have a great experience with four Bluetooth controllers."

Of course, there's no solid price on Valve's PC machine just yet, but it does give us a good idea of the price it will be. Considering the PS5 Pro is now up to $749 due to an increase, the Steam Machine may have some competition on the console front after all.

Given that the next Xbox is expected to offer a more PC-like experience with additional storefronts, this could allow Microsoft the chance to sneak in at the more affordable end of the spectrum. Although the company has said its next-gen hardware will have a more premium focus.

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A decade after the original Steam Machines flopped, Valve is dipping its toes back into the console waters with a new ecosystem of gaming hardware.

Joining the successful Steam Deck is a new Steam Machine, a revamped Steam Controller and a VR headset dubbed the Steam Frame.

The Machine and Controller use the same nomenclature as the original devices released by Valve ten years ago. These new ones don't look anything like their predecessors.

Valve released the Index headset in 2019, but discontinued it in the last few years after the headset also didn't take off. The new Frame is lightweight and meant to be its own device without connecting to a gaming PC, though you can do that too.

For detailed breakdowns on the devices, we have a separate article about the Steam Machine and Steam Controller and another on the Steam Frame.

Tom's Guide is taking a look at each device, how we got here, and what to expect from Valve going forward.

Valve's 3 Big Announcements: What's New

• Steam Machine: A Gamecube looking console with a replaceable front plate and mid-level
• Steam Frame: A lightweight and slim VR headset that is a PC on its own featuring a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor
• Steam Controller: A redesigned Steam Controller with touchpads, extra shoulder buttons and a claimed 35 hours of battery life.

First look at the new Steam Machine

Nearly a decade after Valve launched the original Steam Machine, the gaming giant is announcing a new Steam Machine.

Unlike its predecessor, the new version looks more like a goth Gamecube minus the carrying handle.

Steam Frame headset

Valve's long-rumored "Deckard" headset has finally arrived. The new Steam Frame headset is a standalone VR headset that runs SteamOS.

Like the revamped Steam Machine, the Frame is Valve's second go at a headset, after the Valve Index which originally launched in 2019.

Valve adds devices to Steam

Valve has officially launched new hardware pages for the Machine, Frame and Controller on Steam.

Check it out here.

Lest you forgot: Steam is dominant in PC gaming

In case you're wondering what the addressable market is for the Steam Deck, Bloomberg reports that Steam has 40 million daily active players. That's a lot of gamers.

But why release this console now? The success of the Steam Deck has certainly helped. “We’ve been super happy with the success of Steam Deck, and a lot of the feedback we’ve received from gamers about it is what encouraged us to expand the options for Steam users,” Valve said in a statement.

Valve's announcement video

Valve dropped an announcement video showing off the Controller, Machine and Frame in action.

There are some impressive specs relayed in the video including a claimed 35 hour play time with the new Controller. Or that the Steam Machine is 6x more powerful than the Steam Deck.

The Steam Frame looks set to take on the Meta Quest 3 for VR gaming with similar looking controllers. It's standalone, Valve says "It is a PC," and it has expandable storage.

The video notes that all three devices are shipping in "early 2026" but no pricing yet.

Steam Machine specs

We don't yet know the price for the Steam Machine but we do have some specs for the new console.

Here's what you can expect:

Initial hands-on from IGN

The crew over at IGN got an early hands-on session with the Steam Machine.

They said at first glance its similar to the original Machine as a modest gaming PC meant to run games using SteamOS. Now though SteamOS has Proton which translates Windows games to Linux letting you play more of the games in your Steam library.

In person it's half the size of the Xbox Series X and features a magnetic front panel that can add some personal flair.

They said it ran Cyberpunk 2077 and some other games well but seemed to struggle a bit with the recently released Silent Hill F, something to keep an eye on.

Steam Frame key specs

The Steam Frame is a new wireless VR headset that is its own PC featuring a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and SteamOS.

Here are some key specs for the headset. At first glance, it really seems to be slim and lightweight compared to the Meta Quest 3 or the recently released Samsung Galaxy XR. At 435 grams (.9 lbs) that's 100 grams less than Samsung's headset which weighs 545 grams (1.2 lbs).

First look from The Verge

The Verge is another space who were able to get some hands-on time with the Steam Machine.

Their article is paywalled but Sean Hollister said he though the laptop-esque AMD chip combined with the GPU should offer similar performance to the PS5 Pro.

"While I didn’t have time for robust testing at Valve’s headquarters, my first impressions were promising," he said.

He even saw a version with an e-paper display that showed off the console's stats. The extra panels sound pretty interesting if it goes beyond just flair. Though they said Valve might not sell those types of panels.

They do note that the Steam Machine isn't really upgradeable beyond adding an SSD since everything inside is soldered on. Though it's probable most people will treat the Machine like a normal console.

Steam Controller key specs

Unlike the experimental original Steam Controller with its circular pads, the new version looks a little more traditional with the addition of track pads below the buttons.

However, the most impressive thing is a claimed 35 or more hours of battery life. Most wireless controllers do not offer battery life like that and it's one we'll have to test out once we get our hands on a set.

Pair with your Steam Deck

One nice feature of the Steam Machine is that you can use your Steam Deck with the console.

Valve says you can stream games to your Deck ala the PlayStation Portal. For those who have a Steam Deck this will be a nice way to continue gaming when you want to remove rooms.

You can also send games to the Steam Frame, or any other device that runs Steam or Steam Link.

What about price?

Unfortunately, Valve has not released pricing for any of the new Steam devices.

At a simple level, the new Galaxy XR headset costs $1800 while the Meta Quest 3 will set you back $500. I think the Steam Frame will be closer to the Quest 3 but probably a bit more expensive.

As for the Steam Machine, using the specs we have you could get a gaming PC for about $800. That's not friendly for a console, even if they are getting more expensive. The smaller 512GB version should be much cheaper than the 2 TB model.

We won't know until "early 2026."

It's a full ecosystem

We highlighted the new Steam devices on our TikTok account.

If you're not following us on TikTok or YouTube, we react to news, do hands-ons, unboxings and first looks at tech shows, conferences and more.

Give us a follow.

A closer look at the Frame

Above, we have some detail shots of the Steam Frame, including the controllers, knobs, strap, and passthrough cameras.

Tom's Hardware hands-on

Our colleagues at Tom's Hardware were able to go to Bellevue, Washington to see the new Steam Machine in person.

They were impressed with the massive heatsink, which should make it a quiet and cool device.

They said the new Controller didn't feel overly bulky, nor heavy or light and that the plastic felt similar to the Steam Deck.

"With newer hardware, better game compatibility, and the Steam Deck as a strong proof of concept, it sure seems from a brief hands-on that the Steam Machine has a better chance this time around."

Steam Machine Verified

The Steam Machine and Frame both run on SteamOS, Valve's gaming optimized operating system.

Not every game worked with SteamOS until Valve installed its Proton layer that lets Windows games work in the Linux based OS.

For Steam Decks Valve introduced Steam Deck verified which tells you how games will run on the handheld console.

The Steam Machine is getting a similar rating system so you'll understand how games should perform. With the Steam Machine reportedly 6x more powerful than the Steam Deck it should run even more games, even better.

It's official. Valve just announced its new Steam Frame VR headset, a standalone virtual reality device that looks to take on the Meta Quest 3 — and it's built for SteamOS.

Valve finally revealed its long-awaited VR headset today, previously rumored to be Valve Deckard, and it's a wireless device that comes equipped with a Snapdragon ARM processor, an LCD display with 2160 x 2160 per eye resolution, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, up to a 120Hz refresh rate (144Hz experimental) and pancake optic lenses — with that last one being similar to the Quest 3.

Along with featuring eye-tracking, camera passthrough and a 110-degree field of view (FOV), the Steam Frame also comes equipped with a wireless adapter as a low-latency link between the headset and a PC. Plus, it runs on SteamOS, like a VR version of the Steam Deck. What's more, it also focuses on non-VR gaming, but we'll still be getting "Steam Frame verified" games.

Along with the headset, Valve also introduced new Steam Frame controllers, which come with 6DoF tracking, TMR thumbsticks, haptic feedback and finger sensors.

Valve's Steam Frame is set to be released in spring 2026, while no price has been announced just yet. It's already looking to rival the best VR headsets around, but we'll have to wait and see once it officially arrives.

Valve Steam Frame: Specs

Valve Steam Frame: Everything we know so far

From the looks of it, the Steam Frame and its VR controllers look similar to the Meta Quest 3, just without the strap on top. It comes with cushioning on the facial interface and rear, with the latter holding the rechargeable 21.6 Wh battery that appears to plug into the headset.

It also comes in at a lightweight 0.9 pounds with the headstrap included (the Quest 3 weighs 1.1 pounds).

Excitingly, the headset comes with hugely welcome pancake lenses, which is what the Meta Quest 3 has been praised for. But the specs fall more in line with the PSVR 2, with the 2160 x 2160 per eye LCD displays, 72 to 120Hz refresh rate, with 144Hz being experimental, and a wide 110-degree FOV.

More than just a successor to the Valve Index, the Steam Frame doesn't require a Base Station for tracking, as it acts as a standalone VR headset. It comes with four outward-facing cameras and two interior cameras for eye tracking, and even passthrough to see your immediate space even with the headset on (much like Meta Quest headsets).

As for under the hood, it comes with a Snapdragon ARM processor based on 4nm architecture, like the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2, and comes with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 256GB or 1TB storage options and a microSD card slot for even more storage. With its Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, it's also offering up some faster connection speeds.

While it's a standalone headset that runs on SteamOS, it also comes with a wireless adapter to offer a direct, cordless link between the headset and your PC. That means we could see extended PCVR gaming. Plus, you can expect dual speakers in the headstrap itself, along with a microphone.

The Steam Frame comes announced with two other exciting products: The Steam Machine home console and new Steam Controller. With a new VR headset now arriving in 2026, though, here's hoping Valve's Steam Frame is a tease of a follow-up to Half-Life: Alyx. But for now, only time will tell what's to come.

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Valve's next VR headset may be preparing to launch before the end of 2025, with a new report claiming the rumored "Steam Frame" has entered mass production.

The next-gen VR headset, also referenced as Valve Deckard, is reportedly set to launch this year. This comes from the Chinese analyst group XR Research Institute (via UploadVR), who claim production has already begun on the headset, and we can expect 400,000 to 600,000 units per year.

As noted, this puts it along the same numbers as the Apple Vision Pro at around 400,000 units, after production had been cut. This points to more of a niche headset, and likely a pricey one, especially compared to the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S, which are at least set to be in the millions.

