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Valve Removes Steam Machines From Its Home Page (extremetech.com) 164

Posted by BeauHD from the no-longer-accessible dept.
Steam Machines were supposed to take PC gaming mainstream by simplifying setup and moving the games in your living room, but they never took off. Today, ExtremeTech reports that Valve has removed Steam Machine listings from the Steam front page due to poor sales. From the report: You can still access what remains of the Steam Machine landing site via a direct link -- not that you'll see much when you get there. It lists only five devices, one of which is no longer available on the manufacturer's site. Several of the remaining systems are arguably not even Steam Machines as Valve envisioned -- they run Windows 10 instead of SteamOS. The final nail in the coffin for Steam Machines may have come from Valve itself. In late 2015, it released the Steam Link. It's a small box that you plug into a TV, allowing you to stream a game from your PC in real time. The original price was just $50, and Valve is basically giving them away right now. Valve is still developing SteamOS, but I don't expect that to go on much longer.
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Valve Removes Steam Machines From Its Home Page

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  • not unexptected (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I can use SteamLink for all my games without noticing that it's not running locally. The only thing I'm not able to to there is SteamVR. I really hope there will be a solution soon, but I'm not holding my breath, also as SteamVR probably hasn't taken completely off yet either with VR sets still a bit pricey for the avg gamer.

    • Biggest issue for the Link was not being able to port over voice channels. I was gonna buy one, then realized after research that I couldn't access discord (kinda expected but disappointing) or any other voice channel through Steam itself. Combined with the Steam controller, I could have seen playing several games from the couch, but would have effectively been cut off from playing any of these games with friends.

      I know you can access Discord from the phone as well, but then you get into further logistics i

      • Biggest issue for the Link was not being able to port over voice channels. I was gonna buy one, then realized after research that I couldn't access discord (kinda expected but disappointing) or any other voice channel through Steam itself. Combined with the Steam controller, I could have seen playing several games from the couch, but would have effectively been cut off from playing any of these games with friends.

        I know you can access Discord from the phone as well, but then you get into further logistics issues. I don't have a bluetooth headset. For those that do, you'd need a single ear deal because you couldn't connect both your phone and the link at the same time, rather than say, the xbox headset I already had. Etc. Etc. Was bad planning on their part.

        It really depends on the type of game you're playing. I saw the Link being ridiculously cheap over Black Friday last year and was tempted to buy one, but then I tried to think of a game I could play with it. The reason I PC game is because I like strategy games and they typically require keyboard and mouse. Link doesn't really work for that.

        FPS and racing games, yeah, I can see the couch being ideal for that... I'd probably buy a console though if I liked that type of game since they are tuned for that

        • FPS and racing games, yeah, I can see the couch being ideal for that... I'd probably buy a console though if I liked that type of game since they are tuned for that type of game.

          The trouble with console versions of these games is that you can only play the vanilla game, not community-made mods that extend replay value.

          • That's not as much of a disadvantage as it sometimes has been in the past since even the "vanilla" versions of most games these days have more content than you can shake a stick at.

            I mean sure, some gamers love their mods....but we have finite time and it eventually reaches a point of excess content that you'll never get to see even in the base game.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Ranbot ( 2648297 )

          It really depends on the type of game you're playing. ....FPS and racing games, yeah, I can see the couch being ideal for that... I'd probably buy a console though if I liked that type of game since they are tuned for that type of game.

          FWIW, there are many good single-player platformer and puzzle games on Steam that would transfer to the couch+TV really well (games like Limbo, Inside, Deadlight, Tale of Two Brothers, This War of Mine... and many others). Many of those games also available on consoles, but Steamlink is far cheaper.

          But, I agree with earlier poster above that SteamLink's lack of an easily accessible chat function hurts it for many titles.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Ranbot ( 2648297 )

        Biggest issue for the Link was not being able to port over voice channels. I was gonna buy one, then realized after research that I couldn't access discord (kinda expected but disappointing) or any other voice channel through Steam itself.

        Agreed the lack of a user-friendly voice option is a big drawback to Steam Link. I can understand Valve not wanting to deal with supporting third-party chat software, but it is odd to me they didn't at least incorporate Steam's chat system into Steam Link. Or did they? ...It's not on my radar. I don't use Steam chat (does anyone?) and I don't own a Steam Link.

