Valve Expands the Steam Hardware Family

Valve has officially confirmed what fans have been speculating for months: a whole new lineup of Steam hardware is coming in early 2026. The company behind Half-Life, Portal, and Steam Deck is expanding its ecosystem with three major additions, the next-gen Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame, a brand-new standalone VR headset.

According to Valve, these devices are built to make PC gaming more accessible than ever, offering players more ways to enjoy their Steam libraries across different setups, from desktops and living rooms to full virtual reality experiences.

“We view these devices as ways to add even more value for Steam users and developers, offering more ways to play and discover games,” Valve said in its official announcement.

The Steam Machine: Valve’s Comeback to the Living Room

The new Steam Machine marks Valve’s return to the small-form gaming PC space a decade after the original struggled to find its footing. This next-gen model is designed as a compact, plug-and-play box running SteamOS, Valve’s Linux-based operating system optimised for gaming.

Image Credit: Valve

Valve hasn’t shared full specs yet, but it’s positioning the Steam Machine as an affordable, high-performance alternative to building a custom gaming PC. Hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat told IGN the goal was to keep it “approachable and affordable,” especially given rising inflation and PC component costs.

“If you’re trying to make a PC with similar features and performance, the Steam Machine is going to be really competitive in price,” Aldehayyat said.
“Affordability is something we thought about with every feature and hardware decision.”

While pricing remains under wraps, Valve confirmed the Steam Machine will launch in Spring 2026, with pre-orders expected to open beforehand.

A New Steam Controller for a New Era

Joining the lineup is a redesigned Steam Controller, built from the ground up to complement the new Steam Machine but also fully compatible with the Steam Deck and other devices.

Valve describes all of its hardware as “besties,” saying they work great together whether you’re streaming or playing across multiple platforms. True to its open-PC roots, Valve emphasised that its hardware will still “play well with others,” meaning it won’t lock players into a closed ecosystem.

Hands-on previews suggest the new controller refines the original’s experimental touchpads with more traditional ergonomics and improved haptics, aiming to bridge the gap between console and PC gaming comfort.

Steam Frame: Valve’s Next Leap Into Virtual Reality

The standout announcement is Steam Frame, Valve’s next-generation VR headset and controller combo. Building on the success of the Valve Index, Steam Frame’s biggest breakthrough is that it doesn’t need to be tethered to a PC, it can run games independently or stream them from other Steam devices.

This positions Steam Frame as a direct competitor to Meta’s Quest line while retaining the depth and flexibility of PC VR. Valve also revealed a developer kit program for Steam Frame, allowing game creators to request units via their Steamworks dashboard. Supplies are limited, but kits will be distributed on an ongoing basis.

SteamOS and the Expanded Verified Program

All of Valve’s new devices will run SteamOS, which delivers a console-like user experience without sacrificing the flexibility of a full PC. To ensure a smooth transition, Valve is expanding its Deck Verified program to include Steam Machine and Steam Frame. Games already verified for Steam Deck will automatically be verified for the new hardware, reducing friction for developers and giving players clarity on compatibility.

What About Steam Deck 2?

Despite rumours, Valve confirmed there’s no new Steam Deck coming just yet. The company said now isn’t the right time for a next-gen version of its handheld, as it continues supporting the existing Deck through software updates and ecosystem improvements.

And for those hoping for a new Half-Life or Portal announcement alongside the hardware, Valve has stayed quiet on new games, though its in-development MOBA, Deadlock, remains in testing with no release date yet.

The Future of Steam Hardware

With the Steam Machine returning, a new Controller in the mix, and Steam Frame introducing standalone VR to the Steam ecosystem, Valve is setting itself up for one of its most ambitious hardware pushes ever.

Whether you’re a developer, VR enthusiast, or just someone who wants an easier way to enjoy their Steam library, 2026 looks like a big year for PC gaming.

