“We were asked to build a product specifically for Valve,” says Xi3 founder and CEO, Jason A. Sullivan.

Xi3 Chief Marketing Officer, David Politis, explains how Piston hardware upgrades will be possible and the possibility of third-party upgrades for the device.

But you’ll be able to install Linux or Android to the device if you want, and run any X86-based application on it, says Xi3′s Chief Marketing Officer, David Politis.

Xi3′s “Piston” modular PC will come in three configurations, starting at $1,000.

“This is not some locked box by any stretch of the imagination,” Valve boss, Gabe Newell, says about Valve’s own in-the-works Steambox.

What’s the Xi3 Computer Game System? The easiest way to describe it is to call it the “Steambox” that everyone has been expecting for some time now.