But Valve engineers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat seem to disagree, expressing regret over the studio being forced to price its latest offering as high as it is, with the bargaining power to do so being out of its hands, while the Steam Machine’s very purpose has also been a contributing factor. Speaking to Digital Foundry, the duo have now revealed that there is definitely an intent to bring the company’s console-PC hybrid to a lower price point, but that’s dependent on the lowering of hardware and storage prices, which might take a while.

Griffais pointed out that the high price is, in fact, counterproductive to the Steam Machine’s intended goal, arguing that a cheaper price point would work in its favor. Aldehayyat has also expressed similar sentiments, though that comes with a warning that things aren’t likely to improve in the near future.

“Obviously, we would love to be able to make the Steam Machine more affordable and reach more people, but I don’t want to promise to people that it’s coming soon. I wouldn’t say that this is something that’s going to resolve very soon. It’s obviously hard for us to predict the future, but we’re not optimistic it’s going to happen any time soon.”

Well, all we can do is try and hold out hope that the Steam Machine manages to weather this storm and become what it was meant to be at some point. In the meantime, reservations ended on June 25th, with Valve shipping the first batch out on June 29th.

We’re here to give you a few details to consider that could help you make up your mind. Let’s get right to it!

1. An Eye-Watering Price Tag

Let’s begin with the elephant in the room. You’ve got four options if you’re looking to pick this one up, with the lowest option being a 512GB console at $1,049, while adding in a bundled Steam Controller sets you back by $1,128. A 2TB standalone unit costs $1,349, and getting that with a controller jacks the price up to $1,428.

That’s a steep asking price for a machine that sits somewhere between a traditional console and a compact gaming PC, and you could understandably be thinking about building or buying a small-form-factor PC instead. There is an explanation for those gargantuan numbers, though, and we’re getting to it in just a minute.

2. Regional Pricing Confirmed

Although we’d like to be the bearers of good news, that sadly isn’t the case here. The 512GB standalone model comes in at €1,039 / £879, and adding a controller to that takes it up to €1,108 / £938. On the 2TB variant, that goes up to €1,359 / £1,149, and €1,428 / £1,208 respectively. If you’re in either the UK or Europe, you know that those asking prices are quite steep, and the Steam Machine carries quite the premium price tag for a console.

3. Extra Faceplates

If you’re the type who likes to add a bit of style to their gaming setups, you might be disappointed to learn that the 512GB model doesn’t come with extra faceplates. Those are reserved for the 2TB models, which include both red fabric and solid walnut faceplates. That’s a tad limited, although we’re pretty sure there are going to be third-party options cropping up fairly quickly. It’s still quite disheartening to see the lower-end models not get the option to spruce things up, though.

4. What’s Behind Those Price Tags?

If you’re a regular, you probably already know the answer to this one, as we touched upon it less than twenty-four hours ago. But for those of you who might have missed that bit of news, know that Valve’s explanation is simple: RAM and storage costs rose sharply, and the company says that made its original pricing target impossible. As a result, the Steam Machine is launching at a much higher price than many buyers expected. RAM and storage prices have pushed costs up across the board, and you might want to hurry up getting your new unit since Valve has also confirmed that its launch inventory isn’t where it would have liked to be.

5. Still A PC (Sort Of)

The Steam Machine sits at a unique position between a console and a PC, with Valve treating it like an open PC and not a locked console despite its spec sheet matching the PS5 and Xbox Series instead of a premium PC at that price. Of course, the original $750 price tag it was rumoured to be mulling would have made sense in this context, but alas, it’s been forced to deal with some harsh realities. As per The Verge, Valve is not treating this like a subsidized console, though. Its argument is that the Steam Machine should remain part of the open PC hardware space rather than a locked-down ecosystem, even if that makes the upfront price harder to swallow.

6. Potentially Different RAM Configurations

A shortage of RAM has Valve scrambling to maintain uniform configurations across the board for the Steam Machine. Units might ship with either single-channel or dual-channel 16GB RAM, and while in an article on The Verge, Valve argues that the difference is negligible in terms of real-world gaming impact, it’s still an important detail that we think matters to someone choosing to splurge on a console that’s as expensive as it is.

