Valve Will End Sales of the Steam Link When Current Stock Is Gone

Valve Will End Sales of the Steam Link When Current Stock Is Gone

Valve launched the Steam Link in 2015, allowing PC gamers to get their favorite titles on their TVs without running extra-long video cables across the house. The company never talked about specific sales figures, but it can’t be a big money maker. Valve has announced it won’t manufacture any more Steam Link hardware, and stock is almost out. In place of the hardware, Valve says it’s focusing on the Steam Link apps.

The Steam Link runs a customized version of Linux with an ARM v7 processor and just 512MB of RAM. It doesn’t have to be powerful, though. It’s just streaming the video from your gaming PC over 802.11ac Wi-Fi or Ethernet, then outputting it to your TV over HDMI. It’s still your PC doing all the heavy lifting.

Valve sells the Link for just $50, or $90 if you want a bundle with the Steam Link and Steam Controller. However, the box also understands keyboard/mouse input as well as Xbox and PS4 controllers.

While Valve isn’t technically discontinuing the Steam Link, the effect is much the same. Whenever the current stock runs out, you won’t be able to get the device anymore. Valve says it will keep supporting the Steam Link with software updates as needed, but the Link doesn’t need frequent updates to pass video through to your TV.

Valve Will End Sales of the Steam Link When Current Stock Is Gone

When the Steam Link is gone, Valve will direct gamers to its recently released Steam Link apps. The Android version launched first because of a hangup with Apple’s notoriously stringent app review guidelines. You can get it in the Play Store now, and it works on almost every phone. The Apple variant has been in testing for several months, but it’s not available to the public yet. Valve’s decision to end Steam Link production implies it will have the Apple situation worked out soon.

Mobile streaming is great, but that doesn’t match the Steam Link’s usefulness unless your device has video-out and you want to plug it into the TV. The app does work on Google’s Android TV platform, as well as on Apple TV. Rather, it will work on Apple TV whenever Apple gets around to approving it. There are also several smart TVs that have a Steam Link app built-in.

If dealing with apps and third-party set-top boxes isn’t ideal for you, then it’s time to drop $50 on the Steam Link. This will be your last chance.

Continue reading

Linus Tovalds Blames Intel for Killing ECC RAM in Consumer Systems
Linus Tovalds Blames Intel for Killing ECC RAM in Consumer Systems

Intel stripped ECC RAM support off its consumer products over a decade ago, and Linus Torvalds is still unhappy about it.

Epic’s New MetaHuman Creator Generates Digital Characters that Avoid the Uncanny Valley
Epic’s New MetaHuman Creator Generates Digital Characters that Avoid the Uncanny Valley

The company's new MetaHuman engine promises to deliver photorealistic digital characters in a snap, and you can check out a demo right now.

Archaeologists Discover Lost Egyptian City Said to Rival Pompeii
Archaeologists Discover Lost Egyptian City Said to Rival Pompeii

Egyptian archaeologists have found a lost city in Egypt near the Valley of the Kings. The Rise of Aten is said to rival Pompeii in terms of completeness and preservation and could tell us far more than we know now about Egyptian culture and society circa 1330 BCE.

Windows 10 Will Make Flash Removal Mandatory This Summer
Windows 10 Will Make Flash Removal Mandatory This Summer

Flash has been phased out in most ways that matter, but there's one more nail being pounded into Flash's coffin, courtesy of Microsoft. Soon, Windows 10 will make Flash removal mandatory.