Gabe Newell says he expects to see PC packages for the living room running Steam for TVs as early as next year; says this set-up will compete with next-gen hardware from Sony and Microsoft.

Valve co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell has revealed his expectations for custom PC packages that will allow users to run Steam from their living room TV sets as early as next year.

Speaking to Kotaku, Newell said these PC packages would compete with next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

Newell told the site that Valve would be looking to develop these kinds of packages, but that other PC companies would jump in as well.

"Certainly our hardware will be a very controlled environment," Newell said. "If you want more flexibility, you can always buy a more general purpose PC. For people who want a more turnkey solution, that's what some people are really gonna want for their living room."

Newell also hinted Valve is working on an updated engine which will reportedly work with next-generation consoles.

Valve launched its Steam Big Picture mode earlier this month. The TV interface for Windows and Mac allows users to access and play Steam games on their TV sets.

In March it was reported that Valve is working on a "Steam Box" TV set-top console, said to operate more like a platform along the lines of Google's Android operating system.

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