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Airbus is using a Steam Deck handheld PC to operate its prototype ExoMars rover during development and testing at its Stevenage, UK facility. The setup was shown in a video by YouTuber Tom Scott, with the Deck's thumbsticks, triggers and face buttons used to drive the rover, which is intended to operate autonomously once on Mars.
Valve is rolling out its $1000 Steam Frame headset slowly through a lottery-based reservation system meant to curb scalping, similar to its earlier Steam Machine launch. In the meantime, gamers with existing VR hardware from Valve, HTC, Meta or other brands can already play VR titles on Steam using the SteamVR app, which connects headsets to the Steam launcher and unlocks features like SteamVR Home and dashboard settings.
Airbus is testing its ExoMars rover prototype with a Steam Deck as a handheld controller, as shown in a video by YouTuber Tom Scott touring the company's UK facility. Engineers used the device's sticks, buttons and triggers to drive the rover in real time during ground testing, while a laptop was used for another prototype in the same demonstration.
Newegg is selling Microsoft's black wireless Xbox controller together with a $50 digital Xbox gift card for a combined $80. Since the controller alone usually costs $50 to $60, the deal effectively prices it around $30 once the gift card value is factored in.
Valve's Steam Frame VR headset, previously expected in early 2026, has shipped now starting at $1,059. The Verge's review found it fun for both VR and flatscreen gaming but noted ongoing instability and bugs, echoing the rocky launch of the original Steam Deck.
Valve's Steam Deck supports a built-in factory reset option accessible through Settings > System > Advanced, without needing a PC or USB drive. The reset process takes about 10-15 minutes and requires an internet connection if reinstalling SteamOS afterward, while microSD cards remain unaffected but should still be removed as a precaution.
Valve has released the source code for Lepton, its Android compatibility layer that lets developers run existing Android games on the Steam Frame VR headset without rebuilding them from scratch. The code, hosted on Valve's GitLab, reveals how Valve customizes an Android environment for VR on SteamOS, including graphics access, developer tools and debugging support. It follows the Steam Frame's launch and Valve's earlier announcement of Lepton alongside Steam Frame Verified certification requirements.
Tom's Hardware Premium's weekly roundup covered Valve's release of the Steam Frame VR headset with an interview of its engineers, an investigation into worsening DRAM and NAND shortages now hitting SLC and NOR Flash, and PieceMakers' Taiwan stock debut pitching hybrid-bonded chips as an alternative to HBM for AI inference. The issue also detailed a public dispute among AI leaders after a former OpenAI and Anthropic employee warned advanced AI could threaten humanity by 2030, prompting rebuttals from Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang.
Valve says it's actively working to bring functional Nvidia graphics drivers to SteamOS, the Linux OS behind the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, but the effort could take years to complete. Internal testing has already gotten Nvidia drivers running and rendering graphics on certain GPU generations, though performance still trails AMD hardware.
Alongside Proton, Valve is deploying additional compatibility layers to make Windows games playable on the Arm-based Steam Frame headset running SteamOS. Chief among these is FEX, an open-source x86-to-Arm binary recompiler that Valve has funded since 2018, well before the Steam Frame's existence, working with lead developer Ryan Houdek to make it robust enough for production use.
VR headset shipments have been declining industry-wide, but Valve's upcoming Steam Frame offers a distinct advantage over competitors: deep integration with Steam's massive PC gaming library. Analysts suggest this access to existing games and Valve's established platform could set the device apart in a market struggling to attract new hardware buyers.
Roblox announced 'Roblox Everywhere,' a plan to let creators release their games as standalone apps on mobile, PC, and consoles while Roblox still handles the engine and backend. The move comes as Roblox's creator earnings hit $1.7 billion, with the top 10 creators averaging $65 million each even as the median creator earned only about $1,500. Roblox also confirmed cross-play will remain on by default, keeping standalone games tied into its main network.