Valve has made a lot of innovations over the years. They introduced the world to Steam, one of the very first digital storefronts for PC Games, they created one of the greatest first person shooter games of all time, Half-Life, and they also became one of the central hubs for numerous indie developers to launch their games with. One other great invention the company made was a little known device called the Steam Link, which is nifty little wireless connector that allowed you to stream your PC games to your television. With that being said, we regret you inform you that Valve just recently announced that they are officially ending production of the Steam Link.
According to the news post, European stock has already sold out, while the U.S. stock won’t last much longer, as there are no plans to refill the warehouses with the device. Despite the discontinuation, Valve has stated that they intend to continue to support the device, specifically for those who own the physical copy or the software version. While the Steam Link was game changing idea at the time of its release in 2015, it never became a mainstay in the community of PC gamers, and today it serves little purpose.
The main reason for this being that majority of modern electronic devices can easily connect to smart televisions with little to no issues, provided they have a stable Wi-Fi connection, or an ethernet cable. Unfortunately, this makes the Steam Link device obsolete, and on top of that, Valve themselves have been focusing on Steam Link app software through mobile platforms, such as iOS and Android. However, Apple rejected the app earlier this year, leaving iOS users without the Steam Link software.
The company attempted to make some sort of profit over the past few years by having it on sale during their annual Sales Events, sometimes as little as $2.50. The writing was on the wall, and despite the sudden announcement, this appears to be something that Valve was considering for a while. Regardless of what it has become, the Steam Link is beloved by those who have used it, and by those who continue to use it. As of this writing, the Steam Storefront still has the Steam Link in stock for $49.99, so if you’re interested in it, buy it now while you still have a chance.