Steam Big Picture Mode beta coming today, trailer released

Remember that time Valve almost-kind-of-sort-of quietly entered the console market with a new service called Steam Big Picture Mode which would directly compete with consoles in the living room? Yeah, that was crazy. We haven't heard much about it since then, but now Valve has released a new video explaining the service as they get ready to launch a beta.

All around the world, PC gamers who work on computers all day are quietly jumping with glee that they'll finally get to come home from work and play PC games from the couch. It remains to be seen how many players will be willing to run cables from their desktop to their television (or buy a dedicated PC for their TV,) but we're definitely looking forward to giving this a spin when the public beta launches later today.

TOPICS
CATEGORIES
Andrew Groen

Andrew is a freelance video game journalist, writing for sites like Wired and GamesRadar. Andrew has also written a book called EMPIRES OF EVE: A History of the Great Wars of EVE Online.

Latest in FPS
halflife screenshot showing a headcrab jumping at a player
Half-Life devs worried Gabe Newell "promised things that they couldn't possibly deliver" for the iconic FPS, but "they just didn't know" that they'd be able to do it yet
Former Valve exec recounts the meeting where Half-Life's publisher almost killed the iconic FPS: "Half-Life would quietly die. I was stunned"
FBC Firebreak screenshot for GamesRadar Big Preview showing a character throwing an electric shock grenade in a crowded room
FBC: Firebreak may be Remedy's first live-service game but the Control creators are going about it the right way, confirming that all playable post-launch content "will always be free"
"Valve would never ship another game": Former exec forced Half-Life publisher's hand by saying Gabe Newell and the team would pivot away from game dev
Gordon Freeman
Valve literally gives Half-Life away now, but 27 years ago it was carefully crushing its angry pirates: "None of them had actually bought the game"
FBC: Firebreak gameplay trailer reveal in Future Games Show: Spring Showcase
With an impressive new FBC: Firebreak trailer at the Future Games Show, Remedy confirms a Summer 2025 release window for its co-op shooter set in the Control universe
Latest in News
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Muse
Daredevil: Born Again midseason trailer teases Matt Murdock’s violent fight with Muse, including a gory scene straight from the comics
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game