- Valve has said that Steam Machine is indeed delayed
- The device is now expected to arrive in the first half of 2026, i.e. in June
- The price is also being reassessed due to the RAM crisis, which has thrown a wrench in the works for the Steam Machine
No sooner had AMD CEO Lisa Su said that Steam Machine was on track for its original release timeframe, Valve has told us that it’s delayed — though not outright.
It’s clear enough that there’s been a delay, although Valve hasn’t quite spelled it out as such in a new blog post framed as a sort of mini-FAQ (which was spotted by Eurogamer).
First, let’s look at the main part of the statement from Valve, which deals with the two points that everyone is wondering about the most: namely the launch date and the cost of the Steam Machine (as well as the Steam Frame and the Steam Controller).
Valve says: “When we announced these products in November, we planned to be able to share specific pricing and launch dates now. However, the memory and storage shortages you’ve likely heard about across the industry have increased rapidly since then.
“The limited availability and rising prices of these critical components means we need to revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing (especially around the Steam Machine and Steam Frame).
“Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed. But we have work to do to land on concrete prices and launch dates that we can confidently announce.”
Analysis: Goalposts moved, wallets now feared, players horrified
There is something I need to address right away, and that is that the stated “goal to ship all three products in the first half of the year” has not changed. I beg to differ because Valve said to expect these hardware releases “early 2026”, which I (and many others) assumed meant Q1 2026.
Okay, so there’s a reason why Valve said “early” this year, rather than a more specific time frame, and that’s to avoid being pegged to Q1 and a more precise launch target. As I’ve said before, technically April 2026 can still be considered relatively early in the year – there’s a bit of leeway here.
But saying “first half of 2026” moves the goalposts completely. It may mean June, and that month cannot in any way be considered as early this year – that’s mid-2026 (obviously). So it’s a delay, although Valve has tried to convey that ‘nothing has changed’ here.
Clearly, things have changed – and quickly – in terms of memory pricing, as Valve says, leading it to review the “accurate shipping schedule and pricing.” In fact, Valve also told us here that the plan was to have already shared a launch date and pricing by now.
We all knew that price was always going to be a big issue here and that Valve would likely struggle to keep a lid on it, especially given the skyrocketing cost of RAM and to a lesser extent SSDs.
So what we have now is predictably a huge disappointment. Online comments lament that we’re back on ‘Valve time’ (meaning push back launch dates), and there’s a lot of skepticism about whether the first half of 2026 is even a realistic target. I can’t say I blame the doubters either.
In terms of pricing, the pessimistic cloud that has descended is even thicker than the darkness surrounding the release timeframe. Commentators point out that Valve was already reluctant to share anything about pricing, and we know there won’t be any subsidizing the PC to potentially take the sting out of MSRP that way. And now it feels like Valve is preparing us to expect the worst with talk of “revisiting” that costing exercise.
Previously, the guess was that the Steam machine could pitch from $800 or so. Factoring in RAM and storage price increases, it feels like we could be looking at $900 or more likely closer to $1,000 for the entry-level MSRP. Some even expect the living room PC to weigh more than a thousand.
As one Redditor, Keraunos01, put it succinctly: “I don’t see this being affordable for most people at this rate…”
What’s also worrying here is the indication that Valve isn’t sitting on a lot of component inventory for these PCs bought at previously lower (volume) prices, as we have a clear signal that the RAM price increases will indeed be a heavy burden for the Steam Machine to bear. Obviously, Valve must have bought some pre-existing parts, but not nearly enough to carry any sort of launch volume through 2026 (presumably).
In summary, we’ve moved from a Q1 to Q2 launch (in all likelihood), and from a hopeful $800 to more like looking at $1,000 for the base Steam Machine (though that remains pure guesswork, it should be noted).
A key question then becomes: would you buy the Steam Machine at those kind of asking prices instead of a cheaper PlayStation 5 Pro? (Although admittedly, game consoles may also face RAM-squeezed price increases this year, but Sony may have a lot of room to maneuver if these Valve price predictions are anywhere near the mark).
Perhaps Valve could look at alternative base-level pricing strategies, like a barebones Steam Machine sold without RAM or storage, so some potential buyers might cannibalize the memory from an old PC (or grab it used), for example, to achieve a more palatable floor price.
For now, however, disappointment reigns with this latest infodrop from Valve. More updates are promised via blog posts from the company, and let’s hope they reignite a little more positivity around the Steam Machine.
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