Rumors of Valve's "Steam Frame" have been ramping up, with many recently believing it would be revealed during Meta Connect 2025. This didn't come to be, but the VR headset had also been rumored to launch by the end of 2025 before. According to known leaker Gabe Follower on X, it will apparently be priced around $1,200 / £950 / AU$1,900.

If the report is true, it's looking more likely that we'll finally see the long-rumored Valve VR headset. Recently, tipster SadlyItsBradley on X confirmed that Valve rebranded "SteamVR 'Overlays' to 'Frames,'" and seeing as Valve trademarked the "Steam Frame" moniker, it's likely that the next piece of hardware will be all about VR gaming.

A standalone VR headset?

Of course, it's worth taking this in with a pinch of salt, seeing as the "Steam Frame" was rumored to be revealed back in September. However, now that it's reported to have entered mass production, it's a good sign that the VR headset is well on its way.

We've seen many rumors of Valve's next headset, with a Valve product designer seemingly confirming work on a VR headset in an interview. The question is, will it be a standalone headset to take on the Meta Quest 3, or a headset that takes advantage of a link to a PC?

Rumors of a SteamVR Link Wireless Dongle on Reddit via TweakTown to wirelessly connect the "Steam Frame" to a PC to allow for higher-quality VR gaming, and SadlyItsBradley has also unveiled what the Roy controllers may look like.

In any case, it may not be much longer until we find out. Valve is expected to have many hugely anticipated products in the works, including its Steam Deck 2 and a new Steam "Fremont" console. But for now, we'll be keeping an eye out for a "Steam Frame" announcement.

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The Xbox app for PC now lists all of your installed Windows 11 games. After installing the update that’s available right now, everything you’ve played from various launchers like Steam, Battle.net and other storefronts will appear in your library, giving you the ability to quickly launch them.

“Bring your game collection together with the new aggregated gaming library that shows your installed games from multiple PC storefronts, including your Xbox library, Xbox Game Pass, Battle.net and other leading PC storefronts, making it easier than ever to access your games in one place, whether you’re on a Windows PC or handheld device,” says Jason Beaumont, VP of Experiences at Xbox in a blog post.

Games you install from a supported PC storefront automatically appear in the “My Library” and “Most recent” tabs within the Xbox PC app. To ensure all your PC games appear in the Xbox app, go to your profile picture, head to Settings, select Library & Extensions, locate the listed storefronts, and toggle the listing on and off as you’d prefer. This way, you can control exactly how your library looks.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong broke the internet. That’s not hyperbole, as major gaming storefronts like Steam, PSN, the Nintendo eShop and the Xbox Store all temporarily went down due to the surge of folks buying and downloading the highly anticipated sequel. At time of writing, 490,490 people are playing the game on Steam. To overstate the obvious, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a big deal.

I find this whole situation intriguing since I had no idea Hollow Knight was so popular. Sure, I’ve heard of Hollow Knight since it’s been around since 2017, but I didn’t pay it much attention since it seemed like yet another indie Metroidvania game. I was confused when some indie game devs delayed their game releases to avoid competing with Silksong. Why do that? When I searched how many units Hollow Knight had sold, I was amazed that it had sold 15 million! How did an indie game about bugs sell as much as a Call of Duty?

So, due to the overwhelming hype surrounding Silksong and the fact that it only costs $20 (which is probably another reason it’s selling so well), I decided to see what the buzz was about.

I only got to play a few hours, and though I can’t yet say I fully get why everyone’s losing their mind over it, I can see glimpses of what makes it special. With understanding that this isn’t a full review, or even a preview, here are my initial thoughts on Hollow Knight: Silksong.

A bug's life

Hollow Knight: Silksong begins with a beautifully animated cinematic that instantly pulls you in. I’m a sucker for hand-drawn animation in video games, so the intro is a great hook. It doesn’t take long before I’m in control of the game’s protagonist, who finds themselves in a strange and mossy underground cavern.

This might not be the right comparison, but the first game I thought of when starting Silksong was another indie darling — Ori and the Will of the Wisps. That game and its equally excellent predecessor are also gorgeous-looking 2D side scrollers set in a dark, fantastical world. However, Silksong is generally darker and more foreboding than the often colorful Ori series. I’d say Silksong takes the magical wonder of Ori and combines it with the dark gloominess of Limbo or Inside, which are also brilliant 2D platformers.

The other thing that stood out and continues to be somewhat disturbing is that your character and some of the insectoid denizens they encounter have human-sounding voices. They don’t speak real-world languages, but they’re all voice-acted. Having a human-sounding voice coming from bug-like creatures is just…weird, man! It would be less disturbing if everyone made inhuman, insect-like noises. But perhaps this is part of the franchise’s charm.

Given how I’m only a few hours in, I’m in no position to discuss Silksong’s plot. From what I understand, I’m in some strange new land, and I’m on a quest to find a way out. So far, I’ve met folks who are either stranded or traveling for various reasons. I’m sure the plot will reveal itself as I go on, but so far, the simple goal of escaping is enough impetus for me to continue.

Threading the needle

Gameplay-wise, Hollow Knight: Silksong has the same somewhat loose-feeling controls of many indie games I’ve played. That’s not to say the controls are imprecise, but there’s a certain floatiness to the character's movements that makes it feel decidedly “indie” to me. Performing jumps can be a little tricky since you really need to hold down the jump button for longer leaps, but it’s not too difficult to acclimate.

Right now, my main weapon is a needle, which acts as a sword. I can also toss the needle like a spear, though this is a special ability that consumes silk you generate from hitting enemies. Attacking the various bugs and other creatures feels nice and punchy thanks to the beefy sound effects and slight screen shake. Like traversal, combat feels a little loose, but it’s generally responsive when you get the hang of it.

Going in, I knew Silksong would be a difficult game, so I never blindly leaped into battle. Going in with this mindset has kept me alive (for the most part), since even small foes can be extremely aggressive. Paying attention to enemy patterns is especially important during boss battles, which can last seconds if you’re not careful. Right now, it’s the boss battles that are really keeping me going. I do love a good challenge!

I’ve heard some compare Hollow Knight to “Soulslikes” such as Elden Ring, and I understand why. For instance, if you’re killed, you’ll have to return to where you died to retrieve the prayer beads and bone shards you’ve collected. If you die before reaching your goal, you lose all of these items. I also found shortcuts that make exploration easier, just like in Dark Souls games. And naturally, the difficulty is definitely reminiscent of a FromSoftware-developed title.

2D competition

Though I now see the appeal of the Hollow Knight games, I’m still somewhat ambivalent about Silksong. Part of the reason is that I’m playing it right after finishing Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance… which are also 2D sidescrolling action games. While I acknowledge that those are quite different from Silksong, they also give me more of what I want and expect.

Where Silksong’s controls can feel floaty and loose, Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi feature tight and precise platforming and combat. This is especially true for Shinobi, which allows you to dish out multi-hit combo strings reminiscent of a fighting game. These games are also very much action-focused, giving you almost no time to think as you slice your way through foes. That’s a stark contrast to the contemplative Silksong.

I think it’s telling that I fell in love with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance within minutes, whereas I’m still unsure how I feel about Silksong after several hours under my belt. But I’m admittedly an action-junkie who loves games that get my adrenaline pumping. Silksong has heartpounding moments, and I’m sure I’ll experience more as I continue, but this game is a slow burn compared to the two aforementioned ninja games.

The journey ahead

I don’t usually play games just because they’re trending. However, I really wanted to see why the gaming community is so stoked about Hollow Knight: Silksong. I’m glad I gave in to my curiosity since I can now (somewhat) understand why this series is so beloved. The art style is absolutely mesmerizing, and I appreciate the steep challenge that forces you to think before you act. And as I said, the $20 asking price is pretty irresistible.

I have a few other games on my plate, so I’ll likely focus on those before returning to Hollow Knight: Silksong. But even if I’m still on the fence about it, the game has stoked my interest enough to warrant my full attention when I have the time for it. Who knows, maybe it’ll become my surprise favorite game of 2025. If that happens, I’ll certainly let you all know!

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Valve is rumored to be developing several hotly anticipated devices, with its Steam Deck 2 expected to be in the works and a new Steam console tipped to be on the way. But its next hardware release is now pointing towards a standalone VR headset.

Recently, Valve trademarked new hardware called "Steam Frame," with reports indicating this could be the company's long-rumored Valve Fremont, a dedicated home console with SteamOS, or the Valve Deckard, its expected next-gen VR headset.

Now, thanks to a new leak from reliable tipster SadlyItsBradley on X, the "Frame" is very much looking like a headset for VR gaming. The leaker confirms that Valve is "rebranding SteamVR 'Overlays' to 'Frames,'" and seeing how the "Steam Frame" moniker now exists, it's likely that this hardware will be made for virtual reality.

Many other rumors point to a standalone VR headset from Valve, à la Meta Quest 3. This includes leaked details on its Roy VR controllers, along with a tip that the Valve Deckard would arrive by the end of 2025. What's more, this headset is rumored to be priced around $1,200 / £950, although this leak came from earlier this year, and with tariffs, that cost may all change.

Is 'Steam Frame' just for VR?

While it's yet to be official, if Valve ends up naming its expected Valve Deckard the "Steam Frame," as SadlyItsBradley suggests, we could have an all-new VR headset on our hands by the end of the year. That said, there's still a chance this could be part of a home console setup after all, with a previous rumor suggesting the VR headset would launch alongside the Valve Fremont.

There are also murmurs of a SteamVR Link Wireless Dongle on Reddit via TweakTown to wirelessly connect the "Steam Frame" to a PC to allow for higher-quality VR gaming, and SadlyItsBradley has also unveiled what the Roy controllers may look like.

So, we may see this "Steam Frame" VR headset as part of the launch of Valve's console, too. But of course, we won't know until Valve officially reveals its next set of hardware. Fortunately, this may not be too far off, with leakers claiming it will arrive by the end of 2025.

If it's to take on the Meta Quest 3, it will already have a tough time with its asking price. Compared to the Valve Index, we'd like to see at least 1440p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, along with complete access to SteamOS for VR without needing a VR-ready PC.

That's not the only headset that may be coming our way soon, as Samsung's Project Moohan is set to be coming (at an expected $1,800 cost), and we may see the Meta Quest 4 arrive further down the line.

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The original Hollow Knight launched in 2017 to great fanfare as gamers discovered the hard but beautiful indie game. The Australian developer Team Cherry announced Hollow Knight: Silksong in 2019 and fans were on tenterhooks waiting for it to release.

Now, it's finally here and available for digital purchase.

