Valve finally revealed the price of its cube-shaped Steam Machine gaming machine alongside the wishlist going live, and oh boy, it’s pricey.
The Steam Machine will come in four configurations. There’s a version with 512GB of storage and a version with 2TB of storage, and customers can opt to get either version with a Steam Controller bundled in. Here are the prices in Canada:
- Steam Machine 512GB: $1,509
- Steam Machine 512GB with controller: $1,628
- Steam Machine 2TB: $1,919
- Steam Machine 2TB with controller: $2,038
Aside from the storage differences, all the Steam Machines come with the same specs: A semi-custom AMD Zen 4 chip with six cores, and a semi-custom AMD GPU with RDNA3 graphics, 16GB of RAM and 8GB of VRAM, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit ethernet, and SteamOS 3. The 2TB models also include extra face plates to customize the front of the Steam Machine.
Still, those prices are a lot. In a blog post about the Steam Machine launch, Valve explained that the prices are a result of rising costs for components like RAM and storage:
“Over the past year or so, that has changed quickly and significantly, most visibly for RAM and storage components. There are a variety of reasons, all of which are affecting hardware products everywhere. The overall effect is that our original goal for the price of 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.”
So yeah, like pretty much all tech right now, prices are insane because of RAM, storage, and other component costs. Valve doesn’t lay the blame on anything specific, but I’ll point out that most of these price increases stem from AI, as RAM and storage makers have ditched consumer products in favour of more lucrative contracts with AI companies. Beyond AI, U.S. President Donald Trump’s conflict with Iran has caused further shortages.
Valve already raised prices on its gaming handheld, the Steam Deck, and it’s far from the only company raising prices. Nintendo raised the price of the Switch 2 console in Canada last month. Sony and Microsoft have also recently increased the costs of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles, respectively. Even Apple is preparing to raise prices on the upcoming iPhone.
How to reserve a Steam Machine
If you’ve got money to burn, here’s how you can actually get a Steam Machine.
First, you’ll need to join a waitlist to reserve one on Steam before June 25 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. At that time, Valve will close signups and perform a one-time randomization to determine the reservation and waitlist order.
On June 25, a few things will happen. First, Valve will send out emails that will confirm one of two things: either you’ve been added to the reservation queue, or to the waitlist.
Those added to the reservation queue will have a Steam Machine reserved for them. Valve says that as Steam Machines become available for shipment, it will email people in the reservation queue, giving them the option to purchase a Steam Machine. The company expects those emails to start going out on June 29.
Customers who are added to the waitlist, on the other hand, will need to wait until more Steam Machine units become available.
Valve published a blog post detailing the reservation process and includes some FAQs about it for anyone who has questions. You can check out the blog post on Steam.
