Compelling, but why would a Steam Machine be a threat to Xbox in 2025 when previous iterations of it were a complete flop? Because Valve has changed a lot in the past five years too, and it’s slowly been building an answer to that question with each step.

The Steam Machine challenges Xbox in the living room with the power of PC gaming. is a senior editor and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.

Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer, has welcomed Valve’s announcement of its console-like PC, the Steam Machine. Announced on Wednesday alongside a new VR headset and controller, Steam Machine is a six-inch console-like cube with “over six times the horsepower of Steam Deck”, which is designed to allow PC games to be played on the TV.

Credible sources report that Xbox's next console will be a PC hybrid, which would put Microsoft in direct competition with another gaming giant.

Ben is a News Writer at Pure Xbox, and is a fan of action, racing and straight-up shootin' in any Xbox game he can get his hands on. When he's not clutching an Xbox controller like his life depends on it, Ben spends his time listening to music that's far too old for him, watching football on the telly and probably eating somewhere.

A fter months of rumors, Valve has finally revealed the new Steam Machine, a home console that can run PC games. It has the same SteamOS software as the Steam Deck, and it could be a fantastic alternative to an Xbox or PlayStation console.

Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer has welcomed Valve’s next-gen Steam machine in a congratulatory message to Valve.

In case you haven't seen it yet, Valve has announced a bunch of new hardware for 2026 today including a console-like PC known as the "Steam Machine", and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been reacting to the reveal on social media.