Valve has revealed its very own Linux-based operating system called SteamOS, which is designed for living room gaming PCs. This is the first step towards it achieving its vision for an open video game console, which it has named Steam Box.
“It will be available soon as a free stand-alone operating system for living room machines,” said the company.
Valve has also said that major game developers are on board with Linux and that they are building triple-A game titles that will run natively on SteamOS in 2014. SteamOS will also include a method for wirelessly streaming games from an existing gaming computer to a TV, which Valve says is a feature that will be available for regular Steam customers sometime in the future.
For both SteamOS and Steam, streaming video and music features will be possible too. “We’re working with many of the media services you know and love,” said Valve.
So why an operating system? Well it is no big secret that Valve are not fans of Windows 8. Gabe Newell, Valve’s co-founder, famously said that Windows 8 is a “catastrophe” and attributed poor PC sales to Microsoft’s operating system.
Valve feel that SteamOS is different and in a statement wrote:” “openness” means that the hardware industry can iterate in the living room at a much faster pace than they’ve been able to. Content creators can connect directly to their customers. Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love.”
There are more announcements expected from Valve, with Newell explaining that the company plan to create three tiers of the Steam Box. The lower tier likely being a box costing $99 that can stream games from more powerful computers and the middle tier potentially being a $300 box that Valve would allow partners to help build if they adhered to hardware spec.
It is hoped that future announcements will reveal more about the higher tier of Valve’s plans and the ready-made hardware that can be bought to start SteamOS. So stay tuned for more news on this exciting new take on the game console.
