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Steam Machine price and release date: $1,049 and up, and you still need a reservation
Valve's Steam Machine has been on sale since June 22, 2026, and shipping since the end of June. It costs $1,049 with a 512GB SSD and $1,349 with 2TB, or $1,128 and $1,428 with a Steam Controller. Valve says the price reflects a sharp rise in RAM and storage costs, and that component shortages limited how many it could build, so it sells the Steam Machine through a reservation queue instead of a simple Buy button.
- PC
The Steam Machine is out, and it starts at $1,049. Valve launched its living-room PC on June 22, 2026, at $1,049 with 512GB and $1,349 with 2TB, and started shipping at the end of June. As with Steam Frame later, you don’t just add it to your cart: Valve sells it through a reservation queue and a waitlist.
Steam Machine price
There are four options: two storage sizes, each with or without a Steam Controller. Prices include VAT where it applies.
The bundles add $79 for a Steam Controller, $20 less than buying the controller on its own at $99. Both 2TB options come with two extra faceplates, one in red fabric and one in solid walnut. In Poland, the Steam Machine starts at 4,389 zł.
Why does the Steam Machine cost so much?
Valve gave an unusually direct answer at launch. It started sourcing parts for the Steam Machine back in 2023, expecting PC hardware to keep getting cheaper over time, as it usually does. Over the past year that flipped, most visibly for RAM and storage, and Valve says its original price goal for the Steam Machine was no longer viable. The launch prices reflect what the components cost Valve over the six months before launch.
Supply was hit too. Valve says there were periods when it couldn’t source some components at any price, and that this, more than anything else, limited how many Steam Machines it could build for launch.
The price has not changed since launch: on Oct. 14, 2026, Steam still lists the Steam Machine at $1,049 and $1,349. Valve did raise the Steam Deck OLED on May 27, 2026, to $789 for 512GB and $949 for 1TB, citing the same memory and storage costs.
Steam Machine release date
Valve announced the Steam Machine in November 2025 for early 2026, then had to revisit its pricing and dates when the memory shortage hit.
- Nov 12, 2025Valve announces Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller for early 2026
- Feb 4, 2026Valve says memory and storage shortages force it to revisit pricing and shipping dates
- May 4, 2026Steam Controller launches at $99
- May 27, 2026Steam Deck OLED price rises to $789 and $949
- Jun 22, 2026Steam Machine launches, and reservation signups open
- Jun 25, 2026Signups close at 10 a.m. Pacific for the one-time random draw
- Jun 29, 2026Valve starts emailing the reservation queue, and shipping begins at the end of June
- Jul 28, 2026Valve expects every reservation holder to get a purchase email by the end of 2026
- Sep 14, 2026Steam Frame launches at $1,059
How to get a Steam Machine now
Valve uses a randomized reservation system to keep things fair and limit resellers. To sign up, you need a Steam account in good standing that made a purchase before April 27, 2026, and there is one signup per household. Each model has its own list, and the lists are split by region: North America, the UK and EU, and Australia.
Signups for the random draw closed on June 25. Anyone who signs up now goes to the back of the waitlist. When your turn comes, Valve emails you the option to buy, and you have 72 hours to complete the purchase before the unit goes to the next person.
On July 28, Valve said it was fulfilling orders daily and expected everyone in the reservation queue to get the chance to buy by the end of 2026. For some products in some regions, it had already reached the end of the reservation queue and started inviting people from the waitlist; nobody on a waitlist skips ahead of a reservation holder. In Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Steam Machine is sold through Valve’s distributor Komodo, and Valve says it will not ship to South Korea.
Steam Machine specs
Valve says the Steam Machine has over six times the horsepower of Steam Deck and plays games at up to 4K with FSR 4.1 upscaling. In February, Valve said most Steam games it tested ran at 4K and 60 frames per second with FSR, while some needed more upscaling.
The SSD and memory are upgradeable: Valve says the drive takes NVMe 2230 or 2280 SSDs and the memory uses DDR5 SODIMMs. Valve has also released the CAD file for the Steam Machine’s outer shape, so you can design your own faceplates and accessories. Since July, FSR 4.1 is available on Proton Experimental for games that support FSR upgrades.
Is the Steam Machine a console?
Not in Valve’s view. Valve calls the Steam Machine an extension of PC gaming and contrasts it with the console model of selling hardware at a loss and making the money back on subscriptions or games locked to the device. You sign in with your Steam account and play the library you already own. Valve also says it’s only one option. With SteamOS 3.8, you can run the same operating system on a living-room PC you build yourself, though at launch Valve said only AMD graphics cards were supported.
For Valve’s other new hardware, see our Steam Frame page. The same memory crunch has pushed console prices higher too: see our pages on the PS6 and PS5 prices, the next Xbox and the Switch 2 price.
This page is updated as soon as Valve changes Steam Machine prices, opens orders without a reservation or announces a new production run.
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FAQ
How much is the Steam Machine?
In the US, $1,049 for the 512GB model and $1,349 for the 2TB model. Bundles with a Steam Controller cost $1,128 and $1,428. In Canada it starts at C$1,509, in the EU at €1,039, in the UK at £879 and in Australia at A$1,609.
When did the Steam Machine come out?
Valve launched it on June 22, 2026, when it announced prices and opened reservation signups. It began sending purchase emails the week of June 29 and started shipping at the end of June.
Did the Steam Machine price go up?
Not since launch: on Oct. 14, 2026, Steam still lists it at $1,049 and $1,349. But Valve says the launch price itself is higher than it first planned, because RAM and storage costs rose quickly over the past year. Valve raised the Steam Deck OLED price for the same reason on May 27, 2026.
Can I buy a Steam Machine right now?
Only through Valve’s queue. Signups closed for the random draw on June 25, 2026, and anyone who signs up now goes to the back of the waitlist for their region. Valve expects everyone in the reservation queue to get a purchase email by the end of 2026, and some waitlists have already started moving.
Is the Steam Machine a console?
Valve says no. It calls Steam Machine an extension of PC gaming rather than a console: it runs SteamOS with a full KDE Plasma desktop, and you sign in with your Steam account to play the library you already own.
Can you upgrade the Steam Machine?
Yes. Valve says the SSD (NVMe 2230 or 2280) and the memory (DDR5 SODIMMs) are both accessible and upgradeable, and there is a microSD card slot for extra storage.
Where does the Steam Machine ship?
To the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia from Steam, and to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong through Valve’s distributor Komodo. Valve says it will not ship in South Korea.
Pop quiz
2 questions from this story.
How much more powerful than Steam Deck is the Steam Machine, according to Valve?
Valve says Steam Machine has over six times the horsepower of Steam Deck, enough for AAA games at up to 4K with FSR 4.1.
What extra comes with the 2TB Steam Machine?
Both 2TB options include two additional faceplates, one in red fabric and one in solid walnut. The Steam Controller costs extra in the bundle.
Your call
Are you getting a Steam Machine?
