Steam Machine is more expensive than Valve wanted

Now that the Steam Machine's price has been revealed and reservations have opened up, the marketing blitz for Valve's hardware is officially underway. Several Steam Machine models are up for preorder, and they're all expensive — at least compared with current-generation consoles.

Valve says it spent a lot of time trying to source components at a reasonable cost, but shortages tied to the AI boom meant some parts simply weren't available. "It's definitely more expensive than we hoped," Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat told Rock Paper Shotgun, while adding the system still represents a good value compared to market prices for PC parts.

"We understand that it's probably not as affordable as... like, some people are going to be priced out," he said. Valve originally wanted the Steam Machine to sit in a price range comparable to the Steam Deck; after a recent price hike the cheapest Steam Deck option costs $789.99.

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