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Valve have “no involvement” in Xi3’s Piston

Xi3

Since its reveal at CES, the story has been that Xi3’s Piston is, if not the Steambox we’ve all been waiting for, then certainly a Steambox – the first of several third-party PCs designed for Steam Big Picture Mode with Valve’s backing. But today, Valve have moved to downplay their role in the Piston’s development or any continuing relationship with its manufacturers.

Doug Lombardi told Eurogamer: “Valve began some exploratory work with Xi3 last year, but currently has no involvement in any product of theirs.”

PCGamesN contacted Lombardi for more information on the nature of that exploratory work, and received the same statement in reply.

In January, the Piston was reported to be in “development stage” at modular tech company Xi3 following a failed Kickstarter campaign, primarily thanks to an investment from Valve.

A Piston trailer emerged yesterday after its appearance on the SXSW Gaming Expo show floor. The Steamish-box is available to pre-order from $899.99, with an expected retail release in the “holiday season”.

The Piston remains an absolutely gorgeous, if ludicrously expensive, TV gaming PC. Can you be tempted in time for Christmas?