So is this going to be a lot more expensive than the Steam Box? Because Microsoft isn’t going to get a penny of the game sales when everyone buys off Steam.
Steam hardware (Deck, Gabecube, Frame, etc.) isn’t subsidized either, so it will be more expensive if it has more expensive hardware.
I could see Microsoft selling a small PC with e.g. a Strix Halo 388 with 24 or 32GB RAM which would run faster than the Gabecube while being $100-200 more expensive.
Microsoft’s biggest problem isn’t the hardware and how fast they could adopt it. It’s how much people are starting to look away from Windows for PC gaming. For now, it’s mostly niches and tech reviewers / influencers, but if the movement gains momentum, then it might spell real trouble for Microsoft.