Silksong was originally meant to be DLC for the first game, but it quickly grew in scope, demanding more development time which led to delays for its release. Gamers being gamers, patience was not a strong suit.

The game didn't release without problems on September 4 as its launch crashed Steam and seemingly overloaded the Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox game stores.

However, that outage has resolved and now the game is readily available on a number of different platforms.

Hollow Knight: Silksong will cost you $19.99 plus sales tax where applicable. There is also a bundle that includes the game and the game's soundtrack for $25.58.

Read on to find out where you can snag your digital copy of Hollow Knight: Silksong on your platform of choice.

PC stores

Steam is where most PC gamers are likely to add Silksong to their library. After the initial outage, Steam is in working order and you can visit the Silksong store page now.

For those who don't use Steam you can also purchase Silksong on GOG.com, the Humble Store and Xbox Game Pass.

If you subscribe to Humble Choice ($14.99 a month), you can get $4 off Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Xbox Game Pass subscribers can download and play Silksong now.

Consoles

If you're like me and prefer to game on a console, Silksong is available for every current platform.

You can pick up a copy for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and for the Series X and Series S consoles. It's also compatible with the Steam Deck if you want to play on PC but on a handheld console.

Older consoles get some love too

For those of you who are still gaming on older consoles you're in luck. Hollow Knight: Silksong is available on the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4. If you have Xbox Game Pass, it says you can play on the current X|S Series consoles as well as on Xbox One.

If you buy Silksong on the Switch and later pick up a Switch 2, there is a free upgrade pack that gives you the Switch 2 version which is "enhanced." It's not clear what differences it will have beyond faster processing and smoother graphics though.

Will there be a physical edition?

Unfortunately, for those who like to have physical copies of their games, Silksong isn't launching with one.

However, according to Insider Gaming, a physical edition is coming for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 consoles, but not until 2026. No specific window was provided beyond "early 2026."

Allegedly, physical copies for other consoles will arrive later.

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The PC gaming store and platform Steam experienced issues following the release of a highly anticipated new game, preventing users from playing Hollow Knight: Silksong at launch.

It’s been over six years since the follow-up to the original Hollow Knight was first announced. As you can imagine, fans of the series are really excited to play the sequel, especially at just $20 for the full game compared to $80 for other new releases.

According to Down Detector, problems at Steam started earlier this morning ahead of Hollow Knight: Silksong launching on the platform. The surge of players attempting to buy a digital copy of the game seemed to take down Steam and stores for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xobx.

After about four hours of problems, things finally settled down. If you were looking forward to buying Silksong, you should be able to do so now without any problems.

We followed the situation and the game’s release closely, so stay tuned to Tom’s Guide for all the latest updates on both.

Down due to a major release

Steam began struggling to load this morning as the platform was overloaded by players downloading Hollow Knight: Silksong ahead of the game being playable at 10am ET, 7am PT and 3pm BST. Users who tried to login for the launch were met with error messages that read “Something Went Wrong” or noticed that the Steam client was loading extremely slowly or not at all.

Fortunately, it appears that some people are now able to access Steam and I am now able to load the store page in my browser. Given that today will be a very busy day for the platform though, it could go down again.

Up and running (for now)

Following the initial reports that Steam was down for many, I just went to the website and confirmed that the store is back up. In fact, as I'm using a new PC, I went ahead and downloaded the Steam client and logged into my account. However, while the store is up on the web, signing into my account is taking a lot longer than usual, likely due to the influx of users trying to download and play Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Slow but operational

Steam is currently up and running with almost 36 million active users logged into the platform. According to SteamDB, everything seems to be almost back to normal except for the store itself which was loading quite slowly for many users. Given that most people are at work, I wonder if we could see another outage or major slowdown this evening once people get home and start playing Hollow Knight: Silksong on the platform.

Reports are tapering down

Over on Down Detector, we're currently seeing fewer outage reports as it appears the PC gaming platform has recovered from the massive spike in traffic it saw in the run up to Hollow Knight: Silksong's release. I'm now able to open the store and browse like I normally would, so the worst could definitely be behind us.

You won't find any Hollow Knight: Silksong reviews just yet

If you're on the fence about picking up Hollow Knight: Silksong on release day, you might be looking for reviews of the highly anticipated game. However, there aren't any at the moment as review codes didn't go out to Tom's Guide and other outlets before the games release. There are plenty of hands-on accounts from those who played the game early to check out in the meantime. Just keep in mind that people who played Hollow Knight: Silksong before release had limited time to do so and likely barely scratched the surface of what appears to be a 50+ hour game.

Not just Steam

Given that Hollow Knight: Silksong isn't a PC exclusive, many fans of the series also took to the Nintendo eShop to download and play the new release today, likely on the new Switch 2. This led to Nintendo's online store also experiencing issues at around the same time Steam did.

Like the PC gaming platform, the eShop does appear to be back up, so you can download Silksong there if you want to play the game on the go if you don't have a Steam Deck

Off to a great start

Right now, over 100,000 people are currently playing Hollow Knight: Silksong on Steam according to SteamDB. This is a fantastic start for the highly anticipated sequel to 2017's hit Metroidvania. We'll likely get a better look at the game's sales across other platforms in a few days. And just a reminder, if you're having trouble buying the game on Steam or on the Nintendo eShop, it's also available on PlayStation (both PS4 and PS5) and Xbox too.

PlayStation and Xbox also experiencing issues

In addition to Steam and the Nintendo eShop, it appears that the release of Hollow Knight is also affecting Sony and Microsoft's respective game stores. I've seen several reports on X (like this one from Dexerto) that users on PS5 and Xbox are no longer able to load the game's store page on both platforms. Like with Steam though, this issue should be resolved once the initial surge of people trying to buy and download the game on launch day winds down.

Spike in Steam outage reports

Just when it looked like Steam was set to fully recover, over on Down Detector, there's been a slight spike in new outage reports. I expected that Steam wouldn't instantly recover and that the platform and its store would continue experiencing issues throughout the day.

Over on X, many users are posting that while they can open and use Steam, they aren't able to actually buy Hollow Knight: Silksong after adding the game to their carts. If you do want to play Silksong on PC, there are other options though, you can get it through Humble Bundle or on the Xbox PC game store. Likewise, if you're a Game Pass subscriber, it's available now as a day one release.

No official response yet

I've scoured through the various social accounts from Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Team Cherry and no one has acknowledged the slowdown yet.

To be fair to Team Cherry, they likely can't do anything about any Steam issues, and the team is based out of Australia where it's currently 2:30 in the morning.

But both the Steam and Team Cherry accounts have a lot of comments with people sad about the inability to download the game.

Reports going down again

Nearly an hour ago there was a big spike in reports after it seemed like it was tapering off.

That second spikes appears to be going down now as more people are reporting they can download Silksong.

As of this writing, Down Detector is showing around 2,700 reports, a significant drop from the initial major spike of 11,000 and the follow up one that hit around 6,500.

Outage nearly over

Following our last post, the Steam outage has halved again to around 1,200 reports.

I am still seeing comments that some people are having trouble once they get to entering payment information.

However, more people are indicating that they've been able to get through and download the game.

I'll keep an eye on things a little bit longer to see if anything changes, but if you were waiting until the outage subsided, you should be okay to jump in.

Calling it

Well, friends, our time here is done, for now.

Reports have finally dipped under 1,000 over on Down Detector. And looking at the official Steam Network page and the unofficial Steamstat.us shows everything to be back to normal.

Hollow Knight: Silksong may have been the cause but it appears things have settled down and you can get back to gaming away.

Steam isn’t just the premier PC games digital store, it’s also a place where it’s ridiculously easy to make impulse buys you might instantly regret.

That’s because Valve’s platform doesn’t just have ALL the games, it also has a daily doze of tempting sales. If you get struck by buyer’s remorse, we’re here to show you how to get a Steam game refund.

First off, you can breathe a sigh of relief in that obtaining said Steam reimbursement is mercifully easy… though there are a few important caveats.

To be eligible for a Steam refund on that game you now regret purchasing — whether you’re playing on the Steam Deck OLED or one of the best gaming PCs — you have to request your money back from Valve within 14 days of the initial purchase.

Even more crucially? Your playtime of whatever game you want a refund for has to clock in at under two hours.

How to get a game refunded on Steam

Before we get into the nitty gritty of how you can reclaim your money on a Steam game you’ve just bought and no longer want, there’s a key piece of info you need to know.

You can’t request a refund on any version of the Steam app (be it desktop or mobile). Instead, all refund applications have to be made through the Steam website.

It’s worth noting that Valve can take several days to respond to your return request, but once the company does, that precious money will either be back in your bank account or Steam balance in short order.

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While there were handheld PCs before the Steam Deck, it would be fair to say that Valve’s just-about-portable marvel has played its part in a big push for handheld dominance, especially after Nintendo took a while to release its successor to its ludicrously popular Switch.

Still, 2025 is a very different time from 2022. Nintendo is back with a vengeance, and there are more powerful handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally. Even Xbox is looking to get in on the action, so if you’ve not picked up a Steam Deck as of yet, have you missed your chance, especially as rumors swirl of a Steam Deck 2?

Let’s dig in.

The lay of the land

Between your Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X, MSI Claw 8 AI+, Logitech G Cloud, Lenovo Legion Go S and many more, it’d be fair to say we’ve gone from there being very little like the Steam Deck to having an absolute bevy of options — and that’s not even counting the much-improved Nintendo Switch 2.

This isn’t intended to be a comparison piece between the Steam Deck and its rivals, but it’s worth considering the options if you’re looking for the best handheld PC. Steam Deck can run Windows, but its strength lies in SteamOS (which is now coming to other handhelds) and its more console-like ease of use.

Looking to play Fortnite or Call of Duty Warzone? Those games simply aren’t supported on SteamOS, so you’re probably better off looking at alternatives. But, if you’ve got a huge Steam library or a backlog that you just can’t seem to chew through, Steam Deck (specifically the OLED model) is the way to go.

Letting off Steam

Booting up Steam Deck, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s more console than PC. Sure, you can boot into a Linux-based desktop mode and add other game launchers, but being able to grab the system, power it on and pick up where I was on Cyberpunk 2077 wherever I am is arguably better than on console, thanks to the way Steam Deck can quickly resume from sleep mode without messing with TV inputs and such.

Still, there have been suggestions that Valve’s console just doesn’t pack the punch it used to. Other handheld PCs have higher resolutions, better refresh rates and overall more power, while even the Switch 2 can run a fantastic port of the aforementioned Cyberpunk. Does the Steam Deck have enough power?

