After having had them announced as coming a while ago, Valve has finally put a release time on the long-awaited Steam Machines they hope to enter the console market with.
Valve revealed that the Steam Machines will be released towards the end of the year in November, starting off with a number of different models made by Alienware, Falcon Northwest and over a dozen more firms that have partnered with Valve for the manufacture of the hardware. Valve have said that Steam Machines will be priced similarly to games consoles and will deliver a higher performance than they do.
As well Valve announced that they're also releasing a new product that will add streaming functionality to the Steam Machine. Called the Steam Link, it is a separate piece of hardware that will allow you to stream all Steam content from a PC or Steam Machine to any room of the house using the house's local network. It will support 1080p at 60Hz with low latency. It is set to be priced at $49.99, with a Steam Controller thrown in for another $49.99 in the US and will also be released in November. Valve have yet to set the prices for other countries.
As well Valve announced the launch of the Source 2 game engine, which will be set up for the use of professional developers and gamers who create content for the Steam Workshop to be able to use efficiently and easily. More details are expected to be announced later this week to say when it will be available for use.