SteamOS Gamer: A5-sized Magazine for Steam & Valve Hardware

Welcome to SteamOS Gamer, the definitive print and digital magazine built exclusively for the Steam platform, Valve hardware (plus supported Lenovo Legion Go S etc), and the SteamOS ecosystem. We're not focused on the usual PC hard drive clutter, but instead the quality, support and reliability we know Valve and Steam can deliver. (Fanboying Valve..? For sure!)

Every issue brings you exclusive features, hardware reviews, SteamOS optimisation guides, and curated Steam Store spotlights created for passionate players and fans alike.

60-page, A5-sized magazine printed on premium glossy paper - collectible magazines sized to match the compact nature of the Steam Deck and Valve's small-form-factor devices.

Inside SteamOS Gamer magazine Issue 1:

• Half-Life: Valve's Iconic Debut - our ten-page cover story on how a handful of ex-Microsoft engineers who had never shipped a game rewrote the first-person shooter. Exclusive interview with Valve veteran Ken Birdwell, who was there from day one, taking in the mod scene that gave us Counter-Strike, Half-Life 2 and Half-Life: Alyx.
• Exclusive interview with Guardian and New Yorker writer Simon Parkin, host of the My Perfect Console podcast, who picks the five Steam games that shaped his work and play - and talks Trocadero arcades, chipped PlayStations and the forgotten court case behind his next book.
• 007 First Light reviewed - IO Interactive reimagine Bond as a twenty-six-year-old Naval air crewman with all the instincts and none of the discipline. There can be no imitation, but does it feel like a proper 007?
• Steam Frame: we explain why Valve's wireless headset is really a PC you wear, then round up the VR games actually worth owning for it.
• A GabeCube of Indie Goodness - David Moyle writes about why the Steam Machine has him excited again, reviewing Project X: Light Years, Dead as Disco, WILL: Follow The Light and Replaced. Plus developer interviews with Marcin of MK Games and Roman of TomorrowHead Studio.
• Our full EmuDeck guide turns your Steam Machine or Deck into the ultimate retro machine, taking you from install to first game. Everything from the ZX Spectrum to the PlayStation 2 - and yes, we mention the Switch.
• Essential SteamOS Software, Hints & Tips - our pick of the apps worth installing for work and play, plus the one setting every SteamOS user needs to get right before installing anything. Better battery life, sharper performance and a Desktop Mode you can actually work in.
• Playdead's Limbo and Inside revisited by John McDermott, fifteen years on from gaming's greatest monochrome double act. Do they still hold up?
• No Players Online reviewed - Mateusz Nowaczewski boots an abandoned PC and finds a game that never logged off, plus the story of the fraudulent copyright claim that pulled it from sale in its launch week.
• ProtoArc XK04 keyboard tested - can a small folding keyboard really turn a Steam Deck into a portable workstation?
• Our Opening The Valve column asks who really pays the bills at Valve, why there's still no Steam Deck 2, and why the Steam Machine costs what it costs.
• Plus lots more..!

ISSUE 1 - SHIPPING FROM MID-AUGUST 2026, PRE-ORDER NOW

Readers who subscribe for Print Issues also get the Digital Download version included free in their subscription.

Ongoing Subscriptions & Direct Debit payment plans

Visit the Ongoing Subscriptions Plan page if you prefer to pay on a rolling issue-by-issue basis without having to remember to renew. Payments are automatically taken each time a new issue is ready and charged to your saved card.

EU / International Readers (outside of the United Kingdom)

EU customers are charged IOSS / EU taxes at checkout, as a result you will not receive customs or import charges on your order. International customers outside of the EU may be charged import tax from your own government via your postal service when the order is delivered, this will depend on the specific import rules of your region. It can take a long time to receive your order depending on where you live, please check Royal Mail's international delivery aims below before ordering:

www.royalmail.com/sending/international/international-economy