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Second Valve Announcement Reveals Steam Machines Beta Test
Valve's second of three announcements this week has been revealed. The first, on Monday, focused on a new SteamOS built on Linux. Today, we're learning more about the hardware.
First and foremost, Valve won't be making these devices in-house. They'll be working with manufacturers to create a variety of different configurations that run on SteamOS. In order to find the right combination to bring to market, Valve is opening up a very small beta group of 300 people. Testers will be allowed to and encouraged to share their experiences. Here's how to become eligible:
Before October 25, log in to Steam and then visit your quest page (requires a Steam login) to track your current status towards beta test eligibility.
- Join the Steam Universe community group
- Agree to the Steam Hardware Beta Terms and Conditions
- Make 10 Steam friends (if you haven't already)
- Create a public Steam Community profile (if you haven't already)
- Play a game using a gamepad in Big Picture mode
Valve states that the beta devices will ship this year, with the final products available for sale in 2014. No hardware specifications have been revealed.
We've been covering the roll-out of these reveals, and the conversation is still evolving. If you're interested in reading more, check out our analysis of the SteamOS announcement, an opinion piece about Steam-focused hardware from Jeff Cork, and reader discussions focused on the operating system and pricing on hardware to support its functionality.
The final announcement will come at 1 PM Eastern on Friday, September 27, 2013.
[Source: Valve]
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