Valve prices Steam Machine starting at $1,049; reservations open

Affidavit Bowie22

I wish this weren’t repeated uncritically. It doesn’t make any fucking sense here and they deserve to be called out for it. If they subsidized this hardware and let users choose software it would have the effect they claim to want. The fact that other subsidized hardware is closed is meaningless.

caylen18

really great review Chris. Answered a lot of the questions I had regarding the practicalities and “who could this be for”

👑TTTTTsd👑16

The absolute happiness vacuum that is the tech industry is ridiculous. Even my spec sheet which is pretty conservative clocked in at 2900 USD, but it's just so hard to justify anything over 1000 when it's something like this and not just a full blown computer outright. It deserved better!

Punished Liquid Ocelot11

Interesting that it's now in the price range of the Framework desktop with 32GB of unified RAM and a better CPU, though that needs storage added on. I wonder how they compare in gaming performance in Steam OS

Electrichead (The Agony)11

At even $700 this would have been a game changer. At $1,049 it's going to be a historical footnote we talk about like we do the NeoGeo and CD-i.

ElectronicFerret7

God, yeah. Prices keep going up so I can’t afford this shit anymore. But it looks like something I would want… if salaries had kept up with inflation at all for the past decade.

Ricki☕🪄6

An excellent piece despite the distressingly interesting times we live in

Kaitensatsuma6

As much as I'm unhappy about the price it'd still be 1. A major space saver compared to my current desktop 2. A relative upgrade to my current 8 year old PC which is starting to show its age 3. Finally going to let me get away from the Windows ecosystem instead of just linux on a spare laptop.

Willow the Wah6

Gen-AI and LLMs are why this is so expensive. Anyone using AI is banned from ever using a Steam Machine. Fuck AI, and fuck you if you support AI.

Roger (Perpetual Stu)5

Awaiting the follow-up piece: "Here's how to build your own Steam Machine with parts ordered directly from the manufacturer's warehouse in Taiwan."

Summer James Rest4

Oh shit, you guys got a review unit! Congrats, man.

R74

dang it, I want the gabecube so bad, I hate those ai perverts so much for making computers so expensive

Nash4

If your current system now costs $5500 without a case I am curious as all hell as to what you're running, because I can still get approximately the same system I have now for only around a $600 premium over when I built it in 2023 ...

PeteXN3

If things were normal this would be an instant purchase.

cheers to the freaking weekend3

given component prices currently I really don’t think this is a terrible price. I hope they’ll lower the price in the future when ram prices normalize though. I’m currently debating on whether to get one of these or spend a little more to build a custom sff pc

.308s and Heartbreak2

Why, precisely, is it important, other than that Valve made it?

Sam Garden2

Damn this makes me sad.

Shape Enjoyer2

I appreciate how lovingly you described the Steam Machine in this. On paper to me it's a more powerful version of what you can accomplish with a Steam Deck and Dock but I now appreciate it as a vision of a better living room PC future. It's gone from "I'm not getting one" to "but I would if I could"

silentcrystaltears2

good article but i'm a bit confused why you are correctly saying that the price of the thing is to be faulted on AI companies, but then go on to praise FSR 4.1, an AI product from AMD, one of the AI companies responsible for this. i don't see why we can't just accept a game being a bit lower res?

Terence Fox2

The quotes you got about the pricing have such a weary, resigned undertone to them, I don't think the last six months have been a ton of fun for that team.

Gus Lanzetta2

Currently gaming on my main PC hooked up to the tv (10900K and 3070 with 8gb of vram) if it weren't for that vram bottleneck I could play everything in 4K with DLSS, but the distance from the TV makes it so 1440 and 1080 are fine for more demanding titles. Would the steam machine be better?

peepos.bsky.social2

after getting my steam controller v2 I am sold absolutely on the valve console renaissance. What do you mean I can play very easily play dwarf fortress on my big tv???

Vincent Becherer (BOARD ARTIST AVAILABLE FOR WORK!)58

Thank you guys for really giving this a solid effort. I do genuinely believe there is a market for a device like this… …just not at nearly $1100 for the low-spec model. I know the global supply didn’t comply, but this is just not tenable for customers.

Kale45

Man, this would've been so cool. Fuck AI.

Fed the Cat41

This gives me hope for the steam frame actually I was expecting base price to be like $1800

Eivør Heldøttir 🏳️‍⚧️ (They/Them) | VTuber | Vocalizer30

I'll wait for the price drop.

balltwist no jutsu25

Gaming is quickly becoming a luxury only upper class individuals can afford. Normal people really are just being priced out of this shit lol

Carl Wilhoyte24

AI causing high RAM prices FUCKED this thing up

Gregory Brown20

512 GB $1049 512 GB + Controller $1128 1 TB $1349 1 TB + Controller $1428 Valve, you needed to eat the costs of the Steam Machine. The price for many is not worth a casual LR gaming PC that is less or equal to the PS5 and Xbox.

InsertUwo18

(not valve's fault though, one of the few companies to still be decent)

Eternal Skies TCG RPG17

You would think since they take a third of all money from every single game on the platform, they could afford to eat the cost. But oh well, guess they don't want it to actually have market share.

Wobedraggled15

The pricing, we know why...but still

clu42.bsky.social13

Long term, this is DOA. It'll sell out initially, due to Valve fanboys and Youtube Content Creators, but after that? It's gonna be regularly in stock like the Steam Deck, because the majority cannot justify paying that price to performance.

Zana any/all8

Never gonna pay those prices for stuff my computer already does.

