Valve Finally Makes Steam Link Available for Linux Gamers To Stream Games

, and Ankush Das

March 3, 2021 . 6:12 PM

2 min read

In case you didn’t know, Steam Link was initially a hardware-based solution to let you stream the games that you own in your Steam library from your PC.

The tech was completely sold out and discontinued in November 2018. Right after that, it was pitched in as a software solution that supported mobile devices and Raspberry Pi to let you stream the game on them from your PC via your home network.

The list of supported devices includes iPhone, Android TVs, Android phones, Samsung Smart TVs, and Raspberry Pi 3.

Now, with a new announcement by Valve, Steam Link is finally available for Linux with the help of Collabora.

Steam Link Needs a Reliable Connection & Capable PC

Unlike Cloud gaming solutions, Steam Link needs a capable PC connected to the home network.

It’s more like a local-only cloud game streaming utilizing the hardware you already own and the games that you’ve already purchased on Steam.

The support for Steam Link for Linux is a welcome addition, but personally, I can’t think of many use-cases unless you have multiple PCs connected to a wired connection or a 5 GHz wireless connection.

Yes, I’d like to try streaming games on my Android smartphone or the TV, but on another PC? It would be a hard pass for me.

Especially, considering that Steam Link requires the Steam Client running on your host computer (be it Windows or MacOS).

Of course, if you’re someone who sees a potential use-case for yourself, it should be exciting. Nevertheless, more software support for Linux is always something incredibly useful!