In many ways, it depends on your viewpoint. If you’ve got a nice gaming PC, you’ll get more frames and higher resolutions there, but being able to take games on the go at a very respectable 900p resolution still feels a little like witchcraft for anyone who once thought the Game Boy Color was the high watermark of handheld gaming.

Power up a Steam Deck in front of someone who’s never seen one before and show them 2022’s Elden Ring running so nicely on a handheld, or 2018’s Monster Hunter World, 2019’s Red Dead Redemption 2 (don’t jump to the comments, we’re talking PC release year) and they’ll likely care not one jot.

And yet, in 2025, is that enough? That depends on your desire to play the latest PC games, and while there will always be games that run well with a subtle tweak or two, there will be others that struggle or flat out won’t work because of the Linux base of SteamOS.

So, while I’m gutted I can’t play Destiny 2: Edge of Fate on my Steam Deck, I can console myself with knowing that Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 are great on the system, but it’s not the place I’d be playing Battlefield 6 when it launches, even if I could.

In short, it’s down to your choice of games, but it’s worth stressing just how massive the Steam library is and how easy it is to get started. I have games running back a decade or so, where I installed them to play on an old Intel MacBook or Sony Vaio laptop that I can install and be playing in comfort with just a few button presses.

Valve’s labelling system makes it easy to work out which games will be playable, and for me, there’s nothing like knowing I can jump into 2008’s Mirror’s Edge or 2013’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist on a modern-day system and have them run better than they did on the original hardware more often than not.

Bye-bye, backlog

In that sense, Steam Deck is the console for lapsed gamers that don’t want Microsoft Word on their portable handheld, but instead want to jump into cult classics like Hitman: Blood Money (my all-time favorite game, thanks for asking).

Add to that Steam’s frankly ridiculous (in a good way) discounts, and you can build a collection for a few dollars. Put that next to the Switch 2, which will charge you another $60 for the Elden Ring you already have on PC, and you can see how the Steam Deck more than holds its own.

All of this talk of convenience doesn’t mean there’s nothing for tinkerers to enjoy, either. Valve has been very happy to put frame counters and power charts front and center for anyone who wants them, while many users choose to swap out SSD drives for larger ones. That makes the Steam Deck a sort of "jack of all trades," and while it may not be a master at any one, it’s pretty fantastic at many of them.

Should you buy a Steam Deck in 2025?

The answer is a resounding yes, but with a handful of caveats attached. For one, it’s worth confirming if the games you want to play on Steam Deck will actually run on the system, either because of anticheat requirements or just plain old graphical grunt under the hood.

If the game doesn’t, you might want to look at an alternative, or consider playing on a console or a more traditional PC.

The other caveat is the model of Steam Deck you should go for. The LCD is a fantastic system, but the OLED surpasses it in every way. The screen is slightly bigger and much better, both in terms of brightness and contrast, and has a higher refresh rate, while it’s also got improved battery life and faster downloads thanks to Wi-Fi 6E.

In short, the Steam Deck OLED is the one to go for, and anyone picking one up in 2025 will be very, very happy.

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Starting around 9:50 a.m. Pacific, reports of issues with Steam started to pick up on the outage tracker DownDetector with some warnings on other tracking sites.

Steam is a major platform with hundreds of thousands if not millions of users. Reports peaked around 5,000 on Down Detector, but we saw complaints on X and Reddit as well.

Steam's annual Summer Sale kicked off today and the servers were apparently almost immediately overloaded as millions of gamers attempted to take advantage of deep discounts.

It's not uncommon for Steam's regular sales to knock the servers down in the first few hours of the sale, but tends to settle down after a bit. We saw a similar situation during the Steam Winter sale in December.

This time around, the shopping cart and wishlists took the brunt of the outage. I was able to browse and add games to my wishlist but viewing the list or purchasing game was impossible during the outage.

The outage lasted from about 9:50 a.m. Pacific to around 12:15 p.m., or just about two hours. Usually when Steam sales have issues it only lasts for about an hour, but today's went a little bit longer.

We monitored the Steam outage as it lasted. Read on for updates as they occurred.

Steam outage — live updates

Outage started early

On the West Coast of the U.S. reports started to pick up around 9:50 a.m. Pacific and spiked at around 3000 reports at 10:30 a.m.

Steam Store "offline"

Over on an unofficial Steam Status page, the Store is listed as offline.

Other services seem to be working normally from what we can see.

Steam Charts page not working properly

Found via an FAQ which purported to link to a Network Status page, the Charts Overview page on Steampowered.com tells you what's popular and how many people are online.

It's not quite loading properly, but according to the charts page over 32 million people are currently online.

Steam Summer Sale

Steam's annual Summer Sale is live now and is supposed to last through July 10.

Typically, many games on Steam get steep discounts. For example, the Crash Bandicoot trilogy is down nearly 90% to $3.99.

The problem is that millions of gamers are hitting the store to add another 20 games they'll never play to their library and it may be overloading the servers.

Down Detector

Over on the outage tracking site, Down Detector, there are, as of this writing, over 4,400 reports.

From comments there, it appears the issue spreads across the both the browser and app versions of Steam with people unable to purchase games or even view their wishlist.

Cart won't load

To test out the store, I tried adding Nomada Studio's Gris to my cart, since I haven't played it and it's 2 bucks right now.

No dice. After clicking 'Add to Cart' the system got stuck. You can see the spinning steam logo in the image above.

As I was writing this post, it crashed and now that box reads:

There was a problem displaying this item
Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'GetStoreItemType')

Wishlists won't load either

After attempting to buy Gris, I saw comments that the Wishlists weren't loading either.

Using the browser version I tried going to my wishlist and it won't load at all.

I also tried the mobile app and that one also crashed on the cart and the wishlist.

Social media wants to spend money

Taking a spin around social media including the Steam subreddit and X, gamers are confused by the outage and keep sarcastically saying that Valve is "allergic" to money.

We're seeing other people post similar images to what we've seen where the shopping cart crashes.

Not uncommon

It would seem that every time Steam holds a big sale, the first few hours are marred by server overload as gamers rush to fill their carts with discounted titles.

A similar outage occurred in December during the winter sale though that one only lasted a little less than an hour, which is what usually happens.

This summer sale one seems to be lasting longer and it's not clear when things might clear up.

Two hours and its still climbing

We're about 2 hours into the Steam Store outage, and reports are still climbing over at Down Detector.

As of this writing, it's sitting closer to 5,000 reports with no signs of going back down.

We're still seeing issues with the cart and wishlist on the Steam Store.

Steam seems to be working again

It was probably going to take an hour or two for Valve's servers to catch up to the load of millions of people

I was able to access my wishlist finally and access my cart where the game finally loaded and I could hit the payment button.

I'll keep an eye on it a little bit longer, but I expect reports to decrease soon and the outage to end or be over quickly.

Down Detector reports take a nosedive

With the Steam servers seemingly settled, reports over on DD have taken a steep fall.

As of this writing, they sit around 1200 after a peak of just over 5,000 merely 15 minutes ago.

On the Steam subreddit, we're seeing multiple posts about being able to purchase games again.

Capitalism at work.

The end

I've been able to shop and wishlist to my heart's content for the last few minutes and comments from social media show that people are also able to peruse the Steam summer sale.

Down Detector has dropped down to under 400 reports and continues to fall.

The plan to make Windows and Xbox a go-anywhere platform for gaming kicked off a bit with the announcement of Microsoft's new aggregated gaming library.

Starting this week, Xbox Insiders will be able to see Steam, Battle.net and Xbox games in the Xbox PC app on Windows, which makes it a single launcher for your installed PC games. The first look can be accessed on Windows 11 PCs and handheld devices.

To try it out, you do have to be enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview, which is pretty easy to access. You need to download the Xbox Insider Hub on your Xbox or Windows PC and join the program here.

For those not involved in the Insiders program, the aggregated library will roll out to the Xbox app "this holiday." It will also be available on the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X.

"When a player installs a game from a supported PC storefront, it will automatically appear in “My library” within the Xbox PC app, as well as the “Most recent” list of titles in the sidebar—making it easier than ever to jump back into your games," Microsoft's announcement reads.

According to Microsoft, as long as the game is installed from "supported PC stores," it will be listed in the library. There's also an extension area that lets you see the various storefronts.

From there, you can hide storefronts in the Library & Extensions section of the Xbox app settings.

The Xbox post does not say exactly which storefronts will be supported beyond "leading" ones, which likely means Steam, Epic, and maybe GOG.

It's all part of the future of Xbox gaming, where Microsoft appears to want to be the home of PC gaming while competing with Valve and its SteamOS.

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Now that Apple announced it's ending support for all Intel-based Macs, Valve has rolled out an update that allows Steam to run natively on Apple Silicon Macs — and it's available to try out now.

In the recent Steam Client Beta update, Valve details that the Steam client (and Steam Helper) app can run natively on Apple Silicon. Previously, to install Steam on Mac, gamers would have to use Rosetta 2 to run Intel-based apps on its chips.

It's been a long time coming. While Rosetta gave users a way to play Steam games on their Mac, there were a few hurdles to go through to get it set up.

Plus, since the Steam client runs via a Chromium-based user interface through Rosetta's transition layer, the app would run slow and hinder performance and feel laggy — especially compared to the Windows-based app. Now, Steam doesn't have to rely on this.

Steam on Mac running natively on Apple Silicon is currently in beta, so Valve is still working on optimizing its popular gaming client. But after trying it out, it's clearly a faster, smoother experience, with speedier launch times, more responsive navigation and quick access to the Store and Library.

How to enable native Steam on Mac in the beta

If you've installed the Steam app on Mac, you can try out the native version right now — and it's easy to do.

There you have it. With the update now in beta, it won't be long until the native Steam app for Apple Silicon rolls out to all, but it has yet to be announced when it will arrive.

With macOS Tahoe 26 being the final major update for Intel-based Macs, Valve is now making the move to offer its gaming client to Mac users that use Apple's own chips. And, with Apple's first dedicated gaming app arriving, gaming on Mac is about to get a lot better.

If you're wondering what else is coming to your Mac, check out the macOS Tahoe 26 features we're most excited about.

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There's more to PC gaming than just downloading one of the best PC games and plunging into hours of gameplay. I mean, that's what I've done for years, but there's frame rates, streaming, storage and an element of style to think about once you invest in a PC gaming setup.

There's more to Valve's essential Steam than just games, as there are many tools (free and paid) that will not only give your gaming laptop or PC a makeover, but will also help improve gaming performance, save precious space, make navigation around multitasking easier and even improve streaming capabilties — and that last one's for free.