7. The TDP Figures

Aside from RAM, the Steam Machine packs a 30W semi-custom Zen 4 CPU alongside a 110W semi-custom RDNA 3 GPU, 16GB of DDR5 system RAM, and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. That configuration explains its compact form factor and its performance ceiling. The concern here is not really whether the system can stay cool, but whether that 110W RDNA 3 GPU and 8GB of VRAM will have enough headroom for demanding games over the next few years.

8. Resolution and Frame Rate Targets

If you’re expecting 4K/60 fps across the board, you might want to know that achieving that target usually requires lowering settings and leaning on FSR upscaling. As per LTT Labs, for demanding modern games, 1080p or 1440p is the safer target, while 4K is more realistic in older titles, lighter games, or scenarios where you are willing to make compromises. Your mileage might vary depending on the game you’re playing, but we’d pick a more consistent experience anytime, anywhere.

9. How Does It Fare Against The PS5?

Digital Foundry has weighed in on this all-important question, and the verdict is that the Steam Machine achieves largely similar results to what the base PS5 offers. The PS5 even beat it in games like Black Myth Wukong and Alan Wake 2, although the margins were quite tight. With that being said, the Steam Machine did pull ahead in some CPU-limited scenarios, but again, the difference was quite negligible. Considering the lower price tag on one of its biggest rivals, this is something you’re going to have to think about, because the choice between an open PC-style setup and a traditional console is a big one.

10. Storage Upgrades

512GB might seem like a lot, but we do know that the file sizes on some current-gen experiences are enormous. You might want to account for an SSD upgrade a little later down the line, once your budget allows for it, if you’re thinking about going for the 512GB variant, although the good news is that you can easily get to and replace the M.2 SSD that’s on board. As per Tom’s Hardware, just be sure you’ve got the right tools to work with a Torx screw, and you’re golden.

11. Suspend/Resume Is A Tad Unreliable

Valve did take a while to get this all-important feature right on the Steam Deck, and it looks like that might be the case here. Early reviews like the one from The Verge have pointed out that leaving a game suspended worked well enough, but there were still a few kinks to be ironed out as sessions sometimes vanished into the digital ether while TVs would suddenly turn on in other instances. That’s probably going to be fixed as the days go by, but we’d advise you not to expect a perfect suspend function right off the bat with this one.

12. Support For 3D Printable Faceplates

Yes, the lack of customization options out of the box on the 512GB model is a bummer, but Valve is at least leaving the door open for user-made alternatives. It’s releasing CAD files to make 3D printing your own faceplates possible, which means custom and third-party faceplates could be closer than we think. It’s still not as cool as having more official options available separately, but it is a step in the right direction. We can’t wait to see what players come up with as they spruce up their units over the next few months.

13. FSR4 Support Is On The Way

Valve has confirmed that FSR 4 support is being worked on for the Steam Machine in partnership with AMD. That should eventually give the system a better upscaling option than the FSR version available to reviewers right now, though buyers should treat it as a future improvement rather than a day-one guarantee.

14. The Growth Of SteamOS Desktop Support

If you’re still on the fence about the Steam Machine, you might want to hold off on picking it up until we see what SteamOS 3.8.10 has to offer, since it’s slated to bring improved support for Intel/AMD CPUs while Valve works with NVIDIA to ensure better GPU compatibility across the board. That’s important since you could ideally build your own Steam Machine at some point, although the official one is still likely to be the most unobtrusive and console-like option if you’re planning on a gaming system for your living room.

15. The Front Plate Attaches Magnetically

If the thought of customizing your unit has you drooling with anticipation, as per LTT Labs, the front plate can be removed quite easily and swapped out for something that’s more aesthetically pleasing to you.
That’s a great option to have since this one is meant to blend into your living room, and having the option to switch things up helps the Steam Machine integrate into a variety of setups without sticking out like a sore thumb. We’re still quite liking the no-nonsense design it ships with, though.

And there you have it! The Steam Machine has been a long time coming, and while things might not have gone entirely to plan for Valve in this particular instance, we’d like to believe that things can, and perhaps will, get better over time. But if you’ve decided you’re picking one up, we’d like to say congrats on the new addition to your gaming setups, and happy gaming!

“Look, there’s no contract; there’s nothing,” he said. “Like, those guys… they give us a price every month, or something, and they say, ‘You can buy that many, and it’s yes or no.’ And if we say no, then they never talk to us again.”

This shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise to anyone paying attention to the current state of computer hardware. Companies like Crucial, for instance, have outright stopped manufacturing consumer RAM, opting to instead sell to other businesses that want to use the hardware to build up new AI data centers. Similarly, other memory companies like Samsung and SK Hynix have seen most of their stocks being bought up by AI giants like Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

Interestingly, hardware industry insider KeplerL2 had said on social media earlier this week that “Either Valve has a fat profit margin on the Steam Machine, or they’re getting absolutely rinsed by their suppliers.” Another leaker, Moore’s Law is Dead, believes that the former might be the case, noting that PC gamers should simply opt for making their own systems for the same price. This way, they get PCs that can outperform the Steam Machine.

The Steam Machine is priced at $1,049 for its lowest-end model, which comes with 512 GB of storage and lacks a bundled Steam Controller. The most expensive version costs $1,349 for just the Steam Machine with 2 TB of storage, and $1,428 if you also want a Steam Controller included.

Griffais had previously spoken about why Valve couldn’t simply subsidize the Steam Machine’s price. It largely came down to the fact that the system is a general-purpose PC that runs on Linux. This means that there’s no real guarantee that a buyer would then make up for the losses Valve sees with each unit sold if it were to be subsidized through game purchases on Steam. While the company could have opted to make it a closed system like a console, Griffais noted that this ran counter to Valve’s values.

“The openness of the PC ecosystem in particular has enabled it to be the primary driver of hardware and software innovation, because anyone with an idea for a way to do something better was able to take a shot at it. When companies sell their hardware under cost for competitive advantage, or buy exclusive content for it, they’re doing that to build a more closed system, one where you don’t get to choose what software you want to use.”

“We don’t want that for PC hardware, and we don’t think you should want it either. You shouldn’t feel like you have to buy Valve hardware; you should be able to view it as just one option alongside all the devices for playing games, and select the one that makes sense for you. This means you get to decide which device fits your personal tradeoffs around things like price, performance, form factor, peripheral support, and everything else you care about. That’s the strength of the open PC platform, and subsidizing hardware runs counter to it.”

“Either Valve has a fat profit margin on the Steam Machine, or they’re getting absolutely rinsed by their suppliers,” they wrote. For his part, Moore’s Law is Dead believes that Valve has intentionally set the pricing to give it a larger profit margin. In a video, he discussed how potential PC gamers could simply build their own gaming PCs for similar prices that could outperform the Steam Machine. The YouTuber also said that the Steam Machine is simply “not even a good PC.”

“It’s not just that it’s expensive; it’s not just that the price is not what we wanted. This thing is horribly weak. It is not problem-free. And therefore, it is not ‘just a console for your Steam games.’ It is a PC that you cannot upgrade, and it’s priced like Apple built it,” he said.

“Gabe [Newell] didn’t price this thing above a thousand dollars because ‘he had to’ due to RAM prices that are out there. It’s way higher than just blaming that. He priced it this way to make sure that he could afford that $70 million mansion in Florida he bought.”

The Steam Machine is priced at $1,049 for the 512 GB version, and the price doesn’t include a Steam Controller. At the highest end, a 2 TB Steam Machine is priced at $1,349, with the price going up to $1,428 if you want to also get your hands on the new Steam Controller with it. To pre-order one, a reservation queue has been opened up, with potential buyers getting notified that they can get one completely at random. Buyers that sign up for pre-orders after June 25th won’t be part of the random pool, and will simply be added to the end of the queue.

The company said in a statement that it couldn’t subsidize hardware costs for the Steam Machine due to the openness of PC as a platform, which meant that potential buyers could end up never spending a single dime on Steam games. While it could have subsidized it by making it a closed system, Valve simply isn’t interested in doing so.

“We don’t want that for PC hardware, and we don’t think you should want it either. You shouldn’t feel like you have to buy Valve hardware; you should be able to view it as just one option alongside all the devices for playing games, and select the one that makes sense for you. This means you get to decide which device fits your personal tradeoffs around things like price, performance, form factor, peripheral support, and everything else you care about. That’s the strength of the open PC platform, and subsidizing hardware runs counter to it.”

Griffais had previously spoken about Valve being “hard at work” on a new Steam Deck, and back in April, said that everything that the company has worked on since – the Steam Machine and the new Steam Controller – are building up to the company’s future hardware plans. “And we expect Steam Deck 2 will be a lot of the same,” he said, “where a lot of what we’re doing here will be learnings that build up to it.”

