Valve has put up an official website announcing their latest project, dubbed “Steam OS.” This isn’t something aimed at taking down Microsoft Windows or even Apple OS, but is instead a new operating system that is designed with PC gaming in mind, specifically, PC gaming on your television. The OS is built to, among other things, stream PC games to TVs, presumably with a dongle/PC combination, and is Valve’s next step up from the “Big Picture” feature they built into Steam earlier to allow easier interface usage for those PC owners with PCs already connected to big screen televisions.
Perhaps most interesting is the confirmation that this is an ongoing, evolving system with both users and developers. From the announcement:
Steam is not a one-way content broadcast channel, it’s a collaborative many-to-many entertainment platform, in which each participant is a multiplier of the experience for everyone else. With SteamOS, “openness” means that the hardware industry can iterate in the living room at a much faster pace than they’ve been able to. Content creators can connect directly to their customers. Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love. SteamOS will continue to evolve, but will remain an environment designed to foster these kinds of innovation.
Valve has not yet put a release date on this new OS, but there are further announcements incoming.