        Combined with the Steam controller, I could have seen playing several games from the couch.

        I bought the Steam Controller for my PC (for Rocket League and platformers) but returned it after two days of fumbling with it. The touchpads are a ne

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by arth1 ( 260657 )

      I can use SteamLink for all my games without noticing that it's not running locally.

      It depends on the game. For a twitch FPS where many players use PS/2 mice because USB is too damn slow, a networked client is just not going to work well, even for very short copper cabled distances.
      For assisted aim console ports, it won't make much if any difference.

  • Success! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @05:11AM (#56371609) Homepage

    I don't think it was ever intended to sell well. It was intended to stop the Windows Store in it's tracks.
    In that it was quite succesful.

    • Re:Success! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by complete loony ( 663508 ) <(moc.liamg) (ta) (namekaL.ymereJ)> on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @06:11AM (#56371753)

      According to the stats page [steampowered.com], 0.33% of steam users are running linux, mostly Ubuntu. Personally, I'm running steam on debian.

      Buying a new machine to run steam might be a big ask, but support for running steam on linux is appreciated by those of us that want to play games on our favourite OS.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Indeed; I'm thinking that it may just be time to get a life...I sure as fuck won't run Windows.

        captcha: astute

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Have they made any substantial changes to SteamOS in the last 3 years? The project seems stalled because there are no improvements. (Perhaps that's because Valve knows there isn't much they can do except work with game publishers to use Vulkan either in place of or in addition to DirectX. Games are everything, of course). I run big picture in Windows on my Steam Machine because it works so much better. Even sleep and wakeup is garbage on SteamOS.

    • Re: Success! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @07:00AM (#56371883) Journal
      That is why I'm more skeptical of the "Valve is still developing SteamOS, but I don't expect that to go on much longer." part of the claim.

      Given that prebuilt console-size PCs are a bit of a niche; and ones running Linux are niche within a niche(especially now that various cheapo ARM-SoC-with-hardware-decode boxes have basically eliminated the need for a PC by the TV if you want either the streaming services of your choice or your giant NAS-o'-piracy); it probably doesn't make sense to keep them in stock; but abandoning the 'encourage game compatibility with Linux and Linux driver, especially GPU, support for what games need' effort is a somewhat different story: if PCs running SteamOS aren't selling the PC OEMs aren't going to be happy about making them(much less providing timely updates as new parts become available) without Valve outright paying them to do it; but reactivating production if circumstances change is trivially quick and cheap if a sutiable OS is still available.

      What isn't quick or trivial is reviving the effort to improve GPU and other gaming-related Linux development and encourage game devs and engine/middleware vendors to support Linux. If you let that lapse you are likely to have a period where even more games than normal don't have Linux support and never get it; potentially engine releases that don't offer Linux support; and the need to rebuild cooperation with hardware vendors and the developers of kernel, Xorg, etc.
      br. Maintaining that development effort certainly isn't free; but it is also something where it is difficult, if not impossible, to 'make up for' a period of no support by trying to rush later.

    • I don't think it was ever intended to sell well. It was intended to stop the Windows Store in it's tracks. In that it was quite succesful.

      I doubt the problems with the Windows store have anything to do with Valve's efforts and more with Microsoft's way of trying to force people to use it. Since Windows RT, people have worried that they would try to lock Windows to that curated cesspoo.. err I mean garden. I think their approach on a platform that's always been used to openly install anything they want has turned it's users off from wanting to use it so far.

    • It was intended to stop the Windows Store in it's tracks.
      In that it was quite succesful.

      Successful? I would say pointless. Windows Store was always going to be a shithouse disaster without the need for anyone else's help.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kartu ( 1490911 )

      Windows Store not taking off hardly has anything to do with Steam Machines.

      • Windows Store not taking off hardly has anything to do with Steam Machines.

        They wanted to mimic iOS's walled garden, but wanted to still support existing applications because it was the only way to get people to convert over. You can't give people a choice of "choice" and "walled garden" within an operating system and expect people to choose "walled garden".