Designer Lawrence Yang had noted back in 2024 that Valve was waiting for a “generational leap” in hardware before it starts working on a follow-up to the Steam Deck. “We’re not going to do a bump every year. There’s no reason to do that.”

As for the current state of hardware, Griffais has said that the wait for such a generational leap still continues. While there have been chips, like Intel’s Arc G3, they still have to strike the right balance between raw horsepower and efficiency for a handheld device.

“I think a lot of them are more low-end laptop chips or playing in that sort of form factor that are then repurposed for handhelds and maybe not leading to, I guess the trade-off that we would’ve chosen in terms of power and better life and that and all that,” he explained.

While R&D efforts might have hit a roadblock due to ongoing shortages in memory and storage components, Griffais has noted that Valve is continuing its work towards the next generation of its hardware. “We’ll definitely be talking about that in the coming years, but right now we’re focusing on [Steam] Machine.”

Interestingly, rumors from April have indicated that Valve has been targeting a 2028 launch window for its next-generation Steam Deck. However, according to known leaker KeplerL2, these plans might get delayed due to memory shortages. However, these delays might lead to even better hardware in the next-gen handheld since Valve isn’t using semi-custom chips unlike Sony’s PS6 and Microsoft’s Project Helix.

In the meantime, Valve has confirmed that the most basic version of the Steam Machine, with 512 GB of storage and no included Steam Controller, is priced at $1,049. The company said in a statement that it couldn’t subsidize the hardware costs of the Steam Machine due to its nature as an open Linux-based PC. Since the company couldn’t guarantee additional revenue through Steam purchases by potential buyers, it had to make sure that the system isn’t sold at a loss. The same openness was also described as one of the few things that Valve is “religious” about, since it enables anyone with a PC to come up with an idea and implement it in their own way.

The open nature of the Steam Machine means that it would be easy for someone to buy it and then just never use it to purchase or play any games on Steam. Valve wanted to ensure that the system could be used for just about any computing task that a user might want. “If there’s anything we’re religious about at Valve, it’s our belief that open systems are better in the long run, for ourselves and customers,” said the company.

“The openness of the PC ecosystem in particular has enabled it to be the primary driver of hardware and software innovation, because anyone with an idea for a way to do something better was able to take a shot at it. When companies sell their hardware under cost for competitive advantage, or buy exclusive content for it, they’re doing that to build a more closed system, one where you don’t get to choose what software you want to use.”

“We don’t want that for PC hardware, and we don’t think you should want it either. You shouldn’t feel like you have to buy Valve hardware; you should be able to view it as just one option alongside all the devices for playing games, and select the one that makes sense for you. This means you get to decide which device fits your personal tradeoffs around things like price, performance, form factor, peripheral support, and everything else you care about. That’s the strength of the open PC platform, and subsidizing hardware runs counter to it.”

This runs in stark contrast with how the console industry used to be run, with console makers often selling their hardware platforms at a loss and then making revenue in the long term thanks to the sales of games and services like Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus. Interestingly, even on the console side of things, this practice has largely been left behind, and both Sony and Microsoft have been able to sell their consoles at a profit since at least the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One. Both companies also have the advantage of the economy of scale, which means that the large number of consoles they manufacture and release means that they can often source components for cheaper, since they’re buying in bulk. Valve, on the other hand, doesn’t quite have that advantage, since its hardware business is still small by comparison.

The company reiterated this stance in its announcement post. It is also worth noting that the Steam Machine would have likely been quite a bit cheaper if it weren’t for the ongoing memory and storage shortages that have led to their prices skyrocketing. Even the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 haven’t been able to avoid price hikes due to this.

We’re not too shocked about the revelation that it could have been up to 33% cheaper, as revealed by Valve engineers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat to IGN. They noted that it would have “probably” been similar to the Steam Deck OLED before the recent price increase.

The latter becoming costlier by quite a big margin was a fairly bitter pill to swallow. But that didn’t stop many customers, apparently, since the handhelds’ latest batch of inventory was sold out fairly quickly despite the revised price tags on them.

While it remains to be seen whether the Steam Machine will fly off the metaphorical shelves as quickly as its portable pals, it still rankles to know it could have been closer to $750, which would have made it quite a strong competitor. Valve clearly thought so too, and it looks like it couldn’t find a way to avoid passing on those additional costs to its consumers. What a time to be alive and to be a gamer.

