Xi3 and Valve reveal Piston palm-sized modular gaming PC

At the CES in Las Vegas, computer manufacturer Xi3 revealed its new modular PCs, and Valve’s involvement in the company has sparked speculation that this could well be the company’s first step into the hardware space.

Piston, said it be in a development stage, is small enough to fit in one handandhas been designed specifically to support Steam and its recently launched Big Picture mode, which optimises Steam to be viewed via a TV screen.

Xi3 has revealed that Valve is an investor in the company, but no other Steam-specific details were revealed.

Xi3 announced two new systems at CES – the 3a sub-$500 (approx Rs 27,000) everyday use PC, and the 7a high-performance gaming PC that is estimated to cost around $1,100 (approx Rs 60,000).

It is no secret that Valve is keen to get into the hardware space, with rumours of a ‘Steambox’ regularly doing the rounds over the last year.

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