- AMD’s CEO mentioned the Steam Machine in an earnings call
- Lisa Su said, “Valve is on track to start shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year.”
- This underlines what Valve has previously promised in terms of an early 2026 arrival, with the device hopefully set to debut in Q1
AMD CEO Lisa Su has told us that Valve is on track to release its Steam Machine in early 2026.
As Notebookcheck.net noted, over at X, Wario64 reported what the CEO had said during AMD’s earnings call (following their fourth quarter financial report), as reported by Gamesbeat.
Su noted that: “From a product standpoint, Valve is on track to start shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year.”
She also mentioned that the next generation Xbox is also on target for a 2027 release with an AMD chip as the engine inside.
If you recall, Valve promised that its compact living room gaming PC would debut in early 2026, so Su emphasizes that this is still the case for the Steam Machine.
Analysis: So it’s March?
So apparently Valve still plans to launch the Steam Machine early this year, which could mean it arrives later this month, possibly, or in March. To me, the use of the word ‘early’ indicates Q1 of 2026, because once we move into Q2, it’s technically not the beginning of the year anymore, although I guess you could argue that April is relatively early in the year.
What makes me a little hesitant to embrace the idea of an imminent arrival of the Steam Machine is the fact that we’ve heard little about it since the new year rolled in – the rumors have gone pretty quiet. Still, there’s not much more to know about the device, in fairness, apart from the all-important price tag.
Speaking of which, you might also think that the RAM crisis now in full swing might give Valve pause for thought, as this will definitely make pitching said launch price a more difficult business.
The value proposition is certainly crucial here, but what exactly can Valve do about the RAM situation? Nothing really (beyond what has already been done in the past in terms of securing volume purchases) and it’s not like waiting for the RAM crisis to calm down is realistic. If anything, prices are expected to rise during this quarter, and the situation of lean supply and high prices, with system memory, may not change until next year – or even 2028, if any claims are anything to go by.
It’s also interesting that Su uses the term ‘shipping’ in his quote, as the Steam machine will actually go out to players within this time frame, meaning that an announcement – and pre-orders going live before shipping starts – could come quite quickly indeed. (Note that the handheld Steam Deck was pre-ordered a while before it shipped).
Of course, this is all just my guess, but the fact that Lisa Su has specifically mentioned that the release is still on the way is certainly a good sign that we could see the launch of the Steam Machine happen in Q1, most likely next month. This will be a closely watched product, that’s for sure, and could be a defining moment in driving Valve’s ambitions with PC gaming (and Linux to boot).
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