Upcoming Steam Link App Will Let You Play Steam Games on Your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV

Wednesday May 9, 2018 11:31 AM PDT by Juli Clover
Valve today announced the upcoming launch of the Steam Link app, which is designed to allow Steam users to play Steam games on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV using either a 5GHz network or a wired Ethernet connection to a host PC or Mac.

Because of the requirement to stream via an Ethernet connection or a 5GHz network, it won't be possible to play Steam content on the go, but it will be handy for accessing a Steam library while at home on alternate devices or while at a friend's house or another location with a high-speed wireless connection.

Steam Link will launch during the week of May 21, and in addition to being compatible with Apple devices, it will also be available for Android devices that include phones, tablets, and Android-enabled TVs. Steam Link has previously been available for dedicated Steam Link peripherals and some Samsung TV sets.

The Steam Link app will include support for both the Steam Controller and Made for iPhone controllers.

Steam also plans to introduce a Steam Video app later this summer, which will let users play Steam movies and shows on their Android and iOS devices using a Wi-Fi or LTE connection. Valve has been offering movies and TV show purchases for some time now, and that content is currently not available on mobile devices.

Tag: Steam
98 comments


Top Rated Comments

(View all)
Avatar
alllexx
23 weeks ago
So excited for this!
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
keysofanxiety
23 weeks ago

Well damn it, I still live in 1990 so my internet isint fast enough, and isint 5GHz. :eek::oops::(


Hate to be "that guy", but Wi-Fi wasn't a thing for consumers in 1990. Heck the Internet was barely a thing. There were big ol' routers the size of a pizza box which you'd have to smother with a pillow to keep quiet and would download at a blazing 14.4Kb/s.

Not being pedantic, just thinking it's crazy how quickly things have evolved. Your children wouldn't be able to imagine that there was a time without the Internet, or wireless networking. Many can scarcely believe it now.
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
user1234
23 weeks ago

Hate to be "that guy", but Wi-Fi wasn't a thing for consumers in 1990. Heck the Internet was barely a thing. There were big ol' routers the size of a pizza box which you'd have to smother with a pillow to keep quiet and would download at a blazing 14.4KB/s.

Not being pedantic, just thinking it's crazy how quickly things have evolved. Your children wouldn't be able to imagine that there was a time without the Internet, or wireless networking. Many can scarcely believe it now.


I hate to be "that guy", but kb/s.

(Sorry, I just had to. Don't ask me why because I don't know)
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
ikir
23 weeks ago
Pretty interesting for AppleTV. Anyway I hope Valve update Steam for Mac, it is sill so “Mavericks”, it doesn’t even has os native full screen.
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
Menel
23 weeks ago

Why do they require a 5GHz wifi network? And also, how do they even know? Man, that's layer 1 or "1.5," I forget...

Bandwidth, and latency for your first question.
IDK for the second.
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
adamjackson
23 weeks ago
Can I play Civ VI on my AppleTV then? what do I need?

iMac 5K + AppleTV 4K + ?
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
GreyOS
22 weeks ago

I just looked up more details on how it works and I may of overstepped in saying valve didn’t need MFI certification. Seems like Apple provides open access for Bluetooth LE devices that don’t need the hardware MFI certified, but anything else that connects over lightning or Bluetooth still needs MFI certification. That said, there is still a distinction between supporting the iOS game controller protocols and just interfacing directly with a specific app.

So either valve is using Bluetooth LE or they are hoping to get certification for the steam controller under less stringent criteria as it’s

Yep, I've seen some stories recently about the Steam controller gaining Bluetooth LE support ahead of the app. I didn't realise the 'LE' specifically was the important bit of this news, allowing them to bypass MFi certification. Thanks for helping figure this out.
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
fairuz
23 weeks ago
Just curious, why do they require a 5GHz wifi network? And also, how do they even know? Man, that's layer 1 or "1.5," I forget...
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
GeneralChang
23 weeks ago

The current crop of Radeon cards aren't shabby, so your comment only applies to anything with integrated graphics. Besides, we now live in the world of eGPUs.



No one is going to be playing anything serious on the Magic Mouse, and it's not due to it's tactical response. The keyboards are fine, and that's what the Logitech G13 is for.



Funny, pretty much everything I play has always been launched on PC and Mac simultaneously. And for titles that aren't, that's what Bootcamp is for.



I have a life, a career, a girlfriend, two cats, and I don't crouch over my computer. I've designed my desk and chair to strike a good balance between ergonomics and economics. I can't speak to Civilization 6 as I don't play it.

I'm pretty sure the OP for all this stuff wasn't actually trying to disparage playing games on a Mac, they were just trying to point out how ridiculous it is to make a blanket statement like "iOS games are for children."
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
DevNull0
23 weeks ago

I don't think there's a difference in latency, or it's tiny. And the bandwidth of 2.4GHz wireless-N should be more than enough.


The difference between theory and practice is that in theory there's no difference and in practice there is.

I've owned a steam link for years, it has 2.4GHz wi-fi but they recommend wired ethernet. The first thing I did when I got it was set it up over wi-fi and load a AAA title. I was getting about 2 frames/second with an input lag in the 3-5 second range.

So I tried it with a wired connection and the performance is flawless. I currently use ethernet over powerline adapters and the performance is still flawless.

So maybe your spec sheet says 2.4GHz is good enough, but the reality is that it is not.
[doublepost=1526043381][/doublepost]

Isn't this a screen-mirroring application basically? The appleTV supports bluetooth peripherals. I want to play Civ on my 65" 4K display using the iMac as a processor. If that's not what is happening then I'll keep using the 5K iMac.


The hardware steam link has bluetooth as well as 3 USB ports for wired keyboard/mouse/controllers. On steam link you absolutely can use a keyboard and mouse, and it would be pretty crappy if the app version didn't support it.

I've never actually tried that though because for games like Civ6, I'm more comfortable sitting at a desk with my keyboard, mouse, and 4k monitor.
[doublepost=1526043495][/doublepost]


When is the Steam Summer Sale, btw?


According to the usual online leaks, June 21st.
Rating: 2 Votes
[ Read All Comments ]