Steam Machine prototypes ship on 13 December

The first 300 of Valve’s Steam Machine prototypes are making their way to the lucky gamers who managed to get into the beta.

Valve announced the Steam Machines initiative on their Living Room website, detailing how the company was planning to invade the console space and put PC gaming firmly into the living room, using a custom Linux OS called SteamOS and a brand new controller design.

The company laments that beta testers who signed up for the project need to be located inside the United States to qualify. Valve says that the restriction is due to regulatory hurdles that prevent distribution of the prototypes to countries outside the US.

“This was not our original plan, and it means we can’t collect beta feedback from Steam customers world-wide, which is pretty unfortunate,” wrote Valve on its Steam Machines group blog. “All things considered, we’re sure it was the right decision, because the alternative was to delay the whole beta beyond the point when we’d be able to incorporate any feedback into the 2014 products.”

As for the SteamOS, Valve feels that its ready for some testing, and will be making it available worldwide starting tomorrow. Although it isn’t the final product, and still has a long way to go before being signed off by the games developer, it will be usable from day one.

“It will be downloadable by individual users and commercial OEMs, but unless you’re an intrepid Linux hacker already, we’re going to recommend that you wait until later in 2014 to try it out,” Valve added.

The Steam Machines beta testers will be awarded with a special badge on their Steam profile and will receive a free copy of certain games to test with, including Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Metro: Last Light, a selection of indie titles and other games from Valve’s stable.

Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo take note – if you underestimate this sleeping giant, there might not be enough time for you to mount a retaliation.