LavenderRebellin7

Valve rn: (Btw props on the queue randomizer and telling people if they can't get a Steam Machine that you can do it yourself)

Lucas Lazarte7

more than 1,000 for a 'game console' in this economy?? 😂😂😂

Chutley Wrungus5

alright just let me buy some lottery tickets first and I'll let you know

EllieByte5

can't blame you. just don't shutter it if people barely buy it right now, i'm sure people will be more willing when the prices get slightly less screwed.

typdertweetet5

Phew, let's make a deal: we preorder regardless of the current price escalation, but you pre-install Half-Life 3 on every Machine? 🥺

dac5

Be honest Valve Bluesky Account, if you find yourself alone in a locked room with Sam Altman how much will be left of him after you're done

⊹˚ Jen .ᐟ 🌸🏳️‍🌈5

Not with those prices. Lmfao

MaxxGPT4

Going with USB A instead if C is an interesting choice for ports.

Curtis Stonewall Jackson4

I have no desire for a windows machine but would consider this. Even at the price.

Thomas Johansen 🦀🛰️4

Hey @valvesoftware.com! Any plans to start selling your hardware devices in Norway? Right now it's really tricky and requires jumping through a bunch of gray area hoops. Best regards from a veteran fan since Half-Life ❤️

Guardian Namick4

One of those things where you can get better specs for the price points. But nothing really beats how small it is. But also most people don't need a small build. Hopefully once the AI bubble pops the price will go down.

the herpderpingest3

You know I generally like your stuff Valve, but we gotta buy groceries.

Matt Miller3

I was really looking forward to this but at that price no way! I understand it’s out of your control but it’s still insulting. Glad I can stop reading rumors about it now.

Madrat3

Crazy price and what it seems the specs are not much better than an actual similar price PC.

Kyle3

Man that's a bummer, I've wanted one since it was announced but that's way too expensive.

vifs_vestige⚧️ΘΔ3

dang, good on valve for changing how they are selling this to limit scalpers!

Mark Lepak 🇵🇱 🇮🇪 🇬🇧 🇺🇦3

UK: £1208.00 2TB with Controller, sorry its a pass for me.

Ben Wilson2

Can't do it homies, sorry. This is way above my budget.. and I was already willing to stretch it a little bit It isn't Valve's fault, and I hope this doesn't discourage them from pushing forward with hardware, but there's no way I can spend that much money right now. Gaming is so messed up rn

🇺🇦🇺🇸⚖️📣 knightly garb2

LOL to all the analysts and content creators who proposed it would be $800.00.

TogenMerfagen (18+ No Minors)2

Yay, great, so... Are Puertoricans gonna be able to order it..? And be sent to Puerto Rico..?

Sam2

So, if you buy the controller, it costs 100 bucks, but with the machine, it's "only" 70. Smart move, guaranteed to piss off all your early adopters.

Merrio 🃏2

Honestly, you guys should do this

psychoticpotato.bsky.social2

Looks like I'll be extra delicate with my Steam Deck until the price of the Machine of Frame(when released) goes down. I know the price of RAM and the "AI" scam is the main cause, but I'm afraid this is well outside of most people's price range. Many of us want this hardware. We cannot afford it.

Coconut.png2

Steam Machine is here, but "Half-Life 3 is here" when?

KUNA2

512GB for $599 is steep, but I guess it's a start. What's the real draw here, though - the Steam Controller or the PC in a box?

ywle2

1k for a mid gaming box sorry but I'll wait for the price to drop

Somniloquy19

Considering how expensive the Steam Machine is I doubt anyone's going to be upset not securing a reservation for one. It's out of Valve's control obviously.

Maestra Fénix19

It was already possible to install SteamOS on a normal PC before... but with a big fat asterisk So, seeing that support is being expanded and can be installed anywhere, is a victory I have been recommending CachyOS for a while, but I can't wait to do the same with SteamOS

'Stros Fan Link4

This is awesome and I hope it eventually leads to better Nvidia support for Linux

electricblue2

NVIDIA does not seem to be playing ball

Xiane -Controversial Folk Icon9

It's so cool there's a huge AI tax on the rest of the IT/computing world now.

Cassandra4

friend sent me an ign article (can dig through dms if you want it!) with confirmation from valve that it was planned at $750

Ryan Higgins12

I don't think anyone blames Valve for it, at least.

As a low end PC the price isn't outrageous. As a console with no included controller its way too expensive.

Spencer Botine3

Good relative to the current environment, yes. Good relative to the overall health of consumer electronics, no.

Jason Wilson3

It's less than I thought it would be. I thought the base would come in at $1,200.

Mike 'A Video Editor' Burgess2

Thats exactly how I felt. These people are gonna lose it at the cost of PS6 and Helix

υɘiʜtɒM2

Not in Canada. Big yikes

Citizen Shane3

Steamos Steamos Bonana-fana fo feemos. Fee fi fo feamos. Steamos. Also attribute this to me if it turns out to be true (it will)

Dixon Francois Jr.7

Likely Dead-On-Arrival. The PS5 Pro is cheaper than the Steam Machine without a controller.

Toon Paul3

That is less than what my current PC setup was a few years ago but mine has 32gb of ram and 1tb storage. Not worth it for me personally, but it could find a place somewhere I think maybe for some console players transitioning to PC. But idk it's rough...

Erik the Pleb2

It looks to be cheaper than building a comparable system from scratch, but 8gb of VRAM is bad and only 16gb of DDR5 would scare me off for sure. AI idiocy inflation has likely made this good idea DOA. 😕

Avery: Weeb Physicist 🏳️‍⚧️ (miniature commissions open)3

it does have a similar benefit of the deck and consoles in that games can be perfectly optimized to it. But god who is it for at that price? with what performance seems to compare it to, you could build a couple years old PC with DDR4 and do just as well, but with something upgradable. Fuck you AI