We've gone through the hidden features on Steam you should know about, but what of the apps on Valve's popular gaming platform? Here are the tools you should check out if you're looking to give your gaming setup a boost.

Extra frame rates

If you haven't heard of Lossless Scaling before, now's the time to learn about it. Even though there are Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs with DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen, we've seen how those GPUs come at an awful high price. With this Steam app, however, you can essentially triple frame rates in PC games for less than $10/£10.

Using a variety of scaling options, Lossless Scaling can enhance your native PC gaming experience and bump up frame rates for much richer, smoother gameplay. We've noted that the app's frame gen isn't as fine-tuned as other big-brand companies like Nvidia's DLSS or AMD's FSR, but for single-player experiences in massive titles like Cypberpunk 2077, there is a negligible difference here.

We recommend using the “LSFG 2.2.” frame generation option, then select the “X2” option in the “Mode” tab.

That sweet wallpaper aesthetic

If you're looking to seriously upgrade your desktop's look, chances are PC buffs will point you straight to Wallpaper Engine. This isn't just some basic wallpaper app; it's a powerhouse backed by a massive community of artists churning out thousands of eye-popping themes and live wallpapers.

Want to tweak them to perfection? Go right ahead. Plus, it's got all the bells and whistles to turn your favorite static pics into slick animated backdrops.

While it might not be the ultimate gaming companion compared to some others out there, for anyone who loves tricking out their PC with awesome visuals, Wallpaper Engine is the way to go.

Easy streaming

If you're just getting started on streaming all the game you play, OBS Studio is a fantastic way to start. Why? Well, for livestreaming or video recording all the one-of-a-kind headshots you pull off, it's completely free.

Really, it's a great way to record gameplay videos to save to your hard drive to share with anyone, but it also offers a simple way to mix and match all your captured content and share it on multiple popular platforms, whether it be YouTube, Twitch, TikTok or whatever.

It's extremely versatile, with support for hardware encoders for different GPUs, audio and video mixers that can be used from multiple sources captured and it also boasts a simplistic interface to make getting to grips with it accessible for all.

Scrolling made easy?

Who said scrolling on your mouse was just for, well, scrolling? It may be the simplest app around, but JustScroll does everything it says it does, and that's to easily control your PC's volume but scrolling with your mouse. Simple, yet effective, no?

Whether you're gaming away or watching the latest shows and there's just a little too much noise coming from those speakers that your neighbours would be upset by, all you have to do is press the Windows Key and scroll. You can also hover over the Windows taskbar and scroll up or down to your heart's content.

That's it. There's a demo available, and while spending $2/£2 is a tad annoying just to have the feature active, all in all, it isn't much if you're looking for an easy way to adjust your volume with ease.

There's many a gaming laptop that doesn't have fast-reaching volume control buttons without pressing a function key or something of the like. But if you want to put your best gaming mouse of choice to good use, this app will do the trick.

Beyond borders

This one's for the old-school gamers. Whether I'm running Return to Castle Wolfenstein or X-Men Legends, some games (understandably) aren't well optimized for modern systems. That's where Borderless Gaming comes in, as it forces games to deliver that borderless, fullscreen experience on your PC no matter what the application.

Yes, many modern games come with a fullscreen option, but not all the classics comes with this option. If in doubt, this app will help you out. It can even hide the irritating taskbar if classic titles don't get rid of it.

Plus, if you're a multitasker that often uses Alt + Tab, you can lock your mouse cursor to the game window just in case you accidentally press something outside the game. Even better, there's the option to mute games in the background while you go about scrolling through the web for guides (what I do) and more.

BONUS: CompressorX

Are you always looking for extra space on your gaming PC? Well, if you play AAA gaming titles on the regular, you always will be. No matter your gaming PC and how big your storage is, there's only so much space to fit titles like Doom: The Dark Ages at 100GB, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at 55GB and The Last of Us Part II Remastered with 150GB.

That's where CompressorX comes in. This Steam app will compress gaming apps on Steam and shave off precious gigabytes on those large gaming files. I wrote about how the Steam app saved me 100GB of storage by compressing my gaming files (some better than others), but it's also come under scrutiny for just using New Technology File System (NTFS) compression that's already on Windows 11 (which is free to use).

I got in touch with the developer of the app, and this is what he told me:

"CompressorX is based on an earlier version of our LLM Compressor, which was developed at my AI lab in Tokyo. The model is specifically designed to minimize empirical risk across a large dataset while being lightweight enough to operate efficiently on a CPU.

"For transparent compression, we apply a 'hot patch' technique to modify parts of Windows, allowing us to replace functions within the existing compression layer. If CompressorX determines that its results would be inferior to a native algorithm like LZX, it defaults to using that instead. This is achieved by running both algorithms concurrently and comparing their outcomes. You can explore a database of these results here.

"An updated version of the model is currently in use by our enterprise clients for compressing data on their cloud storage. My goal is to release this improved model on Steam once I complete development of the background service functionality and add support for non-gaming applications, which I anticipate finalizing in Q3."

If you want to check out CompressorX, it will save you on storage space. However, there are other ways to achieve this for free, like using compressions tools on Windows or CompactGUI.

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If you’re like me and have been buying the best PC games on Steam digitally for the past 20 years, you might want to change your password, as a hacker is currently selling millions of account details on the dark web.

A hacker, who goes by the handles Machine1337 and EnergyWeapon user online, recently made a post on a dark web forum in an attempt to sell over 89 million Steam user records. All of this leaked data, including one-time access codes, can be had for the low price of just $5,000.

After examining the leaked files, which there are 3,000 records, BleepingComputer found historic SMS messages with one-time passcodes and phone numbers for accounts on the digital distribution platform. In a post on X, independent games journalist Mellow_Online1 provided further details explaining that it’s likely that Steam itself didn’t suffer a data breach and instead, an external service used by Valve for the platform was targeted.

Here’s everything you need to know about these stolen account details, along with some steps you can take to protect your own Steam account from hackers.

Leaked one-time codes

With over 120 million monthly active users, Steam is the world’s largest digital distribution platform for PC games, and given that it has been selling them for 20 years now, chances are that most PC gamers have a fairly large game library associated with their accounts.

By analyzing the samples of the stolen data, Mellow_Online 1 believes that the one-time access codes come from Twilio and that an admin account may have been compromised or that the service’s API keys are being abused. However, when BleepingComputer reached out to Twilio, a company spokesperson explained that it is investigating the situation, though so far, it has found no evidence that its services were breached.

Another possible explanation for the leak is that these one-time codes could come from a mobile carrier. However, at this time, BleepingComputer has not been able to determine if this is the case or which provider might have been hacked.

This leak, and all of this Steam account data being sold on the dark web, is concerning. Especially given that some of the data is relatively new, with leaked one-time passcodes dating back to March of this year.

How to keep your Steam account safe from hackers

If you’re worried about your Steam account being hacked and losing access to the games you’ve purchased on the platform, the first and most important thing you should do is to enable Steam Guard.

For those unfamiliar with this security feature, it works just like two-factor authentication (2FA) on other sites to help prevent unauthorized access to your account. Setting it up is relatively easy, too and once that’s done, it acts as an extra layer of security for your Steam account.

To set up Steam Guard, you first need to verify your email address by going to Settings and then Verify Email Address. Following the prompts within Steam will lead to a confirmation email being sent to your inbox. Once you’ve verified your email, you will need to restart Steam twice, after which time, Steam Guard will automatically enable itself.

If it doesn’t, though, you can manually enable it by going to Steam, Settings, Account and then clicking on Manage Steam Guard Account Security. Within this menu, you will want to toggle on the option to “Protect my account with Steam Guard” and then click next.

It’s worth noting that if you already have Steam Guard enabled, your account is likely safe. If not, you’re going to want to reset your password. Given how much you’ve likely spent on Steam games over the years, you’re going to want to pick a strong and complex password to protect your account. You can also use one of the best password managers to do this for you if you have trouble coming up with passwords on your own.

To keep your gaming PC and other accounts safe from hackers, you should also consider using one of the best antivirus software suites if you aren’t doing so already.

As a big Steam user, I’ll keep a close eye on this story and update this piece if there’s any news regarding these account details being sold on the dark web.

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I’ve been a PC gamer for almost two years now. Yes, it’s not a long time, and yes, I definitely hopped on the hype train a little later than most. But still, you’d think that by now I’d have a solid grasp on everything Steam has to offer, especially considering how often I use it.

No. In fact, I’ve recently discovered five hidden features I wish I knew about sooner.

Honestly, it’s kind of wild how much functionality is baked into Steam that just flies under the radar. Some of it is hidden in plain sight, tucked away in menus you rarely click.

Other features are so niche or oddly labeled, you’d never even know to look for them. And while they might not be essential to launching a game or joining a lobby, they do make life a whole lot easier.

Whether you're a long-time gamer or just getting started on PC, these little tips might surprise you — and maybe even change the way you use Steam altogether.

1. Hidden game categories

Most people might know about Steam’s hidden game category, but for a while, I didn’t, and I’m sure plenty of new PC gamers don’t either. It’s easy to assume that the only way to clean up your library is by uninstalling or deleting games, but hiding them is a much cleaner option.

You can still access them anytime, they just won’t clutter your main view. It’s a small feature, but once I found it, it made managing my growing library way easier.

If you have games you no longer want to see, like unfinished titles, freebies you never touched, or games you simply don’t vibe with, you can right-click on any title and select manage and then hide this game.

Hidden games won’t appear in your main library, but you can still access them anytime under the “hidden” filter or by searching directly.

This is perfect for cleaning up your collection without deleting or uninstalling anything. You can also unhide games just as easily. It’s especially useful for big libraries or for users who want to focus on specific titles without distractions. Think of it as digital spring cleaning for your gaming backlog.

2. Launch options for performance tweaks

If you play long, immersive games like I do, you know how frustrating it is when performance gets in the way of a good story.

That’s where Steam’s launch options come in — one of those underrated features that can make a big difference. Right-click any game in your library, go to properties and general, and you'll see a field for launch options.

Here, you can input custom commands like -windowed to force windowed mode, -novid to skip intro cutscenes, -nolog to reduce loading times, or -high to prioritize CPU usage.

It’s especially useful for older or unoptimized games that need a little nudge to run smoother. I used -nolog recently with Alien: Isolation — it cut my load times in half and got me into the game faster. It’s a simple tweak, but it can genuinely improve the flow of a long gaming session.

3. Open store links in new windows with a middle-click

This little trick totally changed how I browse the Steam Store, and I’m annoyed I didn’t come across it sooner.

