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Hardware and Games: 2026 Steam Controller, New Steam Games with Native GNU/Linux Builds, and GNU/Linux on PS5
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Boiling Steam ☛ The 2026 Steam Controller: What Reviewers Are Saying
It has been ten long years (2015!) since the first Steam Controller was released, a device that was polarizing by design, beloved by hardcore users, and baffling to the average console enthusiast. The original tried to solve the fundamental friction between mouse-and-keyboard PC gaming and the traditional couch-based approach. It was discontinued back in 2019, and since then we expected it to make a come back sooner or later, especially after the Steam Deck came out and Valve signaled a renewed interest in making hardware. Fast forward to 2026, in the middle of the Rampocalypse shaking the hardware industry, Valve returns with a device bearing the same name, the same philosophy, but a different, and less radical execution. For better or worse, this is mostly as if the Steam Deck was turned into a controller. Since we don’t have the new Steam Controller in hands yet, we can learn from those who do. We have spent some time checking comments hardware youtubers, specifically looking at hands-on impressions from outlets like GameSpot, Linus Tech Tips, Tested, Skillup and Gamers Nexus. From there on we will provide a summary of their observations and opinions.
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Boiling Steam ☛ New Steam Games with Native GNU/Linux Builds, including Rogue Voltage and Wax Heads - 2026-05-06 Edition
Between 2026-04-29 and 2026-05-06 there were 63 New Steam games released with Native GNU/Linux builds. For reference, during the same time, there were 570 games released for backdoored Windows on Steam, so the GNU/Linux versions represent about 11.1 % of total released titles. There’s a few gems in this week, with another great execution in the roguelite genre with Rogue Voltage, as well as a great music-themed narrative game with Wax Heads. Here’s a list of our picks below:
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This is how a PS5 turns into a Steam Machine that plays PC games
It is possible to get Linux up and running on a launch edition PlayStation 5 console to play PC games with full access to Steam, according to Tweak Town.
Based on the work of researcher Andy Nguyen, you can turn a PlayStation 5 into a Steam Machine-like device that runs Linux as its operating system. But, as you may expect, it's not an easy mod, and there are several caveats to getting Linux up and running on a PS5.