After the SteamVR preview, the legion of Gabe Newell kept its word and made an appearance at the 2015 edition of the Game Developers Conference to announce new products. Steam Link is a mini-PC that offers streaming of our Steam games to any screen, Lighthouse is installed as a VR tracking system for whole rooms, and the development of Source 2, a new version of the well-known graphics engine, has been confirmed.
Lighthouse: Room-Scale Tracking
The suspense is melting us, but Valve doesn't give an inch and only follows what seems to be a very strict agenda. The Steam Universe portal had anticipated the visit to the Game Developers Conference and limited demos of the SteamVR system. So far no other virtual headset has been revealed, but it is estimated that Valve will make a new presentation tomorrow. What the company did share with the public is divided into three products. The first is Lighthouse, a tracking system for virtual reality platforms that extends to an entire room. In the past we had seen something similar based on QR codes, however, the development of Lighthouse is closely related to that of the Steam Controller.
Steam Link: Streaming to Any Screen
Probably the most important part of the package is Steam Link. At first glance it looks like an external hard drive with a USB connection, but in reality it is a mini-PC with SteamOS preinstalled, and its sole purpose will be to stream from our computers with Steam or from Steam Machines to any screen, as long as the systems and devices are on the same WiFi network. Steam Link supports games at 1080p resolution at 60Hz, and its official price is 50 dollars. Its release is scheduled for November, and if the user wishes, they can also buy an additional Steam Controller for an extra 50 dollars.
Source 2: Free for Content Developers
Finally, Valve confirmed the development of Source 2, an update to the graphics engine we've seen in all editions of Half-Life 2, the two Portals, both Left 4 Dead, Dota 2, Blade Symphony, and Titanfall. Unfortunately, details about Source 2 are quite scarce, but Valve indicated that the engine will be "free for content developers", although nothing more was said about additional conditions. With this, Source 2 joins the recent announcement of Unreal Engine 4 with no initial charge, and the new version 5 of Unity, with a free personal edition and no percentages. If you think Valve's announcement has little flavor... I think you're right. We have to keep waiting.
