Portable Steam Machine Gets Price and Release Window

If you've ever wanted to take your Steam library of PC games on the road, soon you'll be able to buy a device capable of doing just that. The Smach Zero, a portable Steam machine, now has an official release date and price.

Previously known as the Steam Boy, the Smach Zero will launch in quarter four (October-December) of 2016, and pre-sales will be available starting November 10. If you preorder it, it'll cost you $299. The company states that this price is only for preorders, and it'll cost a bit more if you wait until later to buy it.

In terms of form factor, the Smach Zero looks like a cross between a Vita and a Steam controller. It has an embedded screen flanked by two of the distinctive Steam controller circle pads, with four buttons on each side. The gamepad is configurable, as well, to suit different games.

The device has 4 GB of RAM, a 720p touchscreen, HDMI output, Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity, and 32 GB internal storage. As a Steam machine, it runs Valve's SteamOS, an operating system designed specifically to run Steam.

Other companies have also attempted to create portable PCs capable of playing your Steam games, with varying degrees of success. Razer, for example, opted to focus on fitting a lot of power into a small device and made the Edge tablet, which gives players the ability to play pretty much any game at moderate settings. The tablet, however, has a very short battery life when running games.

What do you think of a portable Steam machine? Let us know in the comments.