        Windows Store failed because MS did a compromise and didn't force it on people. (thankfully)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Joviex ( 976416 )

      I don't think it was ever intended to sell well. It was intended to stop the Windows Store in it's tracks. In that it was quite succesful.

      LOL WUT? The windows store is as strong as ever? What medication you on, its fucking your your brain.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      How is that possible when Steam Machines were announced long before the Windows Store was?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Altanar ( 56809 )
      You really think Steam Machines affected the Windows Store at all? That's the funniest thing I've heard all day.
  • What happens if someone with lawyers requests to remove or unlink his or her owned library of Steam-dependent games from the Steam service? Does Steam have the legal right to keep games you paid money to own locked into their DRM garden and DRM client? Or could someone successfully argue "I own these games. I should have the right to leave Steam and keep my games running!" in court? That argument could well be the "design flaw" in Steam's Death Star. One change in the applicable laws, and Steam might be FOR

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nzkbuk ( 773506 )
      Sadly I believe the response boils down to Steam is selling a service / licence and so not a physical product. As such when you loose access to your steam account you loose access to all the games you have paid them for.

      I'd prefer that it was the other way, but there's been a lawsuits in both EU and USA which sets this as the current position.
      It seems to change every few years so if you wanted to exit you might want to wait for the correct time. You could always use www.gog.com

    • Re:Steam's Real Problem Will Be Different (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ISayWeOnlyToBePolite ( 721679 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @06:00AM (#56371711)

      What happens if someone with lawyers requests to remove or unlink his or her owned library of Steam-dependent games from the Steam service? Does Steam have the legal right to keep games you paid money to own locked into their DRM garden and DRM client? Or could someone successfully argue "I own these games. I should have the right to leave Steam and keep my games running!" in court? That argument could well be the "design flaw" in Steam's Death Star. One change in the applicable laws, and Steam might be FORCED to let you take your Steam games out of Steam's service and allow them to run like normal, independently executable Windows or MacOS apps again.

      http://store.steampowered.com/... [steampowered.com]

      " The Content and Services are licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Content and Services.".

      Unless you can revive Johnnie Cochran, I'd say your're pretty much SOL.

    • There are these thing called contracts and Valve makes you sign one before you can list games for sale on Steam and it will have all kinds of conditions you have to agree to

      • There are these thing called contracts and Valve makes you sign one before you can list games for sale on Steam and it will have all kinds of conditions you have to agree to

        That really only applies to software you have the legal right to distribute on Steam. One could theoretically get a game listed on Steam that you don't have distribution rights for by sneaking it past whatever controls they have in place for that kind of thing. I'm pretty sure people who purchase the game in that situation of just SOL.

    • This has actually happened in the past.

      Companies that closed their doors for good, who's products could no longer be sold and who's new rights holders refused to sign an agreement with steam to resume sales. People who purchased that product could continue to download and use it, but no new purchases have been allowed.

      • For future reference, "who's" should be "whose", in this case.

    • Your questions are all answered in the Steam EULA. I would imagine Steam does have the legal right to DRM lock your games just like any other DRM, since you agreed to it with the Steam EULA. If you change your mind you are welcome to walk away but you don't "own" your games outright. Perhaps the courts will eventually decide that if you buy something you do indeed expect to own it and companies trying to subtly change the definition of ownership to licensing is misleading and unethical. But that hasn't happ

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Zumbs ( 1241138 )

        Your questions are all answered in the Steam EULA.

        Depending on your juristiction, the EULA is not a legally binding document. Some parts (or all) of it can be void if they are in violation of local rights that cannot be signed away. Given that the button says "buy" and not "rent until Steam goes out of business" and "buy" indicates ownership, I would not be surprised if courts in juristictions with a high degree of consumer protection would find against Steam.

