Valve launched the Steam Machine, a PC-based gaming console, on June 22, 2026, with shipments beginning June 29, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4]. The Steam Machine starts at $1,049 for a 512GB model and rises to $1,428 for a 2TB version bundled with the Steam Controller [1, 5, 2, 6, 3, 4, 7].
The device features a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 APU with 6 cores and 12 threads, paired with an AMD RDNA3 GPU with 28 compute units. It includes 16GB of DDR5 system RAM and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM for graphics processing [6, 3]. Valve said the pricing reflects elevated memory and chip costs caused by global shortages and an AI datacenter boom, making selling at cost necessary [1, 5, 3, 8]. Valve stated, "The prices we’re sharing today reflect the state of the world for manufacturing; or, more accurately, it reflects the price of the components as we’ve secured them over the past 6 months" [1].
Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat acknowledged the elevated price point, saying, "It’s definitely more expensive than we hoped. We understand that it’s probably not as affordable as... like, some people are going to be priced out," and that "nobody really expected or predicted the extent to which [component prices] were going up and [are] still going up" [5, 8]. The company declined to subsidize the hardware, citing a commitment to open systems and rejecting sales at a loss to compete with closed platforms [8].
The Steam Machine offers full PC functionality, including desktop mode, mod support, web browsing, and customization, distinguishing it from consoles like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X despite its console-like form factor and controller bundles [1, 9, 10, 11]. Reviewer Sean Hollister noted the Steam Machine "performance is roughly equivalent to that of a PS5, but nearly six years after the PS5 first launched" [4]. Current consoles typically cost around $600, with higher-end models below $1,000, making the Steam Machine 58% to 88% more expensive depending on the model and bundle [5, 10, 4, 12].
Valve began sourcing components for the Steam Machine in 2023 before chip price surges hit, delaying launch until late 2025 with announcements then and the pricing and reservation queue set on June 22, 2026 [5, 3, 4, 7]. A randomized reservation system is open June 22 to June 25, with the allocation of purchase opportunities to start on June 29 [2, 6, 4, 7]. Valve plans to start sending order emails and shipping units on June 29, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4].
