Valve has just resurrected a relic from 2014 that many of us thought was deader than a dodo. After the runaway success of the Steam Deck in 2022, the PC gaming company is now about to push even further into the realm of hardware, placing PlayStation and Xbox on notice with the return of the Steam Machine.
This time, Valve isn’t just dumping a PC inside a box and calling it a games console. The Steam Machine is actually built like a console, and will fit neatly underneath a TV. It’s designed to be played in the living room on the sofa, not hunched over an office chair. Built around a custom AMD chip, Valve is promising smooth 4K gaming thanks to upscaling tech that should sharpen and boost performance.
The all-new Steam Machine comes in 512GB and 2TB versions, and will even have an optional bundle with Valve’s new Steam controller. The Steam Machine was announced alongside the Steam Frame, a VR headset to rival the Meta Quest. While Valve hasn’t confirmed an exact release date yet, it’s set to launch in early 2026. Here’s what we know so far.
Steam Machine release date and price
Valve says the Steam Machine will land in early 2026, but hasn’t committed to a specific date. The Steam Deck followed a similar timeline in 2022, arriving in mid-February after the same early window was announced. If Valve repeats that pattern, a February 2026 launch feels likely.
In terms of price? Again, nothing’s concrete at the moment, but Valve told The Verge that it will be “comparable to a PC with similar specs”, but “positioned closer to the entry level of the PC space”. Valve also told Eurogamer that the Steam Machine should be in the “same ballpark as other consoles” on the market. That’s a big range though. The Nintendo Switch 2 costs £395, while the PS5 Pro costs £700. Given the specs, I’m expecting the price to fall closer towards the PS5 Pro end, or even more expensive than that.
Steam Machine specs and design
Valve’s new Steam Machine is essentially a tiny living-room PC disguised as a console. The gaming company says the whole thing is about the size of a 6in cube, which is small enough to slide under a telly or perch on a desk without taking up too much room.
It runs SteamOS and supports fast suspend and resume, cloud saves and a familiar Steam Deck-style interface. The front features a customisable LED light strip, and the power supply is built into the body rather than sitting in an external brick. There seems to be loads of ports too, including twin display outputs via HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4, as well as four USB-A ports, a 10Gbps USB-C port and a Gigabit Ethernet port on the rear. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are built in, and the machine has a dedicated wireless receiver for pairing with the new Steam Controller. The Steam Machine also features a magnetic, removable front plate. Valve reportedly has plans to release 3D files so people can print their own designs.
The Steam controller works across all of the Steam devices, and pairs directly with the Steam Machine. Valve says the gamepad uses magnetic thumbsticks that are designed to feel more responsive and last longer, and there’s a new magnetic charging puck that doubles as its wireless adapter. You can still use Bluetooth or USB if you prefer, and the controller will support motion controls through a feature called Grip Sense. This turns gyro aiming on or off, depending on how you hold it.
In terms of specs? According to Valve, the new Steam Machine delivers more than six times the horsepower of the Steam Deck, and is built to run your entire Steam library, including modern AAA games. It uses a semi-custom AMD processor and graphics chip, while supporting 4K gaming at 60fps through FSR upscaling. Two models will be available at launch, a 512GB version and a 2TB version, and both support additional storage using a microSD card.
On the inside, there’s reportedly 16GB of RAM, plus room for NVMe SSD upgrades if you want more storage than the built-in 512GB or 2TB models. There’s also reportedly support for features like ray tracing when paired with the right TV or monitor. In an early demo, The Verge claimed the Steam Machine was able to run Cyberpunk 2077 at settings that looked roughly in line with what you’d expect from a PS5 Pro.
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