If everything had gone as planned, we would already be enjoying the new Steam Machine right now. Valve, however, had to alter its plans due to the RAM crisis. An extraordinary situation that has now given rise to an even stranger piece of news: the first major improvement in the machine’s operation has arrived even before it has officially debuted. This is a significant advance that could be implemented ahead of the launch and that centers on making the experience of navigating with a controller more enjoyable.
The implementation we’re talking about isn’t arriving thanks to Valve but from KDE. This famous software development community is behind KDE Plasma, the desktop environment used by SteamOS and, therefore, by all of the Valve family’s devices, including the Steam Deck, as well as the upcoming Steam Machine. It is, essentially, what you see when you use the machine in Desktop mode.
What matters is that KDE Plasma has just released the beta of Version 6.7 —SteamOS currently ships with 6.4.3—. This update brings HDR tweaks and various compatibility improvements, which are of course good news, but here we want to talk about its refreshed Plasma Bigscreen experience. This environment offers a much easier-to-navigate interface designed for devices connected to a television. “Control your computer from the sofa. Run applications, tweak settings and switch between open apps through an interface designed for large screens,” they explain.
The result is a menu screen that looks more like what you see on a Smart TV, or on a modern console. In other words, an environment designed to be used with a gamepad rather than a mouse and keyboard, so players, when they’re not gaming, could use their Steam Machine as genuine multimedia hubs with the apps available in Discover (Flathub). The only question is whether Valve will have compatibility ready for this KDE Plasma version by the Steam Machine launch. However, everything points to yes: it’s a tweak almost tailor-made for the brand’s consolidated PC-console.
Valve moves toward the Steam Machine rollout
Although the final release date for Steam Machine remains unclear, all signs point to the new machine being closer than expected. Valve has reiterated that it still hopes to launch it in 2026 and, in recent statements, some company employees suggested that we would hear news “soon.” “Overall, I think things are going well,” said SteamOS developer Pierre-Loup Griffais.
Source | Phoronix
On 3DJuegos | I’ve been waiting for this open world since May 11, 2021, but after 9 hours of playing I know I’ll have to wait a lot longer for Subnautica 2.
On 3DJuegos | It has taken 14 years and five games to reach Japan, but the wait has been worth every kilometer. Review of Forza Horizon 6.