Steam Link


Steam Link is both hardware and software applications that enable streaming of Steam content from a personal computer or a Steam Machine wirelessly to a mobile device or other monitor. Steam link was originally released as a hardware device along with the debut of Steam Machines in November 2015. Valve discontinued the Steam Link in November 2018, in favor of supporting its software-based Steam Link application for mobile devices and smart televisions, as well as providing Steam Link as a software package for the Raspberry Pi microcomputer.

Functionality

Steam Link, whether in hardware or software form, supports the streaming of content from a personal computer running Steam to the video device. In this setup, the device acting as the Steam Link enables a game controller connected to it to be used to control the game over the connection to the home computer.
Prior to March 2019, both the personal computer and the Steam Link hardware device or mobile device using Steam Link software had to be on the same internal network. With an update in March 2019, Valve introduced the Steam Link Anywhere update that allows one to stream across the internet, though the performance of the streaming will be strongly affected by the bandwidth and latency between the personal computer and device with Steam Link.

Hardware

Steam Link is a stand-alone hardware device to enable streaming of Steam content from a personal computer or a Steam Machine wirelessly to a television set, including integration of Steam Controller gamepad. The device was released along with the debut of Steam Machines in November 2015. Valve quietly discontinued the Steam Link in November 2018, in favor of supporting its software-based Steam Link application for mobile devices and smart televisions and a software package for the Raspberry Pi.
Steam Link is listed as having the following technical specifications:
A tear-down revealed the following specific hardware parts:
The Steam Link comes with power adapters for various countries.

Software

Operating System

The Steam Link uses a modified version of Linux based on version 3.8 of the Linux kernel. It is possible to enable root SSH access to the system.

SDK

One month after release, support was added to the Steam Link to have Steam Link apps, which can be created using an SDK. A number of such apps have been created, such as apps for accessing Kodi, but no database or store for them exists as of November 2017.

Games and applications

Any Steam game that can run on the host computer can be streamed to the Steam Link. On Linux host it's also possible to stream a Windows game using the Proton beta. Non-Steam games can be played as well.

Discontinuation

Valve announced in November 2018 that they are no longer manufacturing the Steam Link hardware device, and will sell off the remaining stock. Valve will continue to support software and device updates to existing Steam Link hardware, but are directing users towards the mobile app to provide the same functionality.

Software

Android/iOS

In May 2018, Valve announced it would release the Steam Link application for iOS and Android mobile devices that will allow users to play streaming games to these devices, without the need for the Link hardware. However, Apple Inc. rejected the application from its App Store because of "business conflicts with app guidelines". The app was eventually released on iOS in May 2019. In 2018, Steam Link also released on Samsung smart TVs.

Raspberry Pi

Valve provides a free application for single board computers Raspberry Pi 3 and 3 B+ running Raspbian Stretch that provides the same functionality as the original Steam Link hardware. Valve published a beta version of the Steam Link package for Raspberry Pi on December 3, 2018. The official version was released on December 13, 2018.