Valve's next-gen lineup

Out of absolutely nowhere, Valve dropped a major bombshell – the launch of a trifecta of new Steam hardware.

Early 2026 ushers in the arrival of the Steam Controller, Steam Frame (a wireless VR headset), and the main attraction, the Steam Machine. 

As the names imply, this move helps players make the most out of their Steam libraries. I won’t delve into the technical specs and breakdowns, but what a fascinating prospect.

From what I’ve gathered, experts worldwide are saying the GabeCube looks like a nice entry point for the casual player base. Although it’s six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, you’re not going to get max frames on this bad boy.

However, it will open the door to people who’ve wanted to get into PC gaming but didn’t know where to start.

Two thoughts come to mind, with the first being pricing. The setup alone is enticing – playing PC games from my couch is neat as heck. If Valve nails the pricing, this will be a smash hit.

The other thought is, how does this impact Xbox’s trajectory moving forward?

We all know Xbox’s long list of mishaps over the past decade, that’s only ramped up since the Activision Blizzard purchase. With the Xbox console practically dead in the water, reports point to Xbox’s next hardware being a PC/console hybrid, almost exactly like what the Steam Machine is presented as.

Again, if Valve nails the pricing, why would anyone pick up whatever the next Xbox is, after all the missteps Microsoft has shown? Maybe it won’t do much damage, but we live in a society where anything can happen.

Speaking of things happening, do you guys not have phones?

Ratchet & Clank Go Mobile and F2P

Insomniac Games has been pretty busy the past few years working on small indie titles for Marvel. It’s been a long time since we got a new Ratchet & Clank game, and with Insomniac doing the Marvel stuff, it’s only fair to assume that we won’t get a new entry for some time.

Yet, we are getting one… just not the way any fan would ever expect.

Enter Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble, a free-to-play, multiplayer arena shooter coming to iOS, Android, and tablets. 

It looks.. fine, but it puts every fans back against the wall. Entertain this title or Sony will think Ratchet and Clank isn’t worth the investment. A lot of sentiment to the reveal reiterates just that, although it seemingly is more negative than positive.

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May you rejoice in happiness and free from the shackles of your karmic debt, Rozwellish.

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