Dell's Alienware to launch a Steam Machine in close partnership with Valve

Dell’s Alienware division announced this evening that it will build a Steam Machine for gamers, so they can play computer games in the living room. The project is part of a year-long collaboration with Valve, the architect of the Steam alternative to Windows PC gaming.

The collaboration between Valve and Dell shows just how much Microsoft has lost its grip on the PC business as its once-staunch ally Dell now openly teams up with Valve, which is trying to position a new Linux-based game ecosystem in the living room in a full rebellion against what it perceives as Microsoft’s closed approach to Windows games. And Valve is formidable as it has 65 million customers using its Steam digital-distribution gaming service.