Steam Link Hardware is Dead, Here’s What You Can Do Instead

Valve’s Steam Link is a great way for PC gamers to stream games onto their TV. While the Steam Link hardware is no more, it’s easy to get going with the Steam Link app on Android!

The Steam Link app is available now on the Google Play Store, and you can install it on Android phones, Chromebooks with Android app support, and televisions or set-top boxes running Android TV. For now, Steam Link isn’t available on iOS, and there’s no telling if it ever will be. The Steam Link app is also available on Samsung Smart TVs made after 2016.

Keep in mind: if you already have the physical Steam Link in your home, it’s going to keep working and stay supported for the foreseeable future. But if you want to start using a Steam Link today, you’ll probably have to buy one used.

Thankfully, the Steam Link app on Android works just like the physical Steam Link does. And using it on an Android TV box like the NVIDIA SHIELD TV gives you a one-stop shop for your PC games, games from the Google Play Store, and all your favorite video streaming services.

Steam Link isn’t the only option for PC gamers to get their games on another screen. If you have an NVIDIA GPU, you can use NVIDIA’s GameStream tool to stream games from your desktop to your other devices, or stream them straight from NVIDIA’s servers with NVIDIA GeForce Now.

How to Set Up Steam Link on Your PC

Before using the Steam Link app on any of your devices, you’ll need to do some prep work on your PC. Here is what you’ll need to get started:

Download and install Steam.
Download your favorite games to your PC.
While Steam Link will work over Wi-Fi, you’ll have a much better time if your desktop is wired in with Ethernet.

Open the Steam app on your desktop computer. Select “Steam” in the upper-left, then select “Settings.”