Steam Machines, a design that Valve promoted as a new category of hardware for playing video games and multimedia entertainment, appeared in the Steam Deck core update as a reference to a device codenamed ‘Fremont’.

Valve has had a busy week. We learned about the program a few days ago “Developed for SteamOS”an update to the Steam and SteamOS branding guidelines that makes it clear that the (highly anticipated) SteamOS devices from third-party manufacturers are coming very soon. Although SteamOS is (for the most part) open source development and there are unofficial ports, there is no doubt that official support will be a step up.

New Steam Machines?

Although hardware details are scarce and it was originally thought to be an update to the brand’s dock, the leak suggests that Valve is developing a machine that runs on SteamOS and connects to an external display. The point is that the kernel patch describes a full size HDMI port that connects to the GPU bypassing USB. This completely rules out the device being an expansion base for the Steam Deck.

In addition, the kernel mentions a development platform codenamed “AMD Lilac” that has frequently appeared on the Geekbench benchmarking site. Most of the tests use the integrated Radeon 740M graphics, and the reported results easily surpass those from the Steam Deck.

If this ‘Fremont’ program PC, HTPC or a console-like decoder, its control method could be the new Steam Controller 2 and SteamVR, which would refresh its hardware offerings. The second generation of Valve’s official controller, codenamed “Ibex”, resembles the design of the Steam Deck controls and maintains a similar format to the Xbox controller, while the new virtual reality controllers look a lot like the controls on the Metal Quest 3 headset.

It’s clear that Valve is moving the tree, not only to improve its SteamOS system, but also because that’s where it all starts. Steam Machines was a project that many users liked because of its open hardware concept to create a gaming and entertainment machine for the living room. There were excellent third-party machines and suggestions for making your own. It didn’t stick. Is another attempt on the way?