Steam's new streaming service lets users beam games from one device to another in the home.
It also means users can run Windows games on other devices compatible with the Steam client, such as Linux PCs or Macs. The majority of games on the Steam platform are Windows only.
The streaming service is effectively a remote desktop session, with the keyboard and mouse inputs on the receiving computer being sent back to the host PC.
Both devices must be connected to the same network, however. It can't be used to stream games to remote locations over the internet.
In our brief tests this morning, we successfully managed to stream Football Manager from a Windows 8 laptop to a Surface Pro tablet, with no discernible lag, despite "slow network" warnings periodically appearing in the bottom of the screen. Football Manager is, however, hardly the most graphically demanding of games.
The release of the streaming feature comes ahead of the launch of the much anticipated Steam OS and Steam Box devices, which Valve hopes will lead to PCs rivaling consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for a slot in the living room.