Valve’s Steam Machine finally has a price: a whopping $1,049 for the 512GB configuration or $1,349 for the 2TB version. And those are without bundled controllers, which drive up the cost more.
The prices are so high in part because Valve isn’t subsidizing the hardware, and the company has already indicated that the component crisis forced it to reconsider its initial pricing plans. In an interview with the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, Valve engineers discussed the reality of sourcing RAM in 2026, with take-it-or-leave-it prices as memory and other components remain in short supply, from only a few vendors like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix.
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Valve, of course, isn’t the only company in a bind over memory shortages, as the crunch is forcing many hardware makers to make significant pricing changes. Even Apple CEO Tim Cook is warning of incoming price hikes for iPhones, Macs, and other devices. And the RAM crunch isn’t projected to get better anytime soon.
If RAM prices are so bad, couldn’t Valve give an option to order a Steam Machine with no RAM? So that people could use RAM they already have or buy some locally for a lower price.
They give away their OS for free. So add a motherboard, a CPU, a case and a graphics card to it and you can use your own RAM.
The Steam Machine is intended to be plug&play.
plug memory, play games. plug and play.
I get where you’re coming from. The average person doesn’t know how to build a PC, and this is marketed as a plug and play device. Probably wouldn’t be worth the support calls, returns, compatibility issues etc when people accidentally buy the wrong one.
Probably decided not to do that. I’m curious of their reason(s).
It’s not worth it to offer it. The steam machine is going to sell out regardless of the price, just like the steam deck did even after the price hikes. Not because there’s going to be such demand, but because supply is still constrained.
A model without RAM is going to cost valve extra to support (troubleshooting and whatnot), so why bother when you can just sell the unit that comes with the RAM.
Is it? It’s not like Valve has shut down the ‘pre-order’ page. If they already manufactured the devices, they should of had lower RAM prices, and if they haven’t completed manufacturing and have to pay elevated pricing, seems like a device that you don’t release currently. Especially since the device is mostly off the shelf parts, and SteamOS improvements have been the real selling point. I am not sure what Valve is thinking, releasing a device that underperforms a PS5 Pro, which is $200 less and comes with a 2TB drive and a controller.
Valve has zero obligation to throw gamers a bone, but the pricing on the Steam Machine seems incredibly bone headed., especially with as much competition for handhelds in that price bracket which will perform similar to the Steam Machine and have screens and controllers built in. And many of them you can install SteamOS on and have the same experience.
So here’s the thing. Right off the bat it’s hard to take you seriously when you don’t even seem to understand how the pre-order works for the Steam Machine – and that’s even with me agreeing with at least some of your overall sentiment. What compelling reason would they have to shut down the pre-order page earlier than advertised?
Honestly, none of us really know for sure 100% factually whether the Steam Machine will sell out or not, but it’s hard to take your questioning of it seriously when your understanding is so limited, and that’s the nice way of putting it.
Personally, I won’t be surprised either way. I suspect it will sell out, but like you, me, and millions (billions?) of other people, I also know that the price is laughable when appraised only by specs and anticipated performance metrics, so it also would not surprise me if they struggle with sales.