According to reports, Valve has at least 12 third-party PC manufacturers lined up to create devices based on its SteamOS.
Valve sent out 300 Steam Machines to beta testers shortly before Christmas, along with the first beta of SteamOS, the company’s Linux-based operating system for gamers.
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According to Engadget, the company is about to announce that a dozen third-party OEMs have agreed to build their own Steam Machines.
Some of the names on the leaked list will be familiar to PC Pro readers, including Alienware, CyberPowerPC, Gigabyte, and Scan Computers.
Other companies on the list include Falcon Northwest, iBuyPower, Origin PC, Materiel.net, and Next, though it’s possible that Valve will announce even more partners during its press conference later today in Las Vegas.
SteamOS is a fork of the Debian Linux distribution. At the moment, beta machine builders need a dedicated PC to install the OS because the installation process wipes the machine clean.
Although users will not be able to play Windows games directly on their Steam Machines, the OS is intended to provide a console-like experience to the Steam system. Instead, the company is developing a method for streaming games to a Steam Machine from a Windows PC connected to the same network.