SAN FRANCISCO, March  16 ― The Steam Link game streaming protocol, which connects a PC to a display and controller within the same house, apartment, or workspace, now functions over the net.

PCs, Macs and Linux computers running Steam can now connect to Steam Link devices over the wider internet, instead of being limited to a local network.

An early beta has been rolled out for Steam Link's dedicated, diary-sized hardware box.

As long as net connections at both ends are "good,” Steam users can now play games on their computer from anywhere else, per a March 14 update to the Steam Community website.

Though this extension of capabilities is currently limited to the Steam Link device itself, it is expected to eventually roll out to the official Steam Link Android app.

That's because the original Steam Link device was discontinued in November 2018; Steam Link for Android debuted in May earlier that year.

A Steam Link app for iOS has also been developed but has not yet been approved by Apple, possibly because providing access to the Steam client on a user's remote PC also means providing access to the Steam store, circumventing Apple's usual commission policy on digital software sales.

The Steam Link Anywhere announcement comes as Microsoft is preparing networking service Xbox Live, 200-game library subscription Xbox Game Pass, and game streaming proposal Project xCloud for mobile, and Google is expected to unveil the next stage of its Project Stream on March 19 at the 2019 Game Developers Conference. ― AFP-Relaxnews