GoKawiilThe Steam Machine is almost here. Valve chose possibly the worst time to announce new PC gaming hardware in late 2025, just as the AI boom sent storage and RAM prices through the roof. The upheaval delayed its new Steam Machine release, but Valve has announced its TV-friendly gaming PC will go on sale June 29 with a reservation-based system and a starting price of $1,049.
The Steam Machine will come in two flavors: one with 512GB of storage and a more expensive one with 2TB. They’ll retail for $1,049 and $1,349, respectively, and you’ll be able to bundle a Steam Controller with either for an additional $79. Buying the 2TB model also gets you a pair of exclusive faceplates with red fabric and walnut finishes. Like the Steam Deck, the machine ships with the Linux-based SteamOS.
Both versions of the Steam Machine will run on a custom six-core AMD Zen 4 CPU with a peak clock speed of 4.8GHz. The integrated AMD RDNA3 GPU will feature 28 compute units and 8GB of dedicated DDR6 VRAM soldered to the board. The system will have its own 16GB allotment of DDR5 on the board. This should provide enough oomph (with upscaling tech) to play moderately demanding PC games on your TV.
Credit: Valve The Steam Machine is still a PC at heart. The Steam Machine is still a PC at heart. Credit: Valve
So this is an objectively expensive gaming device, but there’s no sticker shock here—the Steam Machine is the same kind of expensive as every other computer in 2026. Components have been getting astronomically more expensive over the last year, forcing PC and game console makers to raise prices as their margins get slimmer. Sony has pushed the base PS5 to $600, and the Pro model is $900. Nintendo launched the Switch 2 at $450, but it recently bumped that up to $500. PC makers like Dell, Lenovo, and HP have all been pushing prices higher to compensate for component costs. Valve also raised the price of its Steam Deck handheld by more than $200 recently.
According to Valve, it did not set out to make a Steam Machine that starts north of $1,000. When the company began sourcing parts in 2023, it believed the hardware would cost much less. Valve admits the original vision is “no longer viable” in 2026. So the prices we’re seeing today are a reflection of what it costs to build a gaming PC today—specifically, what it cost Valve to buy components for the Steam Machine over the past six months. That suggests the pricing could change in future batches as component prices continue to go up.