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SteamBox? Xi3 teases a new Piston PC game ‘console’ coming Monday

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 1 min

Xi3 plans to announce a new version of its Piston PC “console” on Monday.

The company’s web site shows a black-and-white image with an outline of the Piston Console, with a headline that reads, “The wait is over.” The date says “09.30.13.”

The company makes modular computers that have tiny dimensions for a PC. They also feature fast components that appeal to gamers. Past versions of the Piston were rumored to be Valve’s so-called Steam Box earlier this year, and Xi3 acknowledged that Valve had invested in the company.

Valve has now revealed its plan to create Linux-based PCs that can display Steam digital distribution games on living room TVs. So you can bet that Xi3 plans to make one of these Steam Machines, as Valve now calls them, based on Valve’s SteamOS software.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.