- Valve has said the Steam Machine is effectively delayed
- The device is now expected to arrive in the first half of 2026, so by June
- The pricing is also being revisited due to the RAM crisis, which has thrown a spanner in the works for the Steam Machine
No sooner had AMD’s CEO Lisa Su said the Steam Machine was on track for its original release timeframe, Valve has told us that it’s delayed – although not directly.
It’s clear enough that there’s been a delay, although Valve hasn’t quite worded it as such in a new blog post which is framed as a kind of mini-FAQ (which was spotted by Eurogamer).
Let’s look at the key part of the statement from Valve first, which addresses the two points that everyone is wondering about the most: namely the launch date and cost of the Steam Machine (as well as the Steam Frame, and Steam Controller).
Valve says: “When we announced these products in November, we planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now. But the memory and storage shortages you’ve likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since then.
“The limited availability and growing prices of these critical components mean we must revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing (especially around Steam Machine and Steam Frame).
“Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed. But we have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce.”
Analysis: goalposts moved, wallets now feared for, gamers dismayed
There’s something I need to take issue with immediately, and that’s the stated “goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year” not having changed. I beg to differ, because Valve said to expect these hardware releases “early in 2026” which I (and many others) took to mean Q1 2026.
Okay, so there’s a reason Valve said “early” this year, rather than a more specific timeframe, and that’s to avoid being pinned down to Q1 and a more exact launch target. As I’ve said before, April 2026 could still technically be regarded as relatively early in the year – there’s a bit of room for maneuver here.
However, saying the “first half of 2026” is moving the goalposts completely. That could mean June, and in no way can that month be regarded as early in the year – it’s the middle of 2026 (obviously). So, this is a delay, even though Valve has tried to couch it in terms of ‘nothing having changed’ here.
Clearly, things have changed – and rapidly – regarding memory pricing, as Valve states, and this has led to it revisiting the “exact shipping schedule and pricing”. Indeed, Valve also told us here that the plan was to have already shared a launch date and pricing by now.
We all knew the price was always going to be a big issue here, and that Valve would likely struggle to keep a lid on it, especially given the meteoric rise of the cost of RAM and, to a lesser extent, SSDs.
So, what we have now, predictably enough, is a great deal of disappointment. Online comments lament that once again we are on ‘Valve time’ (meaning launch dates being pushed back), and there’s a lot of skepticism about whether the first half of 2026 is even a realistic target. I can’t say I blame the doubters, either.
Price-wise, the pessimistic cloud that’s descended is even thicker than the murk surrounding the release timeframe. Commenters point out that Valve was already coy about sharing anything around the pricing, and we know that there’ll be no subsidizing the PC to take the sting out of the MSRP that way, potentially. And now it feels like Valve is priming us to expect the worst with talk of ‘revisiting’ that costing exercise.
Previously, the guesswork was that the Steam Machine could be pitched starting at $800 or so. If we factor in RAM and storage price spikes, it feels like we could be looking at $900 or more likely closer to $1,000 for the recommended price at the entry level. Some even anticipate the living room PC could weigh in at more than a grand.
As one Redditor, Keraunos01, put it succinctly: “I cannot see this being affordable for most people at this rate…”
What’s also worrying here is the indication that Valve isn’t sitting on a bunch of component inventory for these PCs bought at previously lower (volume) prices, as we have a clear signal that the RAM price hikes will indeed be a heavy load to bear for the Steam Machine. Obviously, Valve must have some preexisting parts bought, but not nearly enough to carry any kind of launch volume through in 2026 (presumably).
In summary, then, we’ve moved from a Q1 to Q2 launch (in all likelihood), and from a hopeful $800 to more like looking at $1,000 for the base Steam Machine (though that remains pure guesswork, it should be noted).
A key question then becomes: would you buy the Steam Machine at these kind of asking prices rather than a cheaper PlayStation 5 Pro? (Although admittedly, game consoles may face RAM-pressured price hikes this year, too, but Sony could have a lot of room to maneuver if these Valve price predictions are anywhere near the mark).
Maybe Valve could look at alternative strategies for base-level pricing, like a barebones Steam Machine sold without RAM or storage, so some potential buyers might be able to cannibalize memory from an old PC (or grab it second-hand), for example, to achieve a more palatable bottom-tier price.
For now, though, disappointment reigns with this latest info drop from Valve. More updates via blog posts are promised from the company, and let’s hope they ignite a bit more positivity around the Steam Machine again.
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