First Steam Machines, Controller to Arrive in October if You Preorder Now

Valve today announced the launch dates for the first official Steam Machines, as well as the Steam Controller and Steam Link. You can now preorder all of these devices, and by doing so, you can potentially get your hands on them early.

All of this will arrive on November 10 in the United States, though you can begin placing preorders today. For a limited time, if you preorder through Steam itself or GameStop, you'll be able to get Alienware's Steam Machines, the Steam Controller, or the Steam Link on October 16. In Europe and Canada, you'll be able to get the controller or Link early by preordering through Steam, GameStop, EB Games, Micromania, or GAME UK.

Steam Machines are essentially living-room PCs, meant to offer the PC gaming experience without having to worry about building a traditional computer. While Alienware's offerings are being highlighted as the ones you can get early, there are a number of alternatives that will also be available come November. These include boxes from Asus, iBuyPower, and Origin, with all of them ranging in power and price from $450 up to a whopping $5,000.

Steam Link ($50) is designed as a way of allowing you to easily stream PC games to a TV over a local network. The Steam Controller ($50), meanwhile, aims to make it possible to play PC games with a controller that were only designed for a keyboard and mouse.