Valve Announces Source Engine 2, Steam Link And Steam Lighthouse, Steam Machines Dated

eSports — IN PHOTO: Millenium eSport professional gamer Arif of France, nicknamed Doigby, looks at a computer screen as he plays inside the Millenium Gaming House in Marseille Novembre 15, 2013. The Millenium Gaming House, which opened its doors in Marseille in 2011, is the most important French e-sport organization and houses pro gamers who live, game, eat and sleep full-time in the building. The house is dedicated to the training of Pro Gamers teams for International competitions. Players train long hours to master the difficulties and subtleties of only one game and participate in Lan-Parties around the world. E-Sports earnings has ranked the 100 players with the highest overall earnings from competitive gaming, with over 60 gamers who have earned over $100,000 in prize money. Picture taken November 15, 2013. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Enigmatic software developer Valve has chosen GDC to make a big splash in the hardware and software arena. The company’s announced a new version of its popular Source Engine, new game streaming tech, VR-base station hardware, and the arrival of highly anticipated Steam Machines.

The big news comes via a Valve-issued press release, picked up by SteamDB. The release includes the official announcement of Source 2, an evolution of the core engine technology that has powered many of Valve’s games, from “Half-Life 2” to “Team Fortress 2,” “Left4Dead and more.” The company has pledged to make Source 2 available for free to content developers.

“With Source 2, our focus is increasing creator productivity. Given how important user generated content is becoming, Source 2 is designed not for just the professional developer, but enabling gamers themselves to participate in the creation and development of their favourite games," said Valve software developer, Jay Stelly.

Valve’s engine technology has a long-tradition of being mod-friendly, enabling dedicated fans to create modifications that extend the life of its games, or create entirely new experiences. Source 2’s stated dedication to ensuring gamers can create content indicates that this tradition is likely to continue. As noted by Polygon, the announcement that Source 2 will be free for content developers follows a recent trend by engine developers like Epic Games and Unity to provide free versions of their software to creators.

It’s worth noting that Source 1 was initially debuted with technical demonstrations tied to development of “Half-Life 2.” However, there have been no indications that a “Half-Life 3” announcement is imminent. Instead, Valve’s focus has been on hardware development, as the company recently announced the impending availability of a suite of new hardware, including the Steam Link, Steam Lighthouse and Steam Machines.

As reported by Gizmodo, the Steam Link is small micro-PC set-top box optimised for Steam-in-home streaming. The device allows gamers to stream gaming content at up to 1080p and 60fps from any PC or Steam Machine within the home, to a display hooked up to a Steam Link box. Valve has announced a price of $49.99 with a release sometime in November. The Steam Link can also be paired with a Steam Controller, available for an additional $49.99.

Steam Lighthouse is a new VR base station technology developed to enhance the abilities of Valve and HTC’s recently announced VR Headset, Vive. Steam Lighthouse provides high-resolution, high-speed tracking at a full-room scale, allowing gamers in VR to more freely move about in a real-world space. The company states it will make Lighthouse free for hardware manufacturers.

Game Informer notes that Valve has also stated that its long-awaited Steam Machines will be shown off at GDC. Powered by a variant of Linux called SteamOS, Steam Machines are are optimised specifically for gaming and Valve’s partners promise higher-than-console performance at the same price-point. The Steam Machines are scheduled to begin rolling out in November.