Phil Spencer Congratulates Valve on its Announcements as “One of the Largest Publishers on Steam”

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Following Valve’s announcement of new hardware, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming, publicly congratulated them. He explained that giving gamers a wider range of hardware options benefits the whole gaming industry. Notably, Spencer highlighted Xbox’s position as a major publisher on Steam before extending his congratulations to Valve.

According to Spencer, the gaming industry thrives when players and developers have more freedom to play and create, particularly on open platforms. Xbox believes in giving players choices about how and where they play – on PCs, consoles, and handheld devices – and this has been a guiding principle for the company since the beginning. As a major publisher on Steam, Xbox is excited about new ways for players to access games on any device, and congratulates those involved in today’s announcement.

Phil Spencer shared his thoughts shortly after Valve announced three new products: the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller. Spencer seems most interested in the Steam Machine, which is a pre-built computer. It’s powered by a customized AMD processor and graphics card, featuring six processing cores and 28 compute units.

Valve calls the Steam Machine a remarkably easy-to-use PC that anyone can set up and play with. It runs on SteamOS, which is built on Linux – the same operating system powering the Steam Deck. Even though it’s a Linux computer, it can play many Windows games thanks to Proton, a powerful compatibility tool.

The Steam Machine is a compact gaming PC, measuring about 6 inches on each side. Its small size will naturally lead people to compare it to traditional game consoles, which are also typically smaller than full-sized PCs. But because it’s a PC at its core, the Steam Machine isn’t limited to just Steam games. Like the Steam Deck, it can also play games purchased from other online stores.

The Microsoft Store, where players often buy Xbox Play Anywhere games that work on both Windows and Xbox, won’t be available on the Steam Machine. To use it, you’d have to switch the Steam Machine’s operating system to Windows, which could create other problems.

Valve hasn’t revealed how much the Steam Machine will cost or when it will be available. But based on their past products, it will probably be priced similarly to other pre-built gaming PCs and game consoles, offering good value for the money.

Valve didn’t just announce the Steam Machine; they also revealed a new Steam Controller and the Steam Frame VR headset. The Steam Frame is special because it can play games on its own, without being connected to a computer.

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2025-11-13 18:11