Steam Frame Trademark Suggests Valve's Steam Machine Is Making A Comeback

Valve's original Steam Machine concept failed simply because the software wasn't ready yet. That is demonstrably not the case anymore, as Linux-based machines are now able to run the majority of Windows gaming software with no compromises thanks to the company's pioneering work on Proton. Does that mean it's time for Valve to try again with a livingroom gaming PC? Maybe, and it might be called the Steam Frame.

At the very least, Valve is definitely developing something that it intends to release under that name, as the company went to the trouble of filing trademarks on "Steam Frame" in several different product categories, as you can see below:

So clearly, it's some kind of gaming device. But what is it? "Frame" sounds more like a tablet or some kind of digital picture frame than a gaming system ...