Valve might be working on a console to rival the PS5 and Xbox Series X – and that's exciting
Valve Fremont may be a SteamOS-powered console that disrupts the market
👀 Valve seems to be working on a new device for the living room
🪦 It should fare far better than its ill-fated Steam Machine
🆚 The console will rival the Xbox Series X and PS5
🆕 A new Steam Controller will likely be included with the console
Valve is reportedly working on a console that will rival the PS5 and Xbox Series X, in what could be a huge shake up to the current two-party system.
Valve already has a Nintendo Switch competitor out in the Steam Deck OLED, but we could get a TV-focused console soon that will give Sony and Microsoft something else to worry about aside from each other.
SteamOS will power the console, codenamed ‘Valve Fremont’ and plug into your TV via a HDMI output, presumably 2.1. The console will feature an AMD “Lilac” chip, which is likely Zen 4. Similar to the Xbox Series X and PS5, the console will use an integrated AMD APU, unlike the dedicated GPUs found in desktop computers.
Reliable insider Brad Lynch also stresses that Valve Fremont definitely isn’t a dock for any Steam Deck successor or a new handheld. As Lynch says on X, “Valve Fremont cannot be a dock The information that FoxletFox found for us specifically notes that the full-size HDMI port is hardwired to the hosts's card0 (GPU) directly, not connected through USB-C And again, the GPU in this case would be built into the AMD APU, of course.
“So very likely not a handheld that can be Docked to a TV. But a fully dedicated device with HDMI-Out as a primary focus.”
While it may sound a lot like Valve’s ill-fated Steam Machine, this new console is a far more enticing prospect. The Steam Machine launched when only a fraction of games supported Linux, and Valve still hadn’t mastered how to create a console-like interface. That’s changed significantly over the years, and the Steam Deck has shown just how far Valve has come in both regards.
Steam is also now the home of the best Xbox games and best PS5 games, as Sony and Microsoft try to maximize the revenue of each game release. That’s worked out wonderfully for PC gamers, who get the best versions of console games and usually for a cheaper price.
It’s unclear just how graphically capable a console from Valve would be or whether multiple SKUs of differing performance will be available. However, with Sony comfortably in control this generation and Microsoft veering more towards becoming a multiformat game publisher than a hardware developer, more competition will only be a good thing.
A Steam Controller 2 could join Valve’s mystery console after a new codename was discovered by Lynch called “Ibex”. It’d likely be bundled in with Valve’s console, just like the original Steam Controller was included with the Steam Machine.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.