Katarzyna Petru
The Valve console and VR set will not debut on the market in early 2026, as originally announced. Both devices may also be more expensive than planned due to rapidly rising prices of RAM and SSDs. Valve is preparing for more direct competition with PlayStation and Xbox. The Steam Machine console, connectable to a TV via HDMI, was presented in November, and along with it, the Steam Frame VR goggles were shown, which are intended to compete with Meta Quest. Initially, both products were set to be released in early 2026, but it is now known that their premiere will be delayed.
Rising Prices of RAM and SSD a Key Issue for Valve
As expected, a key problem is the rising prices of components. Valve particularly points to RAM and SSDs, the cost of which has significantly increased in recent months. It is these price hikes that affect both the final price of the hardware and the postponement of the release date.
The AI Boom Delays the Premiere of Steam Machine
In practice, this means that fans must be patient and wait for specific information regarding the exact price and market debut date of the Steam Machine. The company emphasizes that the increase in component costs is directly related to the enormous demand generated by the development of artificial intelligence.
Steam machine parameters
Processor | Graphics | RAM | Storage | Operating system |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AMD Zen 4, 6 cores / 12 threads, clock speed up to 4.8 GHz | AMD RDNA 3, 2.45 GHz, 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM | 16 GB DDR5 | 512 GB or 2 TB SSD | SteamOS 3 |
Steam Machine is experiencing a delay, and its price may be higher due to rising component costs. Valve points to increasing RAM and SSD prices driven by the boom in artificial intelligence.
Source: Valve
