The first so-called Steam Box device has apparently been revealed

Jan 8, 2013 09:29 GMT  ·  By

After hearing rumors about the oft-rumored Steam Box mini PC that's supposedly going to appear from Valve, Xi3 Corporation, a company specialized in making custom PC designs, has revealed at CES 2013 that it has partnered with Valve to create a special device that's capable of supporting Steam and its Big Picture mode.

Valve has brought its Steam digital distribution service across many different platforms, including PC, Mac, or Linux.

For some time, however, many reports have appeared that hint at Valve's plans to release a custom small PC that's designed to replace consoles in the living room of gamers.

This so-called Steam Box is supposed to run on Linux, according to new rumors, and support Steam's Big Picture mode, which makes the service much easier to navigate on big screen TVs.

Now, a device that's similar to what we heard about the Steam Box has been presented by the Xi3 corporation, in the form of a "development stage system optimized for computer gameplay on large high-definition television monitors."

The mini PC is housed in a special Xi3 Modular Computer chassis, which you can admire above, and completely supports Steam and its Big Picture mode, as Valve has already partnered with Xi3 to create this device.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era for Xi3," said Jason A. Sullivan , founder, President and CEO of Xi3 in a statement.

"This new development stage product will allow users to take full-advantage of their large high-definition TV displays for an amazing computer game experience. As a result, this new system could provide access to thousands of gaming titles through an integrated system that exceeds the capabilities of leading game consoles, but can fit in the palm of your hand."

No other detail has been shared by Xi3 or Valve, although new info might appear as the two companies continue developing the project.