The first wave of Steam Machines will be dispatched on June 29th, and you can currently reserve your own until June 25th. Unlike previous reservations, those chosen are completely randomized to avoid issues with bots, scalpers and whatnot.

Though the platform officially launches today, Valve has opened up a reservation queue for customers. There is a twist, though – it’s completely random. Available until June 25th, anyone can reserve either SKU. After this, Valve will randomize the order of reservations.

The lucky few will then be notified via email that they can purchase the Steam Machine. However, you may also join the wait list instead. And if you sign up after June 25th, then you’re automatically added to the back of the list.

The idea behind reservations and randomness is to avoid rewarding “bots, people with fast internet connections, talented gaming fingers for quick F5/refresh reactions, and those who can schedule their life around that moment.” “The longer time frame also allows us to do some extra validation on the signups to make sure they’re real accounts, with only one per household.”

Oh, and make sure that your Steam account is in good standing and that you’ve purchased something on the platform before April 27th, 2026. Otherwise, you won’t be eligible for reservations. The first batch of consoles will be sent out on June 29th and Valuve will “continue to go through the reservation queue as units become available.”

Stay tuned for more updates on the hardware, and whether the alleged Half-Life 3 is actually arriving alongside it.

NYU Stern professor Joost van Dreunen brought up the cost of RAM as the major reason for price hikes. Along with this, he noted geopolitical situations, such as the US tariffs, have played a role.

“The rising cost of RAM is the main culprit, but the inconsistency and volatility created by U.S. tariffs aren’t helping either,” said van Dreunen. “Downstream suppliers and manufacturers now sit on massive amounts of inventory they cannot sell or assemble because few consumers would be willing to pay for the markup. What was supposed to bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S. has instead priced consumers out of the market and pushed manufacturing jobs to lower-wage countries.”

Kantan Games CEO Dr Serkan Toto reiterated van Dreunen’s statement, saying that these various factors have added up to create a “persistent inflation worldwide”. Niko Partners director of research Daniel Ahmad similarly discussed fluctuations in various currencies around the world. However, he acknowledged that many of these issues are largely affecting Western markets, and that regions like MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and Asia are doing better.

“The Asia and MENA games market continues to demonstrate resilience and long-term growth potential amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, shifting trade policies, and broader economic volatility impacting industries worldwide,” he explained. “Asia and MENA countries will continue to outpace worldwide video game software and services growth through 2030 according to our forecast and global estimates.”

Discussing the future, all analysts expressed belief that prices will likely increase further, since geopolitical tensions remain high. Alinea Analytics’ head of market analysis, Rhys Elliot, referred to the current price hikes as “lagging indicators, not the peak.”

“Platform holders and manufacturers run on long-term supply contracts and inventory buffers that initially shielded retail pricing,” explained Elliot. “As those contracts expire, companies are renegotiating component costs at today’s inflated rate, and that pressure is industry-wide.” Despite this, he also believes the industry is still relatively healthy for now, since the “pipeline of new, spending users” hasn’t yet closed up. Omdia’s senior analyst James McWhirter, however, believes that we will see more price hikes for platforms like the Nintendo Switch 2 next year.

Circana senior director Mat Piscatella thinks that there is an upper limit to how far companies can push their hardware prices. This ceiling, however, is yet to be discovered.

“Some very tough choices with long-ranging impact will have to be made by all hardware manufacturers both now and in the coming months when it comes to pricing and production. Yes, at some point there is a viable price cap. What that cap is, however, is still a bit of a mystery and dependent on numerous factors, both quantifiable and not so much. This market has never before been in this position, and we’re learning many things about it as we go.”

As for whether prices will come back down once geopolitical issues are settled and there’s no longer a RAM shortage, Tiago Reis of Newzoo isn’t quite sure. He believes that the price hikes indicate a higher price floor – the minimum a company can charge for its products.

