Gabe Newell's prophecy rings true: consoles now exclusively run PC-derived graphics hardware

Valve’s Gabe Newell predicted the future of home consoles years ago, saying, “All the consoles are using PC graphics now.” 

Specifically, Gabe Newell spoke at a LinuxCon keynote in September 2013 and stated that, due to faster innovation in open PC hardware, consoles had abandoned exclusive solutions in favor of PC-based architectures. 

In Gabe’s exact words during the unveiling of the first iteration of the Steam Machine (or the Steam Box at the time), “There used to be these completely de novo graphics solutions for gaming consoles, and they’ve all been replaced by PC-derived hardware.”

Fast-forward to 2026, and this statement holds true, as Valve is prepping the second iteration of its upcoming console, the PC hybrid Steam Machine, following the success of its Steam Deck handheld. Microsoft, on the other end of the spectrum, is also stepping into similar territory with its own PC–console hybrid, supposedly packing a custom AMD Ryzen Zen 6 SoC so that gamers can play both Xbox and Windows games on the same setup.

Gabe Newell nailed this prediction years ago, even before the debut of the Steam Machine. Newell spoke in an interview back in 2011 with PC Gamer and said, “It wouldn’t be possible to move this quickly if it weren’t for the existence of an open internet client and an open hardware client like we have. It’s why all the consoles now use PC graphics hardware. Obviously, we love the PC, we love the openness of the PC, we value the hardware innovation.”

Gabe’s words have aged like fine wine, as consoles have leaned on x86 architecture and AMD Ryzen–based chips for years. This is further evident with the introduction of advanced features like the PS5 Pro’s PSSR, which is reportedly based on FSR 4.0 and directly competes with Nvidia’s DLSS technology on PC.

Project Helix, Microsoft’s upcoming console–PC hybrid, promises to up the ante with better ray tracing performance, improved CPU efficiency, and overall higher performance while letting players seamlessly jump between console and PC libraries. It’s reported that Project Helix’s alpha dev kits are heading to AAA studios in 2027, with an official release in the same year.

It seems as if older, rigid walls are coming down as technology advances, giving gamers more choices in terms of hardware and easier access to games and their libraries across platforms and devices.