Valve's new Steam console just appeared online

Valve is set to return to the home console market with a new machine to take on the likes of the Xbox Series X, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2.

Codenamed Fremont, the device has been rumoured several times before, but it's now been spotted on GeekBench leading some to believe it's closer to launch than ever.

According to Insider Gaming, the listing – which includes the name Valve Fremont – reveals the box has a six-core / 12 thread CPU running at 3.2GHz. It is also claimed that it sports 8GB of DDR5 RAM.

Both of these sound pretty underpowered for a console/mini PC, the Steam Deck comes with 16GB of RAM after all, but it might be that this is just a test device with plans to bump up the specifications ahead of an actual release.

It also shows it running Windows 11 Pro, for example, which is strange considering a Steam console will surely based on Linux and SteamOS.

Still, it's a positive sign that Valve continues to look at devices beyond its handhelds. Or, at least, it's looking at them again.

Didn't we already have a Steam console?

This would not be Valve's first rodeo when it comes to a home games machine. A decade ago, it partnered with numerous PC manufacturers to release Steam Machines – paired-back computers that ran on an early version of SteamOS in its Big Picture mode.

Several were released over a three-year period but never really took off. I had one made by Asus back in the day and it barely came out of the box. That was partly thanks to the bizarre Steam Controller that swapped thumbsticks for touch panels – a tricky control system to get used to.

It's likely that if the Fremont Steam console is to have better luck, it'll come with a more familiar controller.

Hopefully, we'll find out more about it in the coming weeks.