Valve hardware cautionary tale

A new GDC-focused video titled "The Valve Hardware Nightmare — Gaben vs. the World" traces Valve’s attempts and framing of failures and wins, with the video itself published on YouTube [here]. (youtube.com) Valve’s Steam Machines program shipped its first wave to pre-order customers on Oct. 16, 2015 and hit retail on Nov. 10, 2015, with about 15 partner-made models announced at launch. (polygon.com) The Steam Controller launched alongside those machines in November 2015 and was officially discontinued on Nov. 27, 2019 after failing to achieve sustained market traction. (en.wikipedia.org) Valve’s Steam Link streaming box also debuted Nov. 10, 2015 but Valve discontinued the physical Steam Link hardware in November 2018 and pivoted support to the Steam Link app. (en.wikipedia.org) On the software side, Valve released the Proton compatibility layer (a Wine-based translation stack) on Aug. 21, 2018 to run Windows games on Linux, a move that later became central to Steam Deck compatibility. (en.wikipedia.org) SteamOS began as a December 2013 beta and evolved into SteamOS 3.0 for the Steam Deck in Feb. 2022 (an Arch Linux-based system that bundles Proton), reflecting Valve’s shift from OEM-led Steam Machines to in-house hardware. (developer.valvesoftware.com) Valve’s hardware fortunes reversed with the Steam Deck: Valve told press the Deck has sold “multiple millions,” and IDC estimates commissioned by The Verge put total handheld PC shipments at about 6 million from 2022–2024 with the Deck accounting for roughly 3.7–4.0 million of those units. (gamedeveloper.com)