Steam Brings In-Home Streaming to Smartphones
Steam is famous among Gamers for it’s impressive Game Library. They were also among the first to offer a form of Game Streaming. Currently their In-Home Streaming is limited to Computers and the Steam Link Console. That’s all about to change very soon!
Steam’s In-Home Streaming remains one of the most popular Game Streaming services available. It currently allows you to stream Video Games from your Steam Library to another Computer or to the Steam Link Console.
Gamers have requested a Mobile version of this service for many years. It looks like Valve has been listening, and they are prepping to do just that! They are planning to launch two new Steam Apps for Mobile devices. This is a big deal because Steam hasn’t released any content for Mobile since 2012.
Steam Link App
The Steam Link App allows Gamers to experience their Steam Library of Games on their Mobile Devices. It will support Android (phones, tablets, TV’s), iOS (iPhone, iPad), and Apple TV. The Steam Link App will require a 5 GHz Wifi connection or Ethernet. The Android version of the Steam Link App will initially be offered in beta.
The Steam Link App will support the Steam Controller, MFi Controllers, and Android HID controllers. It will be interesting to see how Steam Controller Support is implemented. Currently, the Steam Controller requires a standard USB dongle to operate wirelessly. It’s possible that the Steam Controller will only work via Micro USB for Mobile (and be limited to Android).
In Valve’s Press release, they specifically say that the Steam Link App will work over 5 GHz. We will have to wait to see if it includes support for 2.4 GHz networks. While 2.4 GHz is known for offering a poor Streaming Experience, it may also be the only option for some Gamers. It’s important to note that at release, the Steam Link App will not support Remote Gaming. They have not revealed plans to support Gaming over LTE.
Steam Video App
In addition to the Steam Link App, Valve is preparing to release the Steam Video App. The Steam Video App will allow users to enjoy thousands of the Movies and TV Shows that are available on Steam. You’ll be able to stream these titles directly to your Android and iOS devices. In contrast to the Steam Link App, the Steam Video App will support both Wifi and LTE. And yes, it will also support offline viewing and streaming modes.
Release Date
The Steam Link App is slated to launch during the week of May 21st. It will be available in the Apple App Store, and as a Beta in the Android Play Store.
The Steam Video App is targeting a Summer Release. Valve hasn’t confirmed anything more specific than that at this point.
You can read Valve’s full press release here. So what do you think? Are you excited to try In-Home Streaming on your Mobile Devices? Are you disappointed that it won’t offer Remote Access? Let us know what you think in the comments!
Originally published at Flickstiq.