“Our base case is that the industry is entering a period where the pricing floor for gaming hardware is likely higher than it was before,” he said. “Newzoo’s market data shows that engagement remains concentrated around established ecosystems and older titles, while overall growth is increasingly driven by monetization rather than major expansion in player time. Our interpretation is that these conditions reduce pressure on platform holders to aggressively subsidize hardware in the way previous generations sometimes did. That doesn’t mean prices can never come down, but a return to earlier pricing expectations looks increasingly unlikely.”

van Dreunen, on the other hand, has a bleak outlook on the future. He noted that in 2024, software became more expensive and the prices never quite came down. The same trend might now be coming to hardware. “Naturally, it will catalyze a shift to new ways to play that don’t rely on a large upfront investment from consumers, and I expect a large part of the industry to shift to subscriptions and ad-based revenue models,” he said. Unfortunately, more budget-conscious gamers “will soon find that no one is catering to them. Instead, I expect Big Tech firms will try to rent them a virtual PC or console in the cloud for a monthly fee.”

Interestingly, McWhirter believes that Nintendo will be hit quite hard with these new market conditions, since it released a brand-new console relatively recently. “It’s an imperative that it must grow the Switch 2 installed base as quickly as possible.”

Other analysts, like Piscatella and Ahmad, have noted that there are plenty of low-cost ways for gamers to play games such as internet cafes, the availability of older games, and mobile and cloud platforms.

“Gaming as a whole has plenty of low-cost or free gaming options, particularly in the mobile and free-to-play space, that directly contradict the notion of being a luxury hobby and are more likely to thrive in the ‘current economic conditions’ that companies have been fond of citing as the reason for their higher prices,” said Piscatella. Looking to future console generations, Elliot believes we will see more and more games released on available platforms, like PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. He also believes that “cross-gen is going to be huge” when it’s time for a new console cycle.

Bringing up comparisons with the mid-2020 Covid-19-induced supply chain issues, Dr Toto expressed some optimism about the future.

“I believe in 2028 and beyond, components should become more readily available again,” he said. “I might be too optimistic here, but today reminds me of the supply crisis in the early COVID days when consoles were hard to get for months worldwide. Back then, it was also hard to imagine a world with PS5 or Xbox units piled up to the ceiling in retail stores – which became reality rather suddenly after the supply chain was fixed again.”

Ultimately, however, Piscatella acknowledges that it is difficult to figure out what will happen to the gaming industry in the future, since all current assumptions could change in a matter of weeks, if not days, or even hours.

“Anyone that says they know what happens next is either lying to themselves or trying to sell something,” he said. “It’s the most hold-onto-your-butts moment I’ve seen in 20 years in the industry, and it both worries and saddens me.”

“As with Steam Deck Verified, the goal is to help customers understand the out-of-box experience for a given title on these new devices, and how smoothly a game will run with no user work or configuration required,” explained Valve.

Games that want the Steam Machine Verified tag will need to make sure that the customer experience out of the box fulfils a few key requirements, including support for the default controller configuration and optimized default graphics settings. Unlike the Steam Deck, which has a much smaller display than anything the Steam Machine would be plugged into, UI legibility doesn’t seem to be a key requirement here.

Valve has assured developers that, “if your game already runs well on Deck, it will also run well on Machine with no extra work required from you.” As for games that don’t run well on the Steam Deck due to CPU or GPU restraints, the company has noted that they might still run well on Steam Machine, thanks to the Linux-based PC having roughly six times more horsepower than the handheld PC.

“If you have games like this, you don’t have to take any action: We’re already testing every title on Machine that fell below our performance requirements on Deck,” explained Valve.

As for Steam Frame, the company has noted that, while the hardware was primarily designed around streaming games from a nearby PC, the headset is also capable of running games on its own hardware without connecting to any other system. To help pick out games that can run well on Steam Frame, Valve is introducing the Steam Frame Standalone Verified program, which focuses on the out-of-the-box experience of running a game on the handheld.

The test criteria for VR and non-VR titles are going to be the same, with important aspects being legibility of text and UI elements, default graphics configurations need to perform well, and default controller configurations need to work well with the Steam Frame Controllers.

Valve designer Lawrence Yang had spoken about the Verified program for Steam Machine, and how it would have fewer constraints than the Steam Deck, in an interview back in January. At the time, Yang had confirmed that any Steam Deck Verified game would automatically also be Steam Machine Verified.

In the meantime, there have been quite a few reports about how much the latter might end up costing. Considering the recent price hikes seen by the Steam Deck, it’s bound to be more expensive. A report from last month indicated that the company’s price estimate for the Steam Machine from a few months ago was already higher than the Steam Deck’s current prices.

These questions about its price largely come down to the global memory shortages right now, and rumors have indicated that these shortages have caused the Steam Machine’s price to “skyrocket”.