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| The Steam Machine does not meet the HDMI Forum’s licensing requirements and is therefore not certified for HDMI 2.1. |
In a move that caught gamers and industry watchers off guard, Valve broke cover in November 2025 with its first dedicated home console: the Steam Machine. Promising to bridge the gap between the flexible PC gaming experience and the simplicity of a living room box, the device is billed as a compact, Linux-based powerhouse. Early reactions have been largely euphoric—until fans noticed one conspicuous omission. Despite its modern specs, the Steam Machine will not support the HDMI 2.1 standard, locking it out of native 4K gaming at 120 frames per second. The reason, as it turns out, isn’t a hardware shortcoming but a philosophical clash between open-source software and proprietary licensing.
The Hardware Promise and the Display Paradox
At its heart, the Steam Machine is designed to be the accessible entry point into the Steam ecosystem for the living room. Valve has emphasized a “no-compromise” approach to performance relative to price, packing enough power to handle today’s top titles at high settings. The machine runs SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system that has been refined for years on the company’s handheld Steam Deck.
That’s why the absence of HDMI 2.1 support came as a surprise. For a device launching in late 2025, the standard has become commonplace on high-end TVs and monitors, enabling smoother, higher-frame-rate 4K gameplay. The Steam Machine is technically capable of driving such performance, but the port on the back simply won’t be able to transmit it using the latest protocol.
The Root of the Conflict: Open Source vs. the HDMI Forum
So, why would Valve leave out such a key feature? The answer lies in the fine print of licensing. As a detailed report from Ars Technica uncovered, the issue is not technical but legal and ideological.
To implement HDMI 2.1, a manufacturer must gain access to its specifications from the HDMI Forum. This process requires signing a strict non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that keeps the technical details confidential. For Valve and SteamOS, this presents an insurmountable conflict. The core tenet of open-source software is that the code must remain publicly accessible and modifiable. Incorporating HDMI 2.1 under an NDA would mean keeping parts of SteamOS’s display driver code secret, violating the very principles the platform is built upon.
According to the report, Valve has engaged directly with the HDMI Forum in an attempt to find a compromise, but those discussions have not yielded a solution. Consequently, the Steam Machine is expected to launch using the older HDMI 2.0b standard, which maxes out at 4K resolution and 60 Hz.
A Clever Workaround in the Works?
All may not be lost for high-frame-rate 4K enthusiasts. Valve’s engineers are reportedly exploring a technical workaround. By using a technique called Chroma Subsampling—effectively reducing the amount of color data in the video signal—they believe they can squeeze a 4K 120 Hz signal within the bandwidth constraints of HDMI 2.0b.
The potential trade-off? A possible, though often subtle, reduction in color fidelity, particularly in fine text or sharp color gradients. Whether this method will be implemented at launch, or how noticeable the difference will be in fast-paced gaming, is still unconfirmed. It represents a classic Valve move: finding a software-driven solution to a hardware (or in this case, legal) limitation.
Community Backlash Targets the HDMI Forum, Not Valve
The gaming community’s response, particularly on platforms like Reddit and gaming forums, has been telling. While there’s clear disappointment, the majority of the criticism is directed squarely at the HDMI Forum, not Valve.
Many users label the Forum’s licensing policy as “restrictive,” “outdated,” and explicitly “anti-competitive” towards open-source platforms like Linux. The sentiment is that the policy protects proprietary interests at the expense of innovation and consumer choice. Some hope remains for future open standards like DisplayPort to gain more TV market share, or for continued pressure to change licensing models. However, a realist faction argues that as long as critical specifications are locked behind NDAs, true coexistence between open platforms and cutting-edge display tech will remain fraught.
The Bottom Line for Gamers
For prospective buyers, the practical impact depends heavily on your setup. If you game on a 4K 60Hz TV, the Steam Machine will meet your needs perfectly. If you’ve invested in a high-end 4K 120Hz or VRR-capable display, you’ll be missing out on getting the full potential from both your console and your screen—at least through a straightforward HDMI connection.
Valve’s Steam Machine is shaping up to be a bold and largely welcomed entrant into the console space. Yet its HDMI situation highlights a growing tension in the tech world: the collision between walled-garden industry standards and the open-source philosophy driving much of today’s innovation. How Valve navigates this limitation—and whether the market accepts it—will be one of the most watched stories as the console hits shelves.