Valve says Steam Machine will be ‘priced like a PC’, not a console

We may need to brace ourselves for an unexpectedly high price for Valve's upcoming Steam Machine. While the system is marketed as a PC-based console alternative, Valve has said that it intends to price it “like a PC” rather than a console. 

While console prices typically come down over the course of a generation, this time, both the Xbox Series X/S and the PS5 have received repeated price increases since launching in 2020. At this point, an Xbox Series X will set you back around $650 and the situation is similar for the PS5. For Sony's PS5 Pro, the situation is even worse, with prices rising to $799, far above the launch price of last-gen's PS4 Pro console.

While Valve has not officially confirmed pricing for its new Steam Machine, Steam Frame VR headset or the new Steam Controller, while speaking with LinusTechTips, a Valve representative did say that the Steam Machine will be “priced like a PC”.

If we look at Valve's current hardware line-up, which includes various Steam Deck LCD and Steam Deck OLED models, pricing for the top-end model there is $650, the equivalent of a current-gen console. The Steam Machine is said to be six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, thanks to its six-core Zen 4 CPU and custom RDNA 3 GPU. Considering all of that, we may well see the Steam Machine launch around or even above the $1000 mark.

Valve will confirm pricing for its new hardware closer to launch. Currently, the Steam Machine, Steam Controller and Steam Frame are all scheduled to launch in Q1 2026, assuming there are no delays.

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KitGuru Says: As interested as I am in the Steam Machine, if its priced much higher than the PS5 Pro, I won't be pulling the trigger. It may have the capability of a full-fledged PC, but its GPU specs look fairly weak for 4K gaming on paper, and the majority will likely be buying one of these as a console replacement to hook up to a 4K TV. 

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