All Discussions > Steam Forums > Hardware and Operating Systems > Topic Details
temps 14 Jul @ 9:14pm
Upcoming Steam Hardware Speculation
There has been widespread speculation about three possible Valve hardware releases that may be coming soon:

  • The Valve Deckard -- Valve's next-gen VR headset
  • Steam Controller 2 codename ibex
  • Another unknown device codenamed Fremont

Many have speculated that Fremont will be some type of Steam-branded console that will run the SteamOS operating system of the Steam Deck because people learned Valve was working on tech to enable a device to communicate with a TV by means of an HDMI port, which people were assuming indicated Valve was working on a console that would connect to an HDTV that would compete with Xbox and Playstation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0qd-T1Z8fI

Deckard is rumored to be essentially Valve's version of the Quest 3... a standalone VR headset running Valve's SteamOS instead of Meta's OS like the Quest 3 uses, which is also capable of connecting to a PC like the Quest 3 does to improve graphics.
https://www.roadtovr.com/valve-deckard-facial-interface-leak/

Deckard, or at least some new VR headset from Valve... seems likely at this point given the leaks of the "roy" VR controllers, and the age of the Valve Index.

As for the ibex leaks (Steam Controller 2), what is the purpose? Is it just a controller for people to use with Steam Decks and/or PC, or is it something that will come with a Valve Fremont console?

Lurking in the background of all this is the leaks and speculation about HLX from Valve expert Tyler McVicker on his YouTube channel... speculation about a new Half-Life game from Valve, and even a post from the voice actor of the G-Man hinting at "unexpected surprises" coming this year.

Knowing Valve has often used Half-Life to help launch other Valve products (such as the Steam platform early in the company's history, or the Valve Index VR headset more recently), could the new games from Valve like Deadlock and a new Half-Life game "HLX" be developed to serve as launch titles for the new Valve Fremont SteamOS consoles and/or the Valve Deckard?

What do you think Valve is working on? I don't know but it seems likely to be something related to SteamOS. A Deckard headset running SteamOS, or a Fremont console running SteamOS. And then the ibex and roy controllers to go with these things...?

We are about 10 years after Valve's last attempt at the "Steam Machines" and now that Proton works so well at running things on Linux, it has me thinking maybe Valve is planning to give a Steam-brand devices running SteamOS another attempt beyond just the Steam Deck.
< >
Showing 1-5 of 5 comments
ChickenBalls 15 Jul @ 6:14am 
maybe Steam will release their own GPUs?
I know it won't happen but considering Nvidia has close to monopoly in the gaming gpu market even though they dont even give 2 shts about gamers while AMD is just there seemingly content with their single digit market share
and Intel can't even keep up with AMD in the cpu market which makes it highly doubtful that they will make any impact
#1
Corona Scurrae 15 Jul @ 6:33am 
Like you said it yourself it's vr, controller and probably the next iteration of the steam deck. I wouldn't be surprised if the next vr glasses are more compact and allow you to seamlessly connect with a steam deck

Console? Maybe? The possibility is there since Microsoft announced their collaboration with AMD and to make the next Xbox into a windows platform that support third party stores. So it could be a similar situation to what Microsoft has with their surface lineup



Originally posted by ChickenBalls:
maybe Steam will release their own GPUs?
I know it won't happen but considering Nvidia has close to monopoly in the gaming gpu market even though they dont even give 2 shts about gamers while AMD is just there seemingly content with their single digit market share
and Intel can't even keep up with AMD in the cpu market which makes it highly doubtful that they will make any impact
Lol
#2
C1REX 15 Jul @ 7:06am 
The only thing that would make sense to me is new Steam Machine. Console like mini pc with steamOS optimised for games only and controller navigation in big picture mode.

A $500 - $700 machine that can compete with consoles and $1500+ prebuilds and laptops.
#3
udidwht 16 Jul @ 7:38am 
Steam Controller 2
#4
PopinFRESH 16 Jul @ 8:01am 
Originally posted by Corona Scurrae:
Like you said it yourself it's vr, controller and probably the next iteration of the steam deck. I wouldn't be surprised if the next vr glasses are more compact and allow you to seamlessly connect with a steam deck

Console? Maybe? The possibility is there since Microsoft announced their collaboration with AMD and to make the next Xbox into a windows platform that support third party stores. So it could be a similar situation to what Microsoft has with their surface lineup



Originally posted by ChickenBalls:
maybe Steam will release their own GPUs?
I know it won't happen but considering Nvidia has close to monopoly in the gaming gpu market even though they dont even give 2 shts about gamers while AMD is just there seemingly content with their single digit market share
and Intel can't even keep up with AMD in the cpu market which makes it highly doubtful that they will make any impact
Lol
If you delve into Valve's patents for things related to VR systems, they have several really interesting patents including for leveraging passive BCI (brain-to-computer interfaces) to supplement direct input. One of the really interesting patents is in regards to "Split Rendering", where by two different compute systems perform rendering tasks before output to the display(s). Deckard will likely be a "Hybrid" VR/xR device leveraging this; where users will be able to use it fully standalone like a Meta Quest, or can pair it to a more powerful desktop to increase performance and/or fidelity.

You can think of this like your desktop PC would be leveraged to complete GPU heavy things like BVH ray intersection for ray tracing, executing shaders, etc. while the on-device GPU handles texturing and warping the render before sending it to its output buffer. If they can pull that off where Steam just handles it and developers don't need to do anything to support it, which given how they've managed to do Remote Play Together, this seems fairly feasible, this would be a game changer for VR/xR on Steam.
#5
< >
Showing 1-5 of 5 comments
Per page: 1530 50

All Discussions > Steam Forums > Hardware and Operating Systems > Topic Details
Date Posted: 14 Jul @ 9:14pm
Posts: 5
Start a New Discussion

Discussions Rules and Guidelines