Valve has announced an operating system focused on bringing Steam to the living room, called SteamOS.
Unveiled today on the Steam site, it mentions that SteamOS will run on Linux, with the operating system designed around achieving optimal hardware performance for games. SteamOS is also designed to be user-friendly in a living room setup, with a similar approach to what we’ve seen with Steam’s Big Picture mode.
Valve also mention that SteamOS will introduce four new features that will also make its way to the standard Steam client:
In-Home StreamingYou can play all your Windows and Mac games on your SteamOS machine, too. Just turn on your existing computer and run Steam as you always have – then your SteamOS machine can stream those games over your home network straight to your TV!
Music, TV, MoviesWe’re working with many of the media services you know and love. Soon we will begin bringing them online, allowing you to access your favorite music and video with Steam and SteamOS.
Family SharingIn the past, sharing Steam games with your family members was hard. Now you can share the games you love with the people you love. Family Sharing allows you to take turns playing one another’s games while earning your own Steam achievements and saving your individual game progress to the Steam cloud.
Family OptionsThe living-room is family territory. That’s great, but you don’t want to see your parents’ games in your library. Soon, families will have more control over what titles get seen by whom, and more features to allow everyone in the house to get the most out of their Steam libraries.
No release date has been specified for SteamOS, but the operating system will be available as a free download for both users and manufacturers. What are your thoughts on SteamOS? Will you run it on your PC? Let us know!