Steam Machine Prices Exceed $1,000, Far Above Valve’s Target

Steam’s official storefront reveals that the standard Steam Machine will be available in four distinct configurations, each with its own price point.

Apart from differing storage capacities, the models share identical hardware specifications; the 2TB variant, however, is bundled with two additional faceplates, a splash of red fabric, and a solid walnut finish.

Unlike the launch of the Steam Controller, which relied on a first‑come, first‑served model that sparked scalping concerns, Valve will now channel pre‑orders into a randomized queue.

Customers can sign up for any Steam Machine variant anytime up to June 25; thereafter, every pre‑order will be shuffled into a queue. Valve emphasizes that this approach should deter bots and grant all buyers an equitable opportunity, freeing them from having to time their lives around a single moment.

Although the pre‑order window for the Steam Machine closes on June 25, customers who place an order afterward will still be accommodated; their purchase will simply be queued for later production.

Valve has announced that the final retail price will exceed the original estimate, citing a persistent rise in component costs across the supply chain.

“Like all of our hardware, the Steam Machine is assembled from parts sourced worldwide,” Valve explained in a recent blog post. “The price we charge reflects the current cost of these components.”

When Valve began sourcing parts for the Steam Machine in 2023, it relied on a long history of PC hardware pricing trends—typically a gradual decline as newer technologies emerge—to forecast future costs. That assumption has proven optimistic in light of the recent inflation in component prices.

In the last twelve months, the hardware landscape has shifted dramatically, especially in the realms of RAM and storage. A confluence of factors has rippled across the industry, rendering the original price target for the Steam Machine unattainable.

The figures we disclose now mirror the current manufacturing climate, or, more precisely, the costs of components we have locked in over the past half‑year.

Cost was not the sole casualty; supply chains have been hit hard. At times, certain parts were simply unobtainable, regardless of price, and this scarcity has throttled the volume of units that can reach the market at launch.

Engineer Yazan Aldehayyat revealed to Eurogamer that, although an official price was never disclosed, the eventual retail cost will be markedly higher than originally imagined.