Steam Link
Hacker ApprovedGame streaming device in Games & consoles
People recommend it for smooth streaming of PC games to TVs and phones. Common caveat: wireless struggles at 1080p and with games that need fast response.
People recommend it for smooth streaming of PC games to TVs and phones. Common caveat: wireless struggles at 1080p and with games that need fast response.
45 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 32
- criticize it
- 13
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 32 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Reliable, works well for years
“got some of those older SteamLink and they work well”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “I ported Linux to the PS5 and turned it into a Steam Machine” “it still worked the last time i used it”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Steam Machine” “it worked good about 99% of the time”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Steam Machine” - Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable”
- Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine”
Smooth, seamless streaming experience
“The streaming experience is _smooth_ whether it's my phone or the TV, it Just Works and we can all play from our own libraries anywhere in the house.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft's 'unhackable' Xbox One has been hacked by 'Bliss'” “It actually please extremely well on the Quest 3 with the Steam Link app. Seamless.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Frame” “It's close to imperceptible in normal usage.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Frame” - Comment from 27 Jun 2026 in “My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable”
Phone and tablet play via app
“The streaming experience is _smooth_ whether it's my phone or the TV, it Just Works and we can all play from our own libraries anywhere in the house.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft's 'unhackable' Xbox One has been hacked by 'Bliss'” “I can already stream any steam game on any android and iphone out there”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Steam Machine” “the phone-app helps a lot”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Moonshine: Lets you stream games from your PC to any device running Moonlight” Couch co-op on the TV
“I have a Nvidia Shield with Steam Link to stream games from my gaming computer to my TV”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Valve is about to win the console generation” “My partner and I use ours regularly to play co-op games on our TV.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device” “I've come to accept it for the convenience of playing on the couch”
Comment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Inputlag.science – Repository of knowledge about input lag in gaming”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Input lag hurts real-time games
“steam link is basically unusable for me with games that need a real-time response”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Moonshine: Lets you stream games from your PC to any device running Moonlight” “the input latency from the controller is substantially worse on the Apple TV”
Comment from 13 Oct 2026 in “New Apple TV 4K” “there is some android TV bug that adds an unacceptable audio lag”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable” - Comment from 7 Oct 2026 in “AnyPS5: Port PS5 binaries to PC without emulation (87% system libraries mapped)”
Frequent failures and bad experiences
“I've only ever had a terrible experience with the Steam link”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft's 'unhackable' Xbox One has been hacked by 'Bliss'” “I gave up using the Steam Link fairly early”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Controller” “watch them fail spectacularly”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Steam Controller” - Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “France Launches Government Linux Desktop Plan as Windows Exit Begins”
Needs wired connection for quality
“it worked fine for me wirelessly, but for 1080p or more wired is more or less required”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Steam Machine” “I was only happy with the Steam Link when it was using a wired connection”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Steam Machine” Dated hardware, weaker stream quality
“the way Steam encodes the stream is reportedly lower quality than Sunshine”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Xbox wants you to pay 24 to 40 cents per hour to stream games you bought” “Steam Link is very oudated hardware which does not support modern codecs.”
Comment from 27 Jun 2026 in “My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable”
What people said
40 of the 49 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the way Steam encodes the stream is reportedly lower quality than Sunshine”
“the input latency from the controller is substantially worse on the Apple TV”
“I can barely stand using steam link for couch gaming”
“Steam or SteamLink for gaming, depending on hardware”
“the phone-app helps a lot”
“Steam Link has saved my ass more times than I can count.”
“Steam Link which actually works, even with non-Steam games and full desktop”
“steam link is basically unusable for me with games that need a real-time response”
“Steam Link is very oudated hardware which does not support modern codecs.”
“You can run steam link on a Raspberry Pi.”
“I loved using my Steam Link. I used powerline Ethernet to get a decent connection”
“has a Steam Link app that works pretty well”
“I wish Steam would release a new 4k Steam Link, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.”
“it works alright. Locked to 1080p though.”
“there is some android TV bug that adds an unacceptable audio lag”
“An old steam link still works for me”
“It was the best thing ever for the price.”
“it worked fine for me wirelessly, but for 1080p or more wired is more or less required”
“it still worked the last time i used it”
“I was only happy with the Steam Link when it was using a wired connection”
“I can already stream any steam game on any android and iphone out there”
“it worked good about 99% of the time”
“It works great as long as the game works well with a PS5 controller”
“Steam Link would not connect”
“for our needs, it works great”
“I've only ever had a terrible experience with the Steam link”
“The streaming experience is _smooth_ whether it's my phone or the TV, it Just Works and we can all play from our own libraries anywhere in the house.”
“got some of those older SteamLink and they work well”
“I've come to accept it for the convenience of playing on the couch”
“one of the greatest hardware releases of all time”
“My partner and I use ours regularly to play co-op games on our TV.”
“I'm so glad that they've improved steam and link on linux so much”
“Steam Link works okay but is still noticeable for some games.”
“I have a Nvidia Shield with Steam Link to stream games from my gaming computer to my TV”
“watch them fail spectacularly”
“Still works like a charm.”
“The manufacturing while perfectly functional isn't that high quality.”
“I gave up using the Steam Link fairly early”
“It's close to imperceptible in normal usage.”
“It actually please extremely well on the Quest 3 with the Steam Link app. Seamless.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.