Valve prices Steam Machine above $1,000 as component shortage persists, opens lottery reservations

Price revealed

Valve finally confirmed pricing for the TV-friendly Steam Machine, the cube‑shaped PC-console hybrid first announced in late 2025. The base unit with 512GB of storage costs $1,049, and the 2TB version is $1,349. Neither price includes the new Steam Controller (normally $99). Bundles with the controller push those figures to $1,128 and $1,428 respectively. The 2TB bundle also ships with exclusive red‑fabric and walnut faceplates.

“Our original goal for the price of the Steam Machine is no longer viable. So the prices we’re sharing today reflect the state of the world for manufacturing; or, more accurately, it reflects the price of the components as we’ve secured them over the past 6 months.”

A lottery to secure a unit

Instead of a traditional pre‑order, Valve is running a lottery. Anyone with a Steam account in good standing and a purchase before April 27 can sign up until 1 PM ET on June 25. After the window closes, entries are randomised. Those drawn for the first batch will receive an email with a purchase option on June 29, when shipping begins. Everyone else goes onto a waitlist for later availability. The company said this was designed to frustrate scalpers and avoid the rush‑based frictions of a timed launch.

“We underestimated customer interest when we recently released the new Steam Controller, and we wanted to create a system that would be less frustrating and more fair for everyone. A launch that starts at a specific day and time tends to reward bots, people with fast internet connections, talented gaming fingers for quick F5/refresh reactions, and those who can schedule their life around that moment.”

RAM crisis pushes costs up

The price stems directly from the global shortage of memory and storage, which has been battering electronics makers throughout 2026. Pierre‑Loup Griffais, a Valve software engineer, told Gamers Nexus that memory suppliers offer take‑it‑or‑leave‑it monthly prices with no contracts. “If we say no, then they never talk to us again,” he said. This forced Valve to ship Steam Machines with either one stick of 16 GB RAM or two 8 GB sticks depending on what supply can be secured. Valve maintains the device is not subsidised by software sales, unlike traditional consoles, and the final price reflects the component invoices of the past six months.

“Look, there’s no contracts. There’s nothing. 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.”

Building your own as an alternative

Valve itself has pointed buyers toward alternatives. The Linux‑based SteamOS is free and, though currently optimised for AMD silicon, will gain Nvidia GPU support in 2027 or later. TechRadar sketched a DIY build with a discrete RTX 5060 and 1 TB of storage that totals $1,295, while a GPU‑less variant drops to $941, undercutting the base Steam Machine. Ars Technica notes that the custom six‑core Zen 4 APU with 28 RDNA 3 compute units roughly matches a five‑year‑old PS5, leaving the high price hard to swallow for anyone who does not need a living‑room PC.

Price comparison with consoles

Stacked against dedicated consoles, the Steam Machine lands at a premium. The 2 TB Xbox Series X costs $730, a PS5 Pro is $900, and Nintendo’s Switch 2 will launch at $500 in September. While the Steam Machine opens the door to Steam’s vast library and PC openness, the raw performance‑per‑dollar lags behind.

Steam Machine 512GB1,049

Steam Machine 2TB1,349

Xbox Series X 2TB729.99

PS5 Pro899.99

Switch 2499.99

Steam Machine 512GB

1049 $

Steam Machine 2TB

1349 $

Xbox Series X 2TB

729.99 $

PS5 Pro

899.99 $

Switch 2

499.99 $

Data from the article text

The first batch ships to North America, the UK‑EU region, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. South Korea is excluded. Valve cautions that availability will be tight, with the component shortage limiting how many units could be manufactured for launch.