Analyst Joost van Dreunen believes that Steam Machine could become a serious threat to Microsoft, despite the friendly reaction from the leadership. Valve's new console will directly compete with Xbox's recent strategy: "it's Xbox, everything on Xbox."
Steam Machine turns Microsoft's worst nightmare into a real product. This pushes Microsoft further down the path where Game Pass and cloud access are more important than physical consoles.
Microsoft seems to understand this, but Xbox Gaming CEO Phil Spencer noted the importance of games over "hardware," praising Steam Machine.
Analyst David Cole also believes:
Xbox sales are falling. Steam Machine shows that the market needs a separate Xbox console less and less.
Van Dreunen also warns of a hidden threat:
The strategic risk is that Valve will become the preferred platform for hybrid PC consoles, and Xbox games will strengthen the Steam ecosystem more than Microsoft itself.
