Steam Machine Pricing Updates
Valve Unveils Steam Machine Prices Starting at $1,049; Shipments Begin Late June
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Key Points
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SKU options with explicit pricing: 512GB for $1,049; 512GB with Steam Controller bundle for $1,128 (controller bundled at $99); 2TB for $1,349; and 2TB with Steam Controller bundle for $1,428.
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Reservation process for purchase: sign up by June 25 at 10 a.m. PT, after which Valve will close the list and randomize the reservation order; those selected will receive an email with the option to buy for the first shipments (starting June 29–30).
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2TB variant offers cosmetic customization: red fabric or walnut front plates in addition to the standard black faceplate.
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Pricing framed as a response to RAM/storage shortages: Valve said the price reflects the current state of manufacturing and component costs due to memory pricing surges, effectively acknowledging an AI memory crunch influencing costs.
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Early impressions praise its compact, quiet living-room PC form factor but largely indicate it isn’t yet competitive with current consoles at this price; The Verge notes it punches above its weight but isn’t ready for the console wars.
Valve has set final prices for the Steam Machine: $1,049 for the 512GB model and $1,349 for the 2TB version, according to PC World and Windows Central. Pre-orders open June 25, with first shipments starting June 29–30 — earlier than the originally projected Q3 window.
The prices are higher than Valve had hoped. The company originally targeted around $750, but a global memory shortage driven by AI chip demand pushed costs up 30–50% year-over-year. Valve said in an official blog post that "the prices we're sharing today reflect the price of components as we've secured them over the past 6 months."
Four SKUs, One Randomized Queue to Buy Them
Valve is selling four versions of the Steam Machine. The base 512GB model costs $1,049. Add the Steam Controller and it becomes $1,128. The 2TB model runs $1,349, or $1,428 with the controller bundled in. The controller is sold separately for $99, according to Men's Journal and Inven Global.
Buying one isn't straightforward. Shoppers must sign up for a reservation by June 25 at 10 a.m. PT. Valve then closes the list and randomizes the order. Selected buyers get an email and a short window to complete the purchase. Windows Central reports that accounts must have a Steam purchase history before April 2026 — a move designed to lock out bots and scalpers.
AI Memory Crunch Forced Valve's Hand on Price
The high price traces back to what analysts are calling "RAMageddon." Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix have shifted production toward High-Bandwidth Memory for AI data centers. That left the consumer market short on standard DDR5 and SSD storage. Micron EVP Manish Bhatia called the current shortage "really unprecedented."
Standard DRAM production is down roughly 20% as chip makers chase AI contracts. SSD and RAM prices are up 30–50% year-over-year as of early 2026. SK Hynix Chairman Chey Tae-won has warned the global memory deficit could last until 2030. Valve used custom motherboard, power supply, and thermal designs to limit the price damage, but the math still landed well above $1,000, according to The Phrase Maker.
Reviews Praise the Hardware but Flag the Price Tag
Tech reviewers got hands-on time with the retail unit on June 22. Early impressions are warm on the hardware itself. The Steam Machine is built around a roughly 6-inch cube form factor. It runs a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 CPU with 6 cores, an RDNA 3 GPU, and 16GB of DDR5 memory. Reviewers called it compact and quiet — well-suited for the living room.
But the price is a sticking point. The Verge said the device "punches above its weight but isn't ready for the console wars." The PS5 Digital Edition sells for $600 — roughly half the Steam Machine's base price. PC World noted that $1,049 is actually competitive with building a similar small-form-factor PC yourself right now, but that framing does little for buyers who came expecting a console-style price.
2TB Model Gets Cosmetic Extras to Justify the Premium
Valve is offering something extra for buyers who spend $1,349 on the 2TB model. Beyond more storage, they can choose a red fabric or walnut wood front plate instead of the standard black faceplate. Valve also plans to release CAD files publicly, so third-party makers can design their own plates.
The move looks like an effort to frame the pricier model as a premium living-room device rather than just a bigger hard drive. It follows a strategy similar to what console makers have done with limited-edition shells. Whether cosmetic options can soften a $300 price jump remains to be seen, but the 2TB model's $1,349 price is still lower than an earlier leaked figure of $1,428 for that tier alone, according to Inven Global.
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