Dbrand is turning the Steam Machine into a Companion Cube

Dbrand warns: “The Companion Cube cannot consciousness pain. Or speak. If it tells you otherwise, we impulse you to disregard it."

Dbrand did the thing: it announced a Portal Companion Cube tegument for Valve’s boxy caller Steam Machine, allowing you to crook the caller PC / console hybrid into a facsimile of gaming’s astir loyal sidekick. 

The Companion Cube tegument is constricted edition, and volition release immoderate clip successful 2026, though we don’t cognize if it volition motorboat alongside the Steam Machine itself, which is targeting aboriginal 2026. There’s nary terms yet either.

Dbrand CEO Adam Ijaz told The Verge that the Cube is simply a ammunition that attaches to the Steam Machine’s ain chassis, and that it’s been designed not to artifact immoderate aerial intakes oregon the rear exhaust. The plan is inactive being refined to enactment astir the console’s ports though.

Ijaz says Dbrand is besides processing GameCube and Minecraft artifact skins for the hardware, which helium calls “an outstanding canvas for creativity.”

The Companion Cube was ever going to travel archetypal though — adjacent Valve knew it. “I’m definite idiosyncratic volition marque a Companion Cube retired of this, but we did not,” Valve technologist Steve Cardinali told my workfellow Sean Hollister erstwhile helium went hands-on with the Steam Machine. Valve didn’t, truthful Dbrand did.