For nearly a decade, the fighting game community has yearned for a shift from consoles to PCs in major tournaments, but this change has yet to materialize. The recent announcement of Valve’s new Steam Machine raises hopes that tournament organizers might finally embrace PC gaming. While the PlayStation 5 has dominated the scene for five years, frequent complaints about overheating and input lag have sparked debates about its reliability in competitive play.

Steam Machines promise consistent hardware with powerful specifications, including an AMD 6-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. However, concerns linger about software compatibility and whether they can rival the PS5’s performance. Logistical challenges such as costs and procurement also stand in the way, as quality gaming PCs are more expensive than consoles.

Despite the hurdles, some prominent tournament organizers express optimism about Steam Machines potentially leading the way to widely adopted PC setups in the future. While the transition may take time, the door for change in the fighting game community is cautiously opening.