The post Valve Unveils New Steam Machine, Controller, and Steam Frame for 2026 – Here’s Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Another year and another edition of Activision’s videogame and collectible figurine mash-up. For this year’s Skylanders Superchargers, vehicles have been added into the mix, opening up a whole new way to play the game and drain parents of their cash.

Skylanders, the original toys-to-game franchise, now competes with Disney’s Infinity, Nintendo’s Amiibo and Lego Dimensions for a slice of the pie. And stiff competition it is as well. With the marketing might of Disney drawing from some of the world’s top brands like Marvel and Star Wars, Nintendo from their back catalogue of classic game characters and Lego from everywhere else, Activision really can’t afford to rest on their laurels.

Hence the vehicles shaking this up for this yea’rs Skylanders Superchargers.

You have to admire the effort that Activision puts into their Skylanders games. As with previous entries, Skylanders Superchargers looks fantastic (and I reviewed the Xbox 360 version). The polished visuals look more like a creatively stylised kids cartoon than an interactive video game.

The plot, whilst not exactly deep, serves its purpose and provides enough giggles to keep the kids and adults that are young at heart amused.

Kaos, the evil cackling madman that spends an unhealthy amount of time plotting the destruction of Skylands has almost succeeded, imprisoning your friends. The only ones that can restore order is a special team of Skylanders… the Superchargers and their fleet of extra-ordinary land sea and air vehicles. With the help of returning characters Hugo, Flynn and Cali, players must liberate Skylands destroy the Doomstation of Ultimate Doomstruction and free Master Eon from Kaos’s prison.

For the uninitiated, and similar to all the other games of its ilk, the Skylanders franchise has players (referred to by the Master Eon, as he breaks the forth wall and speaks to you directly, as portal masters) placed in charge of the portal of power. This portal, when a Skylander toy is placed upon it, transfers the character into the game world. It’s a neat idea and, of course, the more Skylanders you own, the more characters you have to tag-team your way through the game. Which is where it can get expensive and potentially even more so this time as characters are paired up with a vehicle as well.

Thankfully, Skylander toys from previous games are compatible with Skylander Superchargers, meaning most fans will have a large collection of characters to draw upon. The portal included with Skylanders Superchargers includes a slot for a trap piece, as introduced with last year’s Skylanders Trap Team.

Placing a full trap in the Superchargers portal unlocks special Skystones for use with the mini card-like game, Skystones Overdrive.

The Skylander Superchargers starter pack comes with a couple of Superchargers and a car. Straight of the bat you are going to need to stump up some cash and buy an air and sea vehicle in order to actually play the game properly.

The addition of vehicles to the mix creates an interesting, though likely to be divisive, change. Whilst the use of vehicles may detract from what many may consider to be the core Skylanders experience, I found the new racing and vehicle combat mechanics a refreshing change for a franchise that seems to be getting a bit stale of late.

As well as the Main Story Campaign, Single-player, Multiplayer and Time Trial races are available directly from the Main Menu. This allows players to test out the three vehicle types with races on land, water and in the air. The racing will appeal to fans of Mario Kart, with plenty of power-ups and vehicle-to-vehicle combat.

The game contains the same sort of polished platform gaming fun that the franchise is renown for. This time though, at particular points there’s the opportunity to hop on board a land, air or sea vehicle and continue the Skylander experience in a rather different way.

The vehicles are upgradable in a similar way to the Skylanders, themselves, improving their speed, armament and weaponry.

Skylanders Superchargers makes for an interesting new direction and adding vehicles is certainly less gimmicky that last year’s traps. The cynic in me thinks that the inclusion of vehicles is more about emptying parent’s wallets than a creative change to make the game better, which, let’s be honest seems to be the same thing every year.

Still, Skylanders Superchargers is a very polished affair offering a great story, some fun, if familiar, gameplay and some outstanding characters. Fans should love it, but newcomers may end up wondering what all the fuss is about.

The post Skylanders: Superchargers Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.