Valve could be working on a competitor to the Nvidia Shield streaming box
- Valve could make a streaming box
- Hints found in the Steam Deck code
- There are no indications of a launch date yet
It may have been five years since the Nvidia Shield was last updated – see our Nvidia Shield (2019) review for details – but the device remains one of the best streaming boxes in the industry. We now hear that it may be getting a new competitor, courtesy of Valve.
According to one Reddit thread analyzing changes to the Steam Deck code (via XDA Developers), it appears that the software used on the portable console may soon be adapted for use on a streaming box connected to a television.
You’d then have a lightweight, versatile device that can both play games and stream video and audio to the big screen – just like the Nvidia Shield does. This is mostly speculation at this point, but we could definitely see it happening.
There are references in the code to an AMD 8540U processor, although this may only refer to a prototype device, so the configuration may change. That would certainly provide more power than the current Steam Deck specs.
HDMI and Android
According to the tipster who spotted the code change, it adds additional support for HDMI control – and the changes match some of the code seen on ChromeOS devices, indicating support for both Android and web apps.
Other than that, there are no real details about what might happen. We don’t know anything about dimensions or pricing, and there’s no indication here as to how long it will take before the product is announced (if it ever is).
Go all the way back to our Nvidia Shield (2015) review and you’ll see that it’s always been an impressively versatile device. It has created a relatively small but loyal group of users, although we’ve seen no signs of ever getting a new model.
What we got a few months ago was the first software update for the Nvidia Shield in a year – although it was aimed at ironing out some outstanding bugs on the streaming box, rather than adding new features.