Update June 2026: Valve has officially revealed the price of the Steam Machine and the four versions of the device.
Original story below
Valve’s recent Steam Deck price hike has me worried about the upcoming Steam Machine, and for good reason.
The Steam Deck OLED was easily one of the best values in PC gaming. While it was not the most powerful handheld out there, it had the right mix of price, ease of use, SteamOS, and a fantastic OLED display that was a vast improvement over the original’s LCD. All that made it easy to recommend, especially to people who wanted PC gaming without dealing with Windows on a handheld. Whenever someone asked about getting into PC gaming but didn’t want to spend too much money, it was always my first recommendation.
That value argument is a lot harder to make now. Valve has not only increased the price of what was once one of PC gaming’s best deals, but also pushed it dangerously close to devices that are more powerful.
Valve has raised the price of the 512GB Steam Deck OLED to $789, while the 1TB model now sits at $949. The hardware has not changed. No faster chip, no new screen, no bigger battery, no redesign. Instead, Valve says the higher pricing reflects current component costs and global logistical challenges. Of course, that’s all word play. While Valve didn’t just toss in a price hike for no reason, passing the cost to the consumer is still a price hike, regardless how you look at it.
This all makes me wonder what it means for the Steam Machine and its chances of success. We have talked about Valve’s upcoming living room PC several times on The Spectator Mode Podcast, and while most of us joked about how expensive it could be, I was dead serious when I said I do not believe we are going to see it priced under $1,000.
At the time, that may have sounded like an overreaction. Now? Not so much.
The Steam Machine will be a compact gaming PC built to utilize the power and connivence of SteamOS, designed to sit in your living room and play your Steam library on a TV. That is not cheap to build. RAM and storage costs are climbing, AI demand is eating into supply, and shipping remains expensive. Those pressures add up fast, and right now there is no sign of relief.
At $999, it could still make sense; a compact SteamOS box with access to a massive library, designed for the couch. But creep past that price point, and the conversation changes. People will start comparing it to gaming laptops, mini-PCs, and custom builds. At that point, Valve has to convince buyers that SteamOS and convenience are worth the premium. If they even can.
The Steam Deck worked because it balanced value, ease of use, and trust. If the Steam Machine loses that value argument before it even launches, Valve has a real problem. I want to be wrong. I want a living room SteamOS box that is powerful, polished, and priced better than anyone expects. But after seeing the Steam Deck OLED jump to $789 and $949, I am not confident that is what we are going to get.
