Valve has officially announced the prices for its hybrid pc/console game system, the Steam Machine, and it’s quite a tough pill to swallow, costing over US$1,000 for its base model.
As announced via a community post on Steam, the Steam Machine will launch in four configurations, with the prices in USD listed below:
- Steam Machine 512GB: US$1,049
- Steam Machine 512GB + Steam Controller bundle: US$1,128
- Steam Machine 2TB: US$1,349
- Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller bundle: US$1,428
As a bonus, the two 2TB configurations for the Steam Machine will also come with two additional faceplates (red fabric and solid walnut) alongside its default black variation. Pre-orders for the hybrid console are now open until 25 June 2026, although pre-orders are currently not available in some regions, such as Singapore.
Even for those in regions where pre-orders are available, getting your hands on the Steam Machine before launch isn’t that simple, as Valve has implemented a reservation system similar to what Nintendo did for the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. Those looking to pre-order the console must first meet these requirements:
- Have a Steam account in good standing (no bans, etc).
- Must have made a purchase on Steam prior to 27 April 2026.
- Limited to one signup per household, with Valve using payment methods, shipping address, and other information to eliminate multiple entries.
Those who meet these requirements can then sign up for the Steam Machine bundles they are interested in before 25 June at 10am PDT, and Valve will then perform a one-time randomisation to determine the reservation order. Based on the order, those who signed up will then receive an email on 25 June to indicate one of two things – either that they have been added to the reservation queue, to which they will then receive a further email when units become available for shipment with the option to purchase, or an email stating that they have been added to the waitlist, with further information to come as more units become available.
While these all sound pretty complicated to buy a console, it does make sense to curb the very common problem nowadays of resellers and scalpers. The bigger issue now remains its price, which is quite steep considering the hardware on offer. The Steam Machine houses “semi-custom” components for its CPU and GPU, with its specs listed below:
- CPU: AMD Zen 4 CPU clocked at “up to” 4.8GHz, 6 cores, 12 threads
- GPU: AMD RDNA 3 Navi 33 processor with 28 compute units up to 2.45GHz, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Memory: 16GB DDR5 RAM
Taking these specs in mind, and comparing them with other consoles, such as the base PS5, the Steam Machine does have an edge on paper, with a more powerful CPU. In practice, however, the PS5 has an advantage due to its many proprietary performance-enhancing features, such as PSSR, to help ensure smooth performance in games. Performance tests done by sites like Digital Foundry, for example, found that the base PS5 saw better performance in certain games compared to the Steam Machine running on similar settings, such as Black Myth Wukong and Alan Wake 2.
The major advantage the Steam Machine has is in terms of flexibility, as it can run a wider range of games and at more customisable settings, similar to how a PC operates. The main issue here lies in its asking price, with its cheapest variant costing almost US$500 more than the base PS5 Digital Edition, so it might be a tough ask for a console that potentially runs games worse.
Valve will begin sending order emails to customers at the beginning of the reservation queue on 29 June 2026, with the first batch of Steam Machines being shipped to them starting from that date.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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