If you middle-click (or click your mouse wheel) on any game link in the store, it opens that page in a new Steam window. It’s such a simple feature, but insanely useful. I use it all the time during sales — if I see a game that catches my eye, I just middle-click and keep scrolling. That means no more clicking back and losing my place.

It’s also perfect for comparing a couple of games side-by-side without flipping between tabs. A colleague of mine, Anthony Spadafora, swears by it for checking out bundles, DLC lists, or reviews without interrupting the main search.

4. Steam input customization for controller

Steam’s input customization for controllers is one of my favorite underrated features, especially since I use a controller for almost everything.

I’ve tried keyboard and mouse plenty of times, and yes, I can do it, but I just don’t have the patience. A controller is more comfortable for me, plain and simple. What I love about Steam input is how much I can tailor the controls to fit exactly what I need for each game.

To customize your controller settings in Steam, go to settings, choose controller, and then scroll down to non-game controller layouts. Here, you can enable different controller configurations based on the type of controller you're using, such as Xbox, PlayStation, or even non-Steam controllers.

After selecting the appropriate configuration, you can map buttons, create custom profiles, and adjust sensitivity for each game.

Steam input also allows you to set up touch menus, radial menus, and even custom action layers, which can help streamline controls for games. It’s super intuitive once you get into it, and it makes playing even older or non-controller-supported games feel smooth and modern.

5. Custom artwork and banners for better visual library sorting

If you’re like me and love sinking hours into story-driven games, Steam’s custom artwork and banners are useful features for organizing your library.

You can upload your own high-res artwork for each game, creating a visually appealing, almost bookshelf-like experience. This is perfect for keeping track of all those sprawling RPGs, adventure titles, or visual novels that you’ve poured countless hours into.

I've done this specifically for my horror games, since that's the genre I play the most, and it's really satisfying to have a curated, visually cohesive collection all in one place.

To set custom artwork or banners in your Steam library, first switch to grid view by clicking the small four-square icon in the top-right corner. Then, right-click directly on a game’s tile and choose “set custom artwork” to upload a vertical image (ideally 600x900). For banner art, open the game’s page in your library and right-click the banner at the top, then select “set custom background.”

Your new custom artwork and banners will now show up in your library, making it feel more personalized and organized. It’s a simple way to make your collection look uniquely yours!

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I finally have more storage for PC games on my gaming laptop, and all it took was buying a $6 / £5 Steam app that compresses files down to a minimum.

Look, it's no secret that PC games these days take up a lot of space, and if you're anything like me, you'll like having a big enough SSD to download as many as possible. But that gets tricky when titles like The Last of Us Part II Remastered is 150GB, Monster Hunter Wilds at 75GB and South of Midnight for another 70GB.

Then there are games that I'm always dipping in and out of as well, like Cyberpunk 2077 with The Phantom Liberty (that's around 100GB) and Marvel Rivals (another 70GB). Plus, early-access titles like Hades 2 and Selaco add a few more gigabytes, and I'm in no mind to reinstall these games every time they get a major update.

As I'm sure many PC gamers can attest, there's a certain joy in booting up a title that's the flavor of the moment without having to wait eons for it to download. But there's only so much an SSD can handle before it says, "nope, I'm full." Hence, the sacrifice of picking and choosing games that get the axe.

Hold that axe, though, as CompressorX can give your SSD some ample room without actually deleting titles — it just makes them manageably smaller.

It's an AI-powered file compression tool available on Steam, and while it can compress large files and apps, I find it's best used for those huge PC games that can otherwise take up substantial, precious disk space.

More games, even more space

With my 2TB gaming laptop, I have enough room to download many a PC title. But I've recently had to do some spring cleaning as I was getting a tad selfish, and a full hard drive can result in slower PC speeds.

When I came across CompressorX, which came out around a year ago, it was just the tool I didn't know I wanted. It's made to deliver "lossless, transparent data compression" for files, and integrates seamlessly with a Windows File System.

With its simple user interface and automatic detection of PC games on your system, it's incredibly easy to use, too. Select a game or app, press compress and your PC's inner storage wars will be no more.

There are four ways to compress files, depending on the compression speeds you're up for and how much space you want to save:

• Fastest — Compresses apps quickly, but files may not shrink as much
• Balanced — Mixing speed and space saving. Save more space but takes longer
• Slow — Takes more time but shrinks apps to an even smaller size
• Slowest — Saves the most space but takes the longest.

Personally, I always used the "Slowest" option as I wanted the compression tool to squash down game files to as small as possible. While larger files, such as Cyberpunk 2077, took the longest time (around 20 minutes), I didn't mind the length of time it took.

I was impressed with many of the games CompressorX, well, compressed. For example, South of Midnight's huge 82GB storage shrank to 64GB, saving me a good 18GB, while Black Mesa (a classic I always refrain from deleting) went from 28GB down to 15GB.

There are some sweet savings to be made, but not all games I tried get the same treatment. Cyberpunk 2077 went from 84GB to a compressed size of 82GB, and for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance? 24.62GB to 24.25GB. Not exactly game-changing space savers, and it may be specific titles that the AI compression model has trouble dealing with.

But hey, I'll take any bit of room I can get, and for the most part, CompressorX helped me clear out a lot of storage. Out of the just-over 500GB of games I currently have stored (yes, it was bigger than that before more spring cleaning), I saved 100GB. So, that's around 20% storage savings, and that only gets better with the more games I have downloaded.

Initially, I was worried it just meant that files would be compressed and I would have to decompress them every time I booted up a game. But I was actually able to get a game going without a hitch; each game I compressed was fully accessible.

Sure, many of the best external SSDs and hard drives will get you extra space plenty of extra space, ranging anywhere from 1TB to 18TB and beyond, but as a quick way to fully utilize the storage you currently have on your PC, CompressorX offers up a storage-saving solution.

Final thoughts

CompressorX isn't perfect, as there are some features like its "Set it and forget it" tool that allows you to select folders and have files automatically compress when they come in that I'm unsure how to use properly. And some games can take a good 10 minutes to compress only to shave off a gigabyte or less.

Still, CompressorX has been an incredibly handy utility tool for me to keep my PC game library storage to a minimum, and it means I don't have to keep on deleting titles just to make room for more gargantuan-sized games. As yes, I have my eyes already set on the 100GB Doom: The Dark Ages.

Steam is packed with helpful tools, like Lossless Scaling that can triple frame rates or Wallpaper Engine for stunning, live wallpapers, but if you're after a way to minimize that backlog of PC games you refuse to delete, you'll want to check out CompressorX.

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For the past few weeks I've been gaming on Linux and loving it, but you might not want to try it yourself.

Windows 10 is losing support this October, which means gaming PC owners will soon have to decide if they want to risk staying on Windows 10, upgrading to Windows 11 or leaving for Linux. I decided to switch to Linux on my gaming PC this year and haven't regretted it a day since. Ubuntu, the version of Linux I'm using, is free, open-source and blissfully devoid of Windows bloatware.

If you're thinking about installing Linux on your gaming PC too, you might be surprised how good game support for it has gotten. However, you might not want to go deleting your Windows partitions just yet.

Before you jump ship, there are some major pros and cons about gaming on Linux you need to know, including one that could be a deal-breaker.

Yes, you can run Windows games on Linux

If you splurged to buy yourself one of the best gaming PCs and now you're considering slapping Linux on it, you might wince at the limited number of games with native Linux support. Luckily, you can run most Windows games on Linux these days thanks to a variety of tools and compatibility layers, specifically Wine and Steam's built-in version of it: Proton.

When you download Steam on Linux, all you need to do to get most Windows games running is go into your Steam settings, select "Compatibility" and turn on "Enable Steam Play for all other titles." This will activate Proton, a built-in compatibility tool on Steam that acts as a translator between your Windows games and your Linux-based operating system. When you have it turned on, it automatically runs any time you start up a Windows game from Steam.

Performance on Proton varies, so if you're curious about how your games will run with it, you can check the Proton database to see how they rank on a scale of "Borked" to "Platinum."

While Steam is Linux-friendly, most other game stores and launchers don't support Linux, including Epic Games and GOG. Luckily, there's a workaround for that, too! The Heroic Games Launcher is a free alternative launcher for Epic, GOG, and Amazon Games that makes it easy to access, download, and run all your games from those apps and stores in one place.

The Heroic Games Launcher also has a built-in compatibility layer in the form of Wine. So, just like on Steam, that compatibility layer will automatically run whenever you start up one of your games, allowing most Windows titles to run on Linux. Between Steam and the Heroic Games Launcher, I've been able to bring all of my Windows games over to Linux.

Avowed to Valheim: What runs great on Linux

I've been gaming on Ubuntu (one of many Linux distributions) for a few weeks now and have yet to find a game in my library that doesn't run just as well as it did on Windows 10. It helps that most of my games are single-player, co-op, and indie titles, not competitive multiplayer (more on that below).

I've been able to run everything from Avowed and Monster Hunter Wilds to Dredge and Fields of Mistria with no issues (well… except for the issues caused by Wilds's infamous lack of optimization). The few times I've run into a hiccup, fixing it was as easy as going into my compatibility settings in Steam and switching which version of Proton I was using.

I was also surprised by how many of my games have native Linux compatibility, like Sid Meier's Civilization VI and Valheim. Between Proton and increasing native Linux support, the gap between the Windows and Linux game libraries is dwindling.

That's partly thanks to the Steam Deck, which runs on Valve's custom version of Linux, SteamOS. Support from Valve has gone a long way toward improving the Linux gaming experience over the past few years, particularly through Proton. The result is a smooth, stable gaming experience on the majority of Steam games. The Steam overlay and social features all work flawlessly on Linux, as well.

If you mainly play single-player and co-op games, you're unlikely to run into any issues. In my experience, games like Avowed, Valheim and Dredge are a great experience on Linux, with stable performance, good FPS for my hardware, and little to no compatibility issues. Unfortunately, there is one big issue with gaming on Linux.

The one critical flaw holding back Linux gaming

While single-player and co-op games are generally a joy to play on Linux, there are a couple of major drawbacks that could be deal-breakers for many players.

The worst of these is the lack of support for many MMORPGs and competitive multiplayer games. These games often require kernel-level anti-cheat programs that simply cannot run on Linux as of 2025.

Kernel-level anti-cheat has to function so deeply in the operating system that even tools like Proton and Wine are not enough to make them compatible with Linux. Only native compatibility will cut it. So, most games like Fortnite or Valorant are completely unplayable. I got a compatibility warning about Fortnite right in the installation window.

