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Origin PC Decides Against Steam OS For Its Steam Machines
High-end PC manufacturer Origin is putting its own spin on living room PCs. The company has long been planning to release its version of a Steam Machine, but Origin’s will be missing something many of the others have.
The company tells us that it has decided against using Steam OS in its machines like the Omega (pictured above). Instead, it has designed its machines to use Windows with direct-to-Steam functionality.
“We decided that we will not offer Steam OS because we believe that a system that boots directly into Steam Big Picture mode coupled with an available Steam Controller already offers a seamless Steam experience within Windows,” a company representative told us. “We are confident this allows users to take full advantage of all the power and features that ORIGIN PC systems have to offer. We have also made this option available through all of our product lines with no charge for the Big Picture Mode toggle.”
Users will be able to opt to boot directly into Big Picture Mode, as if they were using a console. This also ensures that all Windows-compatible software will work on the machine.
Valve currently lists 3,180 titles plus DLC available for “Steam OS + Linux.” That’s only 21.5 percent of the available 14,780 PC titles plus DLC. On Mac, that number is 5,356.
Our Take
As time goes on, the Steam OS library will grow. If Steam Machine adoption mounts, developers and publishers will likely make a more concerted effort to speed up releases for the platform. Of course library size isn’t the only factor. If the games you want to play are already compatible with Steam OS, the significant deficit in offerings might not be an issue for you.
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