Earlier this month, Valve took a big step into the video game console market with the Steam Machine, a small cube-shaped system designed to be played almost anywhere, whether on a massive TV or a small monitor. It's a pretty cool idea, especially for those who feel that upgrading to a proper PC is a bit too expensive, as this little machine is predicted to be more powerful than around 70 percent of the settings that today's PC gamers use.
If the steam engine doesn't start with the new half-life, I'll eat my hat
Valve has the perfect opportunity to launch a new Half-Life game with the upcoming Steam Machine.
During its unveiling, we learned a lot of details about the Steam Machine, such as its performance, size, and the fact that it can still be used as a PC if you want to do that. As with many recent hardware reveals, the one thing we don't know that could make or break the Steam Machine is the price.
Since this thing is being marketed as a console alternative rather than a PC, you'd probably expect the system to match the price tags of the Xbox Series X and PS5, especially since it's roughly the same power. Analysts predicted the system could potentially fly off the shelves for around $400, but the dream of an affordable PC alternative may have already been shot down in flames.
The price of the Valve steam engine may be higher than we expected
In a recent video, the popular tech YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips – hosted by Linus Sebastian – talked about the Steam Machine and how he attended a Valve event where he was able to talk to various people at Valve about the hardware. During this video, Sebastian seems to drop a hint that the Steam Machine may be much more expensive than the $500 price tag that people are expecting.
“I can't tell you what the price will be because I literally don't know,” says Sebastian. “But having said that, I was disappointed that it wasn't going to follow the console pricing model, where it's subsidized by the fact that the manufacturer will take 30 percent of every game sold on it for the life of the thing — because I feel like that would be a more meaningful product — they kind of asked what I meant. 'Well, what do you mean 'okay, but power on the console', room, $50' and I said whatever. It wasn't great.”
It's a bit of a worrisome thing to hear for those hoping this would be a budget option for those looking to get into PC gaming, especially if this thing ends up closer to $600 or $700. You can literally buy or build your own PC and adapt to Steam Machine specs for less money, or better yet, buy a PS5 Pro which is far more powerful and convenient. We'll have to wait and see what Valve sets the price at, but right now it sounds like Valve isn't willing to take a loss on the Steam Machine.
- Mark
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Valve
- Operating system
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SteamOS 3 (based on the architecture)
- Processor
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Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T up to 4.8 GHz, 30W TDP
- Resolution
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Up to 4K @ 240 Hz or 8K @ 60 Hz
- HDR support
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Yes
- Original release date
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2026
