Valve Launches Pre-order Phase for the Steam Machine: A Gaming PC Alternative at a Higher Price Point.
“Powerful PC gaming in a compact design” is Valve’s bold promise for the Steam Machine. However, this performance comes at a steep price. Interested buyers must invest at least 1,039 € for the basic 512 GB version, while the top model commands a whopping 1,428 €.
Valve isn’t just a renowned game developer (think Counter-Strike and Half-Life); it also manufactures hardware. Yet, they were caught off guard by a surge in RAM and storage component prices, as noted in their announcement.
The Price Tag: An Unexpected Surprise
What’s causing the price increase? Valve explains, “There are various reasons for this development affecting all hardware products globally. Our initial pricing goal for the Steam Machine is no longer feasible.” Aside from cost, component availability significantly impacted their production capacity. They stated, “At times, we couldn’t procure some components at any price, affecting how many units we could produce for launch.”
In light of this, Valve has opted for a reservation model. Registering to reserve a Steam Machine is now open until June 25 at 7 PM (CET). After this, a random selection of customers will receive an email with a purchasing option, giving the lucky recipients 72 hours to decide.
The first batch of devices is slated to ship by the end of June.
What is the Steam Machine?
The Steam Machine is designed to bring PC gaming to large screens, such as a living room TV. Notably, Valve positions this new hardware as an “expansion in PC gaming” rather than a console. This strategy contrasts with traditional models like Sony’s PlayStation or Nintendo’s offerings, focusing on an open ecosystem.
Valve states, “The strength of PC gaming lies in the ability to play desired games on the preferred hardware. The Steam Machine is just one option, and we have no intention to limit this.”
Specifications and Variants
The Steam Machine will be available in two versions—with or without a gamepad:
- Steam Machine 512 GB: 1,039 €
- Bundle: Steam Machine 512 GB + Steam Controller: 1,108 €
- Steam Machine 2 TB: 1,359 €
- Bundle: Steam Machine 2 TB + Steam Controller: 1,428 €
The 2 TB variant comes with two detachable front covers made of red fabric and solid walnut wood. Aside from the SSD storage, the internals across all models are identical:
- Modified AMD Zen 4 with 6 cores/12 threads
- Modified AMD RDNA3 with 28 CUs
- 16 GB DDR5 + 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM
- 512 GB NVMe SSD / microSD card slot
- WiFi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3 / Gigabit Ethernet
- Built-in wireless adapter for the Steam Controller
- Uses SteamOS 3 as the operating system
Conclusion
Valve’s Steam Machine aims to bridge the gap between powerful PC gaming and the convenience of a living-room setup. With its high price point and a strategy focused on an open ecosystem, it’ll be interesting to see how gamers respond to this new entry in the hardware market.