A handful of competitive multiplayer games have Linux support, including Counter Strike 2, DOTA 2 and Warframe. However, support for these games is not guaranteed as long as kernel-level anti-cheat remains a concern. For instance, EA ended Linux support on Apex Legends in 2024, claiming that Linux is too difficult to monitor for cheats.

While I don't personally play these types of games, I completely understand why they're a deal-breaker for so many players who might otherwise consider using Linux over Windows.

Games aren't the only thing that isn't compatible with Linux, either. Another hurdle I ran into was the lack of support for accessory apps like SteelSeries GG and Razer Synapse. All of my gaming peripherals have been plug-and-play on Linux so far, but the apps I would normally use to adjust the settings and lighting on those peripherals aren't available on Linux.

Luckily, there are open-source alternatives that can fill the gap to some degree, like OpenRGB and OpenRazer. However, support for new devices can take quite a while to roll out. It doesn't ruin the gaming experience, but it can be frustrating depending on the gear you use.

Is Linux great for gaming yet?

Gaming on Linux in 2025 can be a great experience… but there's also a huge gap Linux can't fill yet. The lack of compatibility for virtually any game that requires anti-cheat rules out Linux for huge swaths of the PC gaming community. Unfortunately, the open-source, decentralized nature of Linux that many consider an advantage is also the biggest hurdle to solving the anti-cheat issue.

With Windows 10 reaching end-of-life at the end of the year, you might be considering switching to Linux over Windows 11 like I was. While I've really enjoyed gaming on Linux so far, it definitely isn't an option for everyone. You have to be willing to do a little troubleshooting and let go of most competitive multiplayer games. If you're trying to spend less time in League or Fortnite, that might be a worthy sacrifice, but for many players it makes Linux a no-go.

Linux gaming has come a long way and may be the perfect alternative to Windows 11 for some players, but unfortunately there's still a long way left for it to go before Linux is as easy to game on as Windows.

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Even when you’re downloading one of the best PC games from Steam you need to be careful, as they can be used to infect your PC with malware.

After a game called PirateFi was released and then quickly taken down last month after it was found to be distributing malware, a new malicious game demo spreading info-stealing malware has been discovered on Valve’s game store.

As first spotted by TheGamer, the game in question — Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution — was reportedly set to release in the second half of this year. However, it has now been delisted from Steam after its demo installer infected the PCs of those who downloaded it with malware

Here’s everything you need to know about this latest malware threat on Steam including some tips and tricks to help keep your gaming PC safe from hackers and viruses.

Red flags galore

Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution was still listed on Steam earlier this week and interested players could wish list the game ahead of its release. However, they couldn’t download the game’s demo directly from Steam, which was the first major sign that something was off.

If you’ve used Steam before, you know that downloading games from the service is done entirely in Valve’s PC app. Sure, you might download a mod or a fix for a particular issue on an external site but with games themselves, everything is done within Steam itself.

Oddly enough, the game’s listed developer Sierra Six Studios went out of the way to warn gamers about not downloading the demo via external websites and to download it via Steam directly. However, they weren’t actually able to download via Steam at all which makes this warning even stranger.

Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution’s Steam page did have a link to the webpage for its developer before it was taken down. Oddly enough, this site had another link for a free demo that players could download to try out the game before release. Clicking on this link took potential players to an external GitHub repository where they could then download the game’s installer.

In a Reddit post, a user warned others early on that Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution looked suspicious. From promotional art that looked stolen from other games to the fact that you couldn’t download anything from the game’s Steam page, there were plenty of red flags that this half-backed game was one to avoid.

Another oddity spotted by this Reddit user was the fact that the game’s domain was registered a week before the demo became available to download. Typically, game developers register domains for upcoming titles years in advance or at least several months before getting a title approved via Valve and listed on Steam.

To top it all off, in an edit to their post, the Reddit user explained that they first heard about this game via a random message on Discord from someone they didn’t know. Hackers and other cybercriminals love to use Discord in their phishing scams and other attacks and a random message from an unknown sender is about as big of a red flag as you can get.

In order to see if the original poster was onto something, another user downloaded the demo and unpacked it only to find that the main executable was suspiciously labeled as “Windows Defender SmartScreen.exe.” There were other malicious files inside the demo’s installer too including a privilege escalation utility and tool used to intercept browser cookies among others.

How to keep your gaming PC safe from malware

If you did happen to download and install the malicious demo for this game, you first need to uninstall it and then use either Microsoft Defender which is built into Windows or the best antivirus software to run a full scan of your system.

Fortunately, unlike with PirateFi last month, Valve has yet to weigh in and recommend something as drastic as a full PC reset, though that’s always a great last resort when dealing with a malware infection.

Just like we’ve seen with the best Android phones, sticking to official stores instead of downloading games and apps from unofficial sources online just isn’t good enough anymore. For this reason, you want to be extra careful when installing any new software — or in this case games — on your PC.

Before downloading any game, read reviews, look at ratings and always remember, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Pirating software or games is an easy way to end up with a nasty malware infection, too, but the same thing can be said for cheats, hacks, mods and other add-ons. Unless you know what you’re doing and go to reputable sites like Nexus Mods, you’re going to want to avoid downloading unofficial add-ons for your games. And if you’re an older gamer with teenagers, this is definitely a discussion you’re going to want to have with them too.

In the same way that it’s often best to avoid pre-ordering a game and instead wait for reviews before deciding to pick it up, you definitely don’t want to download the hot new game or mod that everyone — or in this case a stranger on Discord — is talking about online. Playing the long game and being a patient gamer won’t just save you money, it could also prevent your PC from getting infected with a virus.

Hackers and other cybercriminals will often use a service or even a product’s popularity to gauge whether or not it’s worth targeting its users or a company’s customers. Case in point, years ago, Mac malware was almost impossible to find and now, it’s everywhere and becoming an even greater threat.

We’ve now seen two malware campaigns targeting gamers on Steam and chances are, they won’t be the last ones. However, if you practice good cyber hygiene, keep a level head about you and think before you click or download, you should be able to keep your gaming PC and your data safe.

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With the future of the Xbox console up in the air, Microsoft has been pushing the idea of the Xbox app as its version of Steam or the Epic Game Store.

A Microsoft blog post about the future of Xbox titled "opening a billion doors" briefly held an image of multiple devices from consoles to phones and a PC that showed off a new Xbox UI.

The image was spotted by The Verge who inquired about it. When pressed, Microsoft quickly deleted the Xbox UI picture.

Why the response? One of the devices in the image is a TV where you can see a section labeled 'Steam' in the UI.

The image also shows off a handheld gaming console and a tablet. A hint toward Xbox's "Everything is an Xbox" tag from last year.

It's possible this image is just a mock-up, but it might not necessarily be a mistake.

Last year, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer suggested there was a future where third-party stores like Steam or Epic Games could be available on Xboxes.

Everything Xbox

Additionally, Microsoft has been slowly transitioning Xbox software toward more of a unified experience on PC. The company appears to want the Xbox app to be a launcher and store on your computer similar to Steam. It's possible it could list your owned Steam games in the future.

Currently, GOG offers a something similar where it lists all the games you own on your PC. It's not great and can be confusing when it comes to figuring out what's actually installed on your computer.

Xbox Handheld

Earlier this month it was reported that Xbox is working on a handheld console that might launch later this year.

Allegedly, that handheld will be made in conjunction with Asus to take on the Steam Deck.

The console could arrive with this new Xbox UI coupled with Xbox Game Pass.

Currently, gaming handhelds not made by Steam are saddled with Windows 11 which doesn't make for a cohesive experience.

However, an Xbox branded console from Asus like a ROG Ally plus a new Xbox UI could make for an actually Steam Deck challenger.

Xbox appears to want as many options as possible in the coming years, and these images are just the start.

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Over the years, we’ve seen our fair share of malicious apps on the Google Play Store and even a few on the Apple App Store. Everyone’s favorite PC game store, Steam just took down a malicious game from its platform.

As reported by Game Rant, the game in question wasn’t available to purchase and download for that long as it was released at the beginning of February and removed from Steam a week later. Still, Valve is recommending that anyone who did install it should perform a full PC reset just to be safe.

Created by an indie developer with no social media presence (which is a huge red flag), PirateFi was a generic survival sim with a similar gameplay loop to Rust but with a Sea of Thieves look to it. As you can guess, it wasn’t very popular, though the game still poses a significant risk to anyone who might have tried it while it was still available on Steam.

After the game was removed, Valve began sending out emails to players who tried it, warning them that: “The Steam account of the developer for this game uploaded builds to Steam that contained suspected malware.”

Before going as far as doing a full PC reset, the company suggests that affected players run a full system scan which you can do for free with Microsoft Defender. However, now that hackers are targeting legitimate games and not just pirated ones, it might be worth investing in one of the best antivirus software solutions for additional protection.

At the same time, Valve also encouraged those who downloaded PirateFi to inspect their gaming PCs for “unexpected or newly installed software” as this is a dead giveaway that your system has been compromised by malware.

Although it is a last resort, fully reformatting your gaming PC is great advice in this situation as doing so is the only way you can fully ensure that no malicious software remains on your computer.

How to keep your gaming PC safe from malware

Just like on one of the best phones, every new app or piece of software you download to your gaming PC has the potential to be malicious. This is why you need to be extra careful when downloading new games as well as any mods.

Sticking to a reputable PC game store like Steam is a great first step but like we saw in this case, there’s still a chance you might accidentally download and install a malicious app. This is why — in the same way, I recommend with apps on your phone — you want to carefully inspect a game’s ratings and reviews. Also, look into its developer when possible. A quick search for PirateFi’s developer Seaworth Interactive only brings up one result and that’s a SteamDB page instead of the company’s website. Not only is this not helpful in the slightest, but it’s the kind of thing that should raise suspicion and make you wonder whether or not it’s a good idea to download this particular game.

Since on-page reviews can be faked, it’s also a good idea to look for external reviews as well as video reviews to see a game in action before purchasing or downloading it. A quick search on YouTube didn’t bring up a trailer or any other gameplay videos. Instead, I just found videos of people discussing how this new indie game was spreading malware on Steam. This is another good reason to avoid a particular title.

In addition to using antivirus software to keep you safe from malware, you may also want to invest in one of the best identity theft protection services since they can help you recover your identity or any funds lost to fraud from a malicious game.

Hackers love targeting gamers and just like they do on mobile app stores, malicious games like PirateFi could soon become much more prevalent. As such, it’s up to you to carefully decide whether or not it’s worth the risk to download a particular game or even a mod for a popular game. By practicing good cyber hygiene and always thinking before you click, you should be able to keep your gaming PC and your data safe.

