Valve has confirmed that its upcoming Steam Machine console will launch without any exclusive games, taking a deliberately open approach that contrasts with the traditional console model. Speaking to Bloomberg, Valve engineers explained that they want rival hardware manufacturers to be free to make similar devices with better performance or different features, believing that growing the wider PC ecosystem ultimately benefits Valve more than exclusives would, since it drives more people towards buying games through Steam.

Engineer Loup Griffais said Valve sees "the whole PC catalog as our 'launch exclusive'", arguing that restricting where a game can be played isn't a model that suits the company, despite persistent rumours of a new Half-Life tied to the hardware. Fellow engineer Yazan Aldehayyat also touched on pricing, warning that things are "getting worse" and that retail prices currently lag around three to six months behind what Valve is seeing from bulk supply costs.