Fremont, Valve's SteamOS-Based Console, Should Concern Sony

Steam Deck has been a huge success for Valve, selling 1.62 million units just in the year 2022. While we know that Valve is already planning to launch Steam Deck 2 in either 2025 or 2026, PC gamers have long desired a SteamOS-based home console, and rumor has it that Valve is going to launch one soon to compete with PlayStation 6 and Xbox Prime.

According to a recent rumor, Valve is already developing a new Steam console since they are developing drivers for the future RDNA4-based AMD Radeon RX9070 graphics cards, which are scheduled for release next month. The information was disseminated by well-known Spanish leaker Ecstasis.

It turns out that Valve is actively developing AMD9070 graphics card drivers. At the moment, these cards are only made for desktop computers. They are the first AMD9070s with FSR4 and RDNA4 technology. As of right now, this RDNA4 architecture is exclusively intended for desktop computers. Although it is currently only available on desktops, it is anticipated that in many years, it may find its way to portable devices. Valve is already working on it.

According to rumors, Valve is working hard on the drivers of these RX9070 GPUs with RDNA4. In his tweet, Ecstasis asked, "Why is Valve so interested in working together on this?" This question may be on everyone's mind. Given that the majority of the visuals utilized on Steam are from Nvidia, this particular AMD architecture and type of graphics card raise an intriguing argument.

The best part is that Valve, the company behind Steam, is working internally on desktop consoles that will be branded with the SteamOS license. This is one of the key reasons why these all might be happening, especially in light of the recent Xbox announcement. It appears that Valve is perhaps thinking of using AMD's 9070 graphics card as the central component of their desktop computer. We don't know what Valve's Steam console will be called, but it has the code name Fremont.

Additionally, this graphics card might be used to make an external GPU for the Steam Deck 2 or by third parties to develop their own products. According to these rumors, it's apparent that Valve is allegedly developing a Steam console behind the scenes. This is intriguing because it appears that many discussions these days center on the notion that the console is essentially dying or fading away, becoming smaller, and losing its significance. However, why would Valve decide to create a home console if such were the case?

We shouldn't ignore Sony's stance on the release of PlayStation titles on PC. The recent terrible PC release of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has shown enough indications that Sony isn't serious about PC ports anymore. So it would seem that Valve wouldn't choose to release their own home console if there were no issues behind the scenes, but apparently, they are. Therefore, when Valve decides to reveal a new home system that will compete with PlayStation, it will be a very intriguing day.