  • Eh (Score:3)

    by skovnymfe ( 1671822 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @05:51AM (#56371689)
    Was there ever a market for this? It's always the same two Linux enthusiasts who are vocally adamant about there being a market for games on Linux, but who are we really kidding here? Games on Linux is a cute niche, sure, but it is a niche nonetheless. There is absolutely no need for it because it will always have consoles and Windows as competitors, and that just isn't a market you break into half-assedly. If Linux as a gaming platform was 150% better than Windows, then absolutely games on Linux could become a thing. But until then who really gives a fuck? Who's really going to invest the hundreds of millions of dollars that it's going to take to make Linux a competitive gaming platform?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Of course there is a market, a giant one in terms of Steam users who could be swayed with a SteamOS banner/ad, and of course the few instances where Microsoft was so under fire for its Windows shit that utilization of those instances would have made a further domino, and the Steam users would have spread word of mouth as a testing base. Just stuff a few lines: "Easy to Install, All-Graphical-Interaction, no Auto-Updates, UI Focused on Desktop/Laptop Users, Easy to Customize UI, Default Music Player with gre

    • Re:Eh (Score:5, Insightful)

      by thebullshitpatrol ( 4673009 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @06:09AM (#56371739)

      > Who's really going to invest the hundreds of millions of dollars that it's going to take to make Linux a competitive gaming platform?

      A company which wants to stand their ground against the platform which monopolizes their existence. Valve's just brandishing at this point, though.

      • I feel like if Valve was really serious about Steam OS, they would have announced Half Life 3, Team Fortress 3, Portal 3, DotA 3, and Left 4 Dead 3 all as exclusives to their platform. That's probably enough install base to get serious traction for Linux in gaming and that might be enough to have a momentum shift. But they don't make games anymore.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

      It's all fun and games until Microsoft drops Windows as a gaming OS to focus on Cloud.

      • I'd say Microsoft is not THAT stupid but seeing how they fucked up Windows 10 in various ways I'm starting to believe what you say can happen.

      • It's all fun and games until Microsoft drops Windows as a gaming OS to focus on Cloud.

        Once they do that, I drop Windows. If Microsoft make it impossible for me to game on a PC, or force them to use Microsoft store... that will force me to learn Linux and set my computer up as a Linux machine. Despite MS's best efforts to push me away from them- I still use Windows.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

          Yup. And the only thing that will let you be able to play all those games you've accumulated is Valve's efforts. So if/when the day comes, I'll be happy they ported all that stuff over.

    • Re:Eh (Score:4, Informative)

      by angel'o'sphere ( 80593 ) <angelo.schneider@nOSpam.oomentor.de> on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @08:15AM (#56372205) Journal

      Linux is a competitive gaming platform.
      You don't need more than a graphics card, a keyboard and a mouse to play a game.
      And as far as I know, Linux supports Open GL just fine. E.g. Descent, one of my favourite games: https://www.dxx-rebirth.com/ [dxx-rebirth.com]

      The problem is that there are no mayour players targeting the market. I for my part would love to _write_ a game on/for linux, but I suck in marketing and doing it for free, I don't have the time.

    • A market for what Valve offered no. A market for certified hardware platforms running a highly QA'd version of Linux already exists outside of home gaming though, Chromebook and Android. I think there would have been a market for a Valve certified Linux based consoles, with certified games guaranteed to meet UI specs and to run well. Especially if it could just run windows or Linux in a VM, to get the best of both worlds.

      Valve never wanted to commit that much though. Quite the opposite if you look at Steam

    • If Linux as a gaming platform was 150% better than Windows, then absolutely games on Linux could become a thing. But until then who really gives a fuck?

      Listen, the reality is that an awful lot of people just don't care about the OS. The question largely boils down to, "Can I play the games I want to play with adequate performance?" If the answer is "yes", then they don't much care what OS they're running those games on.

      And then a lot of people particularly want to avoid being locked in to crappy vendors. Microsoft and Sony both have a long history of screwing over their customers and their partners, and people would like to avoid being stuck with them.

      • I think you're projecting a degree of anger onto my post which just isn't there. It's just words. Maybe you're angry at someone?

    • If Linux as a gaming platform was 150% better than Windows, then absolutely games on Linux could become a thing. But until then who really gives a fuck?

      Listen, the reality is that an awful lot of people just don't care about the OS. The question largely boils down to, "Can I play the games I want to play with adequate performance?" If the answer is "yes", then they don't much care what OS they're running those games on.

      And then a lot of people particularly want to avoid being locked in to crappy vendors. Microsoft and Sony both have a long history of screwing over their customers and their partners, and people would like to avoid being stuck with them.

