Monday, November 26, 2018

Looks Like Valve Is Discontinuing The Steam Link

If you were hoping to get your hands on a Steam Link and bring your PC gaming seamlessly into the living room, you appear to have officially run out of time. The devices are now officially sold out and, based on a recent statement from Valve, it doesn't sound like they plan on producing additional stock.

As part of Valve's annual Autumn Sale, an insane 95 percent off discount was offered for the Steam Link. That meant that the miniscule gaming device that typically sells for 50 bucks was going for $2.50. At that price, it should come as no surprise that the things sold out with a quickness, as it is currently listed as "Out of Stock." The sale was meant to continue for another 48 days. But if you were hoping to wait until after the holidays to spend some cash from Grandma on a Steam Box, it looks like you're out of luck.

While this story would normally be good news for Valve and gamers alike, a message from the developer has folks worried that this was actually Valve's not-so-subtle way of cleaning out the warehouse and calling it quits with the Steam Link. To be clear, they have not announced that the Steam Link has been discontinued, but the writing between the lines seems to be in extra-large bold font in this case.

This message was obviously posted shortly before the Steam Link disappeared from stock and has left the community wondering if perhaps a few additional details should be offered as well. As noted in Valve's statement, the Steam Link app is still available and they plan on supporting it, but many folks preferred having Steam's dedicated box running the software and streaming their games from their computer to their television.

Then again, Valve has never been super great at the hardware business, so maybe this shouldn't come as a total surprise. Their game-focused partnerships to create Steam Machines fizzled, and their own Steam Controller seems to be flopping about, so the fact that they could very well be calling it quits with the Steam Link should have seemed inevitable, really. So if you're looking to play your PC's copy of The Witcher III or Assassin's Creed: Odyssey from the couch, it looks like you'll have to rely on another device (or a standard console) moving forward.

Or, if folks are outspoken enough with their frustration, maybe Valve will decide to give the Steam Link another go. Yeah ... that'll totally happen.



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