$400 Steam console leaked: Can it compete against Xbox Series S?

A Steam console is now in the works, as per the rumor mill. Valve is reportedly working to expand Steam OS to a full-fledged competitor to the Xbox and PlayStation, after starting with a handheld back in 2020. The upcoming gaming machine is targeting a budget price tag of $400, making it cheaper than both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

These rumors surfaced on 4chan, the infamous online forum. An anonymous user leaked details about the upcoming console along with an alleged render. Forum users had mixed reactions about the device, with some commenting a Steam console would be great for those who are "afraid of computers" and more users expressing concern over the controller that would be paired with the thing.

Valve has previously forayed into the world of gamepads and was faced with a mixed reception. They discontinued the Steam Controller in 2019. This has created massive speculation about what the rumored console will bundle. The current rumor shows a design similar to the PC variant but with a display.

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Specs and pricing rumors of the Steam console

The Steam Deck has become a fairly popular console (Image via Amazon)

The current leaks don't shed a ton of light into the specs of the device. The 4chan leaker claims it will be based on an "upcoming Strix Halo APU." These devices will use the Zen 5 architecture along with RDNA 3.5 graphics to deliver slight performance improvements over the current Ryzen 8000G "Phoenix" series offerings.

The leak claims the device will be paired by a mid-range chip in the lineup, with a six-core CPU and 30 Compute Units (CUs) of RDNA 3.5 graphics card. The chip is also rumored to pair a dedicated NPU which might help upscaling workloads. In terms of memory, the console is expected to bundle 32 GB of LPDDR5X RAM.

As for physical dimensions, the leaker claims the console to be small. It uses an external power rig. Valve might repurpose its SteamOS for the device, which would be optimized to run well on the console. It might not have Windows or any other heavy operating system because of the "relatively small number of parts compared to a normal PC" and "AMD is selling poorly binned chips to Valve."

Leaks suggest the device will be much faster than the Xbox Series S but "not incredible." Microsoft's budget console proved that there's a market for cheaper consoles that bring the latest titles while being easier on the pocket. It is now selling for $299, which makes it even more affordable than the alleged Steam console. Given its interesting price, we believe it'll sit between the Series S and X, eating market share from both of them.

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When is the Steam console expected to launch?

As per the 4chan leak, the rumored console is expected to launch in 2025. This is a wide launch window. However, looking at other modern consoles, we can expect it in the Fall.