    • Was there ever a market for this? It's always the same two Linux enthusiasts who are vocally adamant about there being a market for games on Linux, but who are we really kidding here? Games on Linux is a cute niche, sure, but it is a niche nonetheless.
      [...]

      If I bought any games, they would be for Linux.

      Linux runs on more devices than all other O/S's combined.

      We have two Linux desktops and a Linux laptop.

      My son has his own Linux laptop for his University studies.

      So why would I want games that only play on Microsoft boxen???

  • better this way (Score:3)

    by sad_ ( 7868 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @05:59AM (#56371709) Homepage

    i never really saw the point of steam machines, steamOS is available for free and you can build your own 'machine' install steamOS on it and you're done.
    all the people i know that have a steam machine, have build their own. the official ones were either very expensive or underpowered while in the end, they were just plain pc's (alienware was about the only vendor that tried to make it not just a pc).

    valve developed a controller and the link, i honestly don't know why they didn't do the same for steam machines.

    • ZOTAC NEN, while not entry level at €900, was quite capable at that time with an i5 CPU and GTX 960 and good luck putting such hardware into a box the size of Mac mini, just thicker. I have it and two years later it still handles well any Linux-compatible game I throw at it. It's quiet and unobtrusive.

      Having SteamOS preinstalled, preconfigured and tested on a capable, quiet and tiny system was definitely worth its price. BTW, I have a self-built desktop PC with dual booting, a RAID and whatnot, so it's

    • valve developed a controller and the link, i honestly don't know why they didn't do the same for steam machines.

      If you look at Windows desktop share % and Mac desktop share % I think that tells you what Valve were thinking.

      The reason Windows is dominant and Mac as a desktop % is tiny is mostly down to the fact that anyone could make a Windows machine. High end, low end, everything in between- anyone could make a windows run PC and target any niche they wanted. Valve probably hoped the same thing would happen with steam machines. They were wrong, it didn't take off, but that's probably what they hoped would happen.

  • I would guess a game platform like on a smart tv sooner or later. Steam machines are a nice reminder that not everything has to be microsoft but i guess the lack of gpu's and Linux support for crappy proprietary drivers say from nvidia did not help.

    I run linux (no windows) and even i steer clear of gpu's.

    An integrated smart tv (normally linux) with decent games i recon is where the consoles and steam will go next

    • So, you're not happy with a closed binary drivers on Linux, but happy to use a completely closed computing device, i.e. a smart tv?

      • I think the emphasis is on crappy. If it was open and crappy, then at least the community can make it better.

  • I'll be probably down-voted by GNU/Linux advocates but it's mostly due to the fact that GNU/Linux isn't suitable as a gaming OS. As an OS it lacks several mechanisms that are necessary especially for complicated interactive/heavy software such as AAA games. For example, Linux threads were poorly implemented as a hack on fork() and as a result thread priority sucks https://www.gamingonlinux.com/... [gamingonlinux.com] as IRL some threads are more critical like sound threads. Also the notorious bug 12309 where symptoms are

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      While I agree with the shortcomings in linux, I think you're missing some things that Linux has an advantage on.

      1. The network stack is much better than windows. This matters for FPS games. For this very reason, I used to run enemy territory on linux. (when it was still a thing)
      2. Linux threads are terrible in many ways, but one upside to their design is that they have huge stack sizes. This is a nightmare when porting software to correct platforms, but it does work around bad coding issues in games.
      3. Lin

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I'll be probably down-voted by GNU/Linux advocates but it's mostly due to the fact that GNU/Linux isn't suitable as a gaming OS. As an OS it lacks several mechanisms that are necessary especially for complicated interactive/heavy software such as AAA games. For example, Linux threads were poorly implemented as a hack on fork() and as a result thread priority sucks https://www.gamingonlinux.com/... [gamingonlinux.com] as IRL some threads are more critical like sound threads. Also the notorious bug 12309 where symptoms are sill present or bug 14505 where file descriptors and network sockets cannot be forcibly closed and without unmounting them first it leads to stale mount points, and in certain cases to oopses and crashes. Not even talking about unstable API/ABIs. Windows Mac OS and strangely many BSDs are mostly free from such Linux diseases. Even Google is planning to replace it with Fuchsia/Zircon in future.