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With the Steam Deck 2 seemingly nowhere close to reality, in late 2024, rumors began to swirl that Valve was developing a streaming Steam box. Similar rumors pointed to a new Steam Controller and potentially a new VR headset.

The idea of a Steam Console has been kicking around in recent months, and fresh rumors are adding more fuel to those embers with a "spicy" claim that Valve is working on a new console that is meant to rival the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Regular gaming leaker eXtas1s posted his claims on an open-source version of Twitter and put out a YouTube video with more details. The relevant portion starts about 9 minutes in.

I read Spanish better than I speak it, but based on the auto-generated transcript from YouTube, it appears eXtas1s is claiming that Valve is working with AMD on a new console, and he does provide a few specs.

According to him, Valve is working with an AMD 9070 graphics card and will feature RDNA 4 technology. Since the 9070s are currently desktop-only, he seems to believe that the two companies are working on a custom version that can go into a Steam console. In the future, it could go into more portable devices.

This says that the Valve is contributing to the card drivers to make them work with Steam OS. He goes on to speculate that Xbox is in a weakened position in the market, and Valve producing a console could slot into that position that Xbox seems to be vacating with its everything is an Xbox approach.

It is possible, though recently, we've seen that Valve's focus publicly has seemed to be on getting SteamOS to work on other devices like the recently launched Lenovo Legion Go S that natively runs a Valve-built operation system. And it is possible to turn the Asus ROG Ally X into a semi-Steam Deck using a custom Linux Image.

As always, when it comes to Valve, we need to take these rumors with a heaping pinch of salt. Historically, the company likes to keep its cards very close and often, the rumor mill for this specific company tends to fall more on the side of fantastical dreams than reality.

Still, Valve is working on something, and we already know the Steam Deck 2 is in the works, even if we won't see it for some time.

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A steam cleaner is an excellent addition to your cleaning closet. Steam cleaners work by heating water to a high temperature, turning it into pressurized steam that can loosen and remove dirt from your carpets, bathrooms, or mattresses.

“Steam cleaners can be extremely useful for deep cleaning and sanitizing without using harsh chemicals,” explains Marla Mock, president of Molly Maid, a Neighborly company. “It provides a deeper clean that is also more hygienic than other methods.”

The high temperature of the steam can “Penetrate deep into the fibers [of a carpet] to loosen grime, dirt and stains,” Mock says. It also “Kills bacteria and easily removes soap scum, mildew and grime from grout, tiles, shower doors, and other tough-to-clean fixtures and penetrates deep into fabric, killing dust mites, bacteria, and allergens.”

While steam cleaners are excellent for cleaning some areas of your home, according to Mock and two other cleaning experts, there are five things you should never clean with a steam cleaner.

5 things you should never steam clean

1. Hardwood floors

Although steam cleaners work well on carpets, keeping them away from hardwood floors is best. According to Forrest Webber, founder of Bear Brothers Cleaning in Alabama, “Steam on wood floors is like using a hairdryer on a damp sponge. The moisture can warp the wood, cause splintering, or leave your floor looking like it's had a bad day.”

Mock agrees. “You should always avoid using excessive water and heat when cleaning hardwood floors,” she says. “Excessive water can cause the wood to expand, splinter, and damage the integrity of the floor. The moisture and heat can cause the wood to buckle and swell, ruining not only its structural integrity but its finish as well.”

Instead of a steam cleaner, Webber suggests “[Using] a dry mop or a wood-safe cleaner.” Remove dust and debris first with a vacuum cleaner, then sweep gently with a microfiber dry mop. Learn how to clean hardwood floors correctly to help them look good for longer.

2. Unsealed stone or tile grout

Steam cleaners can be used on stone or tile floors—but only if they’ve been sealed. According to Ryan Knoll, owner of Arizona-based Tidy Casa, “People think stone is indestructible, but unsealed stone is super porous. Steam can soak in, discolor it, or even cause cracks over time.” The result is a dull-looking and potentially dangerous flooring surface.

Be careful steam cleaning the grout around tile, as well. As Webber explains, “Unsealed grout absorbs moisture like a sponge. Steam can soak in and harm the grout, leaving behind mildew or making future cleaning much more difficult.” Left untreated, damp grout can be a haven for mold.

To clean grout properly, you’ll need to use some elbow grease. “Use a grout brush and cleanser to perform a standard scrub,” advises Webber.

3. Cold windows

Steam can clean your windows without leaving streaks or residue—but check the window temperature before you start. “You shouldn’t use a steam cleaner on cold windows because the sudden temperature change can cause the windows to crack,” explains Mock. “If you choose to use a steam cleaner on your windows, it's best to do so in the warmer months.”

Instead, use window cleaner or a homemade solution to keep your windows clean and streak-free during colder weather.

4. Delicate and synthetic fabrics

Steam can remove wrinkles from clothes and freshen them up without washing and ironing them. But steam doesn’t mix with certain synthetic and delicate fabrics. Mock says, “The heat and moisture can damage leather or synthetic fabric, causing it to shrink, warp, discolor, crack or lose its shape.

Knoll adds that steam can also ruin delicate materials. “Steam can shrink silk, ruin the texture of velvet, or leave upholstery looking sad and limp,” he says.

“The cheat code is to check those fabric tags, and when in doubt, skip the steam and stick to spot cleaning or dry methods,” says Knoll.

5. Painted or wallpapered walls

When was the last time you cleaned your walls? Unless you have a child who frequently draws on them or a dog who shakes drool everywhere, your walls could go months or longer without cleaning. But keep that steam cleaner away from them.

“Consider steam to be the companion of a paint remover,” says Webber. “Paint may bubble, peel, or fade as a result.” And wallpaper is no exception. As Knoll explains, the wallpaper will “Peel faster than a sticker in the Arizona sun” when exposed to steam. “The heat and moisture mess with the adhesive, causing it to lift, bubble, or, in extreme cases, peel off completely,” adds Webber.

“Use a soft cloth and a mild cleanser instead of steaming painted surfaces,” recommends Webber. “You won't have to repaint your walls after each cleaning because they will remain intact.” For wallpaper, he suggests using “Gentle wipes or a wallpaper-specific cleaner.”

A steam cleaner can be an excellent addition to your cleaning arsenal, but it’s not meant for everything. Before you use it, check that the surface you want to clean is steam-safe, and look for other cleaning methods to avoid damage.

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I’ve been wishing for the Nintendo Switch 2 for a long time. As a day-one adopter of the original Nintendo Switch, I’ve loved the hybrid home console/handheld for pretty much its entire lifecycle. But, last November when I finally got my hands on a Steam Deck OLED, my enthusiasm for a next-generation Nintendo Switch started to slowly ebb away.

After all, the Steam Deck essentially was the more powerful Switch I’d been craving all this time, and after I was able to blast through some of my personal favorites like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, Lies of P and Elden Ring on my Steam Deck, my desire for blockbuster gaming on the go was more than satisfied. As Nintendo Switch 2 rumors started to ramp up late last year, I was intrigued but figured I could take a wait-and-see approach this time.

I told myself I didn’t need a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch and could hold off until the (expected) hardware revision later down the line to upgrade my (still functioning) original Switch. Frankly, who was I kidding, barely even a few seconds into the two-minute Nintendo Switch 2 reveal trailer, and I was 100% sold. And I would have locked in my Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order immediately, but they’re not quite live yet (I did however “register my interest” already).

Snap to attention

Over the past few months, my Nintendo Switch has been heavily neglected in favor of the Steam Deck OLED, so perhaps in that time, I’d slightly forgotten just how darn satisfying the Switch is from a design standpoint. Yes, I do think the first-generation Switch has a slightly flimsy feel, but the versatility of the console and the Joy-Cons controllers are unmatched and still highly novel.

When the Switch 2 reveal video reminded me of the Joy-Con functionality, it instantly brought back memories of the many times I’ve broken out the Switch on my travels and ended up playing multiplayer games with companions using just a single Joy-Con each. That’s a feature no other handheld on the market offers (bar the Lenovo Legion Go, but the process is cumbersome), making the Nintendo Switch a unique and valuable device.

Plus, the ease of switching between playing in handheld mode and a TV via the dock shouldn’t be ignored. I primarily play my Nintendo Switch on the go (when I’m at home I prefer to game on my PS5 Pro), but it’s delightful to be able to jam my Switch into its dock and continue a session of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom seamlessly. Of course, you can also replicate this feature on Steam Deck via the device’s official dock, so it's not exclusive.

Overall, the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal showcased an upgraded Switch console and nothing more, and while I thought my personal desire for such a device had waned, actually seeing it in action (albeit briefly) has reignited my interest. Plus, I shouldn’t forget as a lover of new tech, my resolve is pretty weak, and whenever a new console is showcased, I’m most definitely an easy mark.

Bringing the big guns

While the Steam Deck OLED lets me play some of the best modern games anywhere I want (and I do, and always will, love it for that), there are some games it simply cannot play, namely Nintendo exclusives. You'd be a fool to discount the appeal of Nintendo’s stable of iconic gaming franchises.

The Nintendo Switch 2 reveal only teases a single title, a brand new Mario Kart game, but that’s a series I’ve been playing almost my entire life, and it’s enough to sell me the Switch 2. Am I going to pay potentially $399 (the Switch 2's rumored price tag) if Mario Kart is the only launch game that appeals to me? Yup.

I’m not discounting the many Nintendo first-party exclusives that are sure to follow across the Switch 2’s own lifecycle either. I’ve been waiting for a new 3D Mario game since blasting through Super Mario Odyssey in 2017, and if Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom prove to be the first two chapters in a trilogy, then I’ll be seriously thrilled to conclude the adventure on Switch 2.

I suspect that Steam Deck will be my handheld of choice for playing cross-platform games in the future but Nintendo Switch 2 is guaranteed to offer a load of high-quality experiences you can’t get anywhere else, and that’s a proposition I’m unable to pass up. Expect to see me right at the front of the Mario Kart grid when the Nintendo Switch 2 launches sometime in 2025.

Shut up and take my money

If I’m taking away one thing from the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal it’s that there’s clearly room in my affections for two gaming handhelds. I cannot see the Steam Deck OLED being replaced anytime soon — I’ve only had it a couple of months but it’s among the best gaming devices I’ve ever used — but it’s now very apparent I was prepared to write off my interest in Switch 2 prematurely.

When the inevitable Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order rush begins later this year, I already know I'll be in the thick of things trying to secure my launch day unit. Who was I kidding pretending I was going to skip Nintendo Switch 2 anyway, all it took to sell me on the next-generation console was a two-minute teaser.

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