Valve has found some real success with hardware over the last few years. The Steam Deck is a hit, and as a result, a new VR headset is set to join a new generation of Steam Machines.
The Steam Machine Could Cost Around $700
Hold onto your wallets, my friends
Valve is advertising the Steam Machine as a powerful PC that you can simply plug into your TV and run Steam from. It’s expected to be six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, and boasts the following:
- CPU: Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T, up to 4.8 GHz, 30W TDP
- GPU: Semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 28CU, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, 2.45GHz max sustained clock, 110W TDP
- RAM: 16GB DDR5
- 512GB or 2TB NVMe SSD
- A high-speed microSD card slot
- 1 USB3.2, 2 USB3, 2 USB2
- OS: SteamOS 3
Given it’s looking more powerful than a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, the price point is expected to reflect this. Last month Linus Tech Tips learned that the new machine “will be priced like a PC”. Uh oh.
Now, Linus Tech Tips has released a new video looking into the cost of a Steam Machine. By purchasing parts with similar specs to Valve’s new hardware, it looks like the upcoming device could be around $700. Linus Tech Tips calculates the Steam Machine could cost a minium of $602 to manufacture.
“I think it means $699 USD, if there are no changes in the market. It’s probably above Valve’s cost today and there will be some opportunity for them to improve their margins over the several years lifespan of the device, as their initial investment gets paid off, and hopefully, RAM and SSD pricing returns to some form or normality. The Steam Machine presents a compelling deal at that price, without completely undercutting the market.”
Nothing Is Confirmed Yet
But you should probably start saving
It’s worth stressing that this is just an estimate and nothing has been confirmed yet, but based on all the available evidence, it definitely looks like the Steam Machine is going to be an incredibly expensive bit of a kit. Again, this should come as no surprise, given the Steam Machine is really going to appeal more to die-hard gamers than casual fans.
Whatever happens with this new generation of Steam devices, it’ll be interesting to see how gamers respond when the price is announced. Then again, if the machine ended up coming preloaded with Half-Life 3, I think Valve could charge whatever they wanted.