The Steam Machine Is Revealed, And It’s As Expensive As You Figured

Past a certain point, you have to wonder why Valve didn’t consider just scrapping the Steam Machine project — a device meant to bridge the gap between PCs and consoles by providing the specs of a high-end PC at a fraction of the price. That was the intent, anyway…but between the start and the end of development, a lot of things happened.

The AI gold rush prompted venture capitalists to hoard as many SSDs, RAM chips and computer components as they could possibly buy. This has caused demand to greatly outpace supply, and driven up the cost of some electronics parts by over 200%, including the ones needed to manufacture the Steam Machine. And Valve says it goes beyond that…there are actually parts for the Steam Machine they couldn’t source at all, meaning they can only launch with a very limited number of them. So why not just put the project on hold and wait for the chaos to settle?

Perhaps they were too far into it to turn around. The Steam Machine was revealed today and preorders were opened. Instead of undercutting gaming PCs, the machine’s price turned out to be about equal if not more. Uh, sorry.

• Steam Machine 512 GB — $1,049 (CA$1,509 / €1,039 / £879 / AU$1,609)
• Steam Machine 512 GB with Steam Controller — $1,128 (CA$1,628 / €1,108 / £938 / AU$1,728)
• Steam Machine 2 TB — $1,349 (CA$1,919 / €1,359 / £1,149 / AU$2,109)
• Steam Machine 2 TB with Steam Controller — $1,428 (CA$2,038 / €1,428 / £1,208 / AU$2,228)

One might wonder what the point is anymore. For the next few days (until June 25), anyone can sign up for the pool to purchase a Steam Machine and winners who get the privilege will be chosen randomly. We’re sure the initial batch will have no problems selling out from the scalpers alone, but beyond that, who is going to pay?

Even if the Steam Machine is a total flop, have you seen the size of Gabe Newell’s new mansion? It has a network of underground tunnels. I’m sure Valve will be fine. They can afford this kind of turn in events. It’s just a pity no one else can.