The Steam engine is due out in early 2026 and has the chance to shake up the industry in a big way. Granted, Valve's first attempt at a home console was a bit of a misstep, but after the company's seismic success with the Steam Deck, something like the Steam Machine doesn't seem like such a crazy idea.
In fact, Valve reports that the Steam Machine is “six times more powerful” than the Steam Deck, and while that's mostly marketing speak (“power” is a vague and complex term in gaming tech, and not a linear spectrum), it's not without merit. Compared to the Steam Deck, the Steam Machine has significantly more computing power, a newer generation CPU, and greater availability of DDR5 RAM, while still using the same general architecture as the Deck. To put things into perspective, all Steam Deck models have eight compute units (a way of measuring processing power), while the Steam Machine has twenty-eight, which puts it in bold conversation with Sony and Microsoft's next-generation consoles.
The PlayStation 5 is king, but maybe not for long
The so-called “Big Three” of game console manufacturers have been Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, at least for the past three decades or so. But while the three were in fairly direct competition in the early to mid-2000s, focusing on a wide variety of games, experimenting with different ideas and strategies, and using increasingly powerful hardware, things began to change with the introduction of the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. Nintendo became much more experimental with its hardware — an approach that would eventually pay off with the Nintendo Switch — while Xbox and PlayStation competed through exclusive consoles, among other things.
Xbox has been slowly deprioritizing exclusive games and has now seemingly abandoned the practice entirely, leaving the PS5 as the de facto home console: it has the most AAA games and the fewest compromises. So the PlayStation won its war with the Xbox, but it was a war fought with soon-to-be-obsolete weapons and strategies. The steam engine goes nuclear.
Sony probably can't be ready for the Steam Machine if it lives up to expectations
PC gaming has several advantages over console gaming, but these are often overlooked by the general public. This could be because PC gaming seems culturally distant from console gaming, or more impenetrable due to its DIY nature – gaming consoles require almost no setup or calibration, while pre-built PCs still require some fiddling. PC gaming culture also lacks the brand loyalty and legacy of console gaming. But each of these factors, even if it is a possible disadvantage, can be either disintegrated or transformed into a positive through the Steam Machine.
Console and PC gaming differ in many ways, but none more significant than the issue of decentralization. In the case of the PlayStation, much of the user experience is dictated solely by the whims of Sony itself. Consumers have no real recourse if, for example, they find the PlayStation Store unsatisfactory, while a PC user could simply switch to another launcher or digital store. Steam itself was created under these conditions, which is why it is one of the few examples of the free market working as intended: Steam is the most popular game launcher, a direct result of its consumer friendliness.
Backwards compatibility is another area where any Windows or Linux based gaming platform easily outperforms consoles, especially the PlayStation. To this day, support for pre-PS4 games on the PS5 is lackluster and inconsistent, with many games only accessible via PlayStation's premium streaming service. But as long as the game has a PC release, it will likely be playable on the Steam Machine: all Linux-compatible launchers and games can be run on Valve's upcoming “console.” In addition, Steam Deck is excellent for emulating PS1, PS2, PS3 and even Xbox 360, further expanding users' horizons in a way that traditional consoles such as PS5 simply cannot. It must be assumed that the Steam Machine will be the same.
Bottom line, Steam has the largest and most diverse game library, not just because of classic games, but also because of indie games that haven't yet been ported to consoles, and because Xbox and PlayStation have spent the last few years migrating their exclusives to PC. In fact, with a few notable exceptions, there are almost no games you can play on PS5 or Xbox Series X that aren't also available on PC.
That's not to mention Steam Machine's other strengths, like completely free online multiplayer and the absence of frustrating practices like $10-$20 “next-gen upgrades,” but those are the strengths of PC games in general. The real test of the Steam Machine will be whether it can match the ease of use and overall convenience of a traditional console. SteamOS has proven to be a great console-like experience on the Steam Deck, so there's no reason to believe it won't be the same on the Steam Machine. However, this will not be the only obstacle that the Machine must overcome.
The price will make or break the steam engine
The biggest question mark surrounding the Steam Machine right now is its price, which Valve remains tight-lipped about. This is so important for several reasons, not the least of which is the rising cost of gaming hardware and video games themselves, and the fact that technically the PS5 and Xbox Series X are relatively cheap for what they offer in terms of hardware: building a PC with power attached to the PS5 would cost a lot more than just buying a PS5. We know that Sony sells its consoles at a loss in exchange for bringing more users into its ecosystem, so hopefully the Steam Machine will do the same. After all, Valve takes 20-30% of every sale on Steam, for games that generate a certain amount of revenue.
The real test of the Steam Machine will be whether it can measure up to a traditional console in terms of ease of use and overall convenience.
Because if Valve intends to profit from every Steam Machine unit sold, the device could be quite expensive indeed; some analysts and leakers even suggested it could sell for as much as $1,000. In theory, one could probably justify the Steam Machine's higher price point by pointing to things like free online multiplayer, but too high a cost of entry would probably drive people closer to PlayStation or Xbox regardless of any cost-benefit analysis. The Steam Machine could possibly get away with being a bit more expensive than the PS5 Disc Edition, but not by much. Ultimately, however, the Steam Machine seems poised to topple the PS5 in almost every way, which is worrying for all owners of Sony's current console.
