Valve launches Steam Machine at $1,049, DIY builds cheaper

Valve has launched its long-awaited Steam Machine, a prebuilt gaming PC designed for the living room, with a starting price of $1,049. The device, which began shipping on June 30, 2026, runs the company's SteamOS and is positioned as a console-like PC experience. However, its launch has been overshadowed by a price point that company engineers acknowledge is significantly higher than originally intended, citing persistent high costs for components like memory and storage.

In interviews, Valve engineers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat explained that the company had initially targeted a price around $750. They stated that the current state of the PC component market, driven in part by high demand from AI companies, made that target impossible. Aldehayyat indicated he is not optimistic that memory and storage prices will return to normal soon, meaning a more affordable version of the hardware is not expected in the near term.

Concurrent with the hardware launch, Valve has emphasized the openness of its SteamOS software. The company confirmed that the updated SteamOS 3.8 is available for anyone to install on their own custom-built PCs, effectively allowing users to create...