      You sir have a lot of misconceptions. Linux is just fine as a gaming OS, and sometimes beats Windows if the games are native implementations (instead of badly ported console/Windows games).

      Threading is much better on Linux that it is on Windows actually. You can look at Valve's port of the source engine - they were seeing higher frame rates on Linux than on Windows mostly due to better threading.

  • "The original price was just $50, and Valve is basically giving them away right now." Current price? $49.99. So basically giving them away compared to original price...

  • Small wonder (Score:4, Funny)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @08:31AM (#56372257)

    Who wants a steam machine in their living room, the noise, the coal and the risk of CO-poisoning alone.

  • Go for nearly nothing, compared to retail, on eBay. I may have to try one of these out. Never wanted to drop the cash on them because of stutters and disconnects on my wifi'd laptop. Maybe it's more polished on the link?

  • It's the year of the linux desktop! For the gnomes that live in landfills.
  • But they still don't sell any of their hardware to Australia, so thats a bit of a missed opportunity for Steam. I've been hanging out to get a Steam Machine since almost 100% of my gaming is via in-home streaming. I've been waiting for ages for their Vive to be available as well... and their Steam controller (although I eventually caved last year and now have a really good DS4 controller - and as a result probably won't bother trying to find a Steam controller now I've mastered this) but unfortunately, sinc

    • But they still don't sell any of their hardware to Australia, so thats a bit of a missed opportunity for Steam.

      That's because steam rises and can't make it down-under.

    • But they still don't sell any of their hardware to Australia, so thats a bit of a missed opportunity for Steam.

      Not true. I bought a Steam Link and Steam Controller from EB Games about a year ago thinking it would be nice to play games on the big screen in the lounge. If you wanted a Steam Machine you could still buy the Alienware Steam Machine from Dell, but you'd have been better off buying a regular PC with more performance for the same price.

      I found mouse/touchpad on the Steam Controller to be painful to use and the charm wore off after a couple of weeks. Now it's packed away.

  • Sigh. (Score:3)

    by ledow ( 319597 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @09:49AM (#56372677) Homepage

    Release Half Life 3.

    Make it SteamOS exclusive for 6 months.

    Watch the money pour in (if it's anywhere near half-decent).

    That they haven't already done this means they have no clue. I love Steam, I think they're great. But they missed the boat by just letting people make Steam Boxes that have... no unique selling point whatsoever. It's just an expensive PC operating as a console using software you can install on your existing PC for free.

    Or you could have had the first PROPER set of VR-designed consoles by getting into bed with HTC or someone, and done the same.

    They'll still rake in millions, from silly loot boxes and shite, but it bugs me that they aren't in the game-development industry any more. Steam was just a distribution method for HL2. They forced you onto it if you wanted to play HL2 or CS (after shutting down WON).

    Now... there's nothing of incentive to move platform.

  • Playing the long game (Score:3)

    by Dega704 ( 1454673 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @10:32AM (#56372959)
    I honestly don't think Valve had high hopes for it. At the very least, they weren't banking on it. It was more of an experiment to generate enthusiasm and get certain wheels turning to wrest control of PC gaming away from Microsoft; and to that end it seems to have been very effective. The Windows Store hasn't taken over gaming, Vulkan is poised to supplant Direct3D, AMD is open sourcing their Linux drivers, and Linux as a gaming OS (and even as a desktop OS in general) has improved by leaps and bounds as a result of their efforts. Criminy, DX12 wouldn't have even been released if Valve hadn't pulled this stunt; and yet every year the naysayers come buzzing to pronounce the death and failure of the entire effort because they can't see the forest for the trees. Meanwhile development keeps cranking along and more games keep getting Linux support. Will Linux ever truly compete with Windows as a PC gaming platform? Not for a long time, if ever. Does that matter? Not really. At this point it's like a knife Valve sharpens in their spare time to keep pointed at MS.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • https://steamcommunity.com/app... [steamcommunity.com]

    "...we're continuing to invest significant resources in supporting the Vulkan ecosystem, tooling and driver efforts. We also have other Linux initiatives in the pipe that we're not quite ready to talk about yet; SteamOS will continue to be our medium to deliver these improvements to our customers, and we think they will ultimately benefit the Linux ecosystem at large."

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