Valve prices Steam Machine at $1,049, refuses to subsidize hardware

Valve has opened pre-orders for the Steam Machine with a starting price of $1,049. The company says it will not subsidize the device or sell hardware at a loss, arguing that doing so "doesn't align with our beliefs about how healthy ecosystems are built." Valve says its original price target became unviable because of RAM shortages and shifting US tariffs, and that the prices on offer "reflect the state of the world for manufacturing" and the cost of components it secured over the past six months.

Valve Steam Deck developer Pierre-Loup Griffais added the company is "being more aggressive with margins and things to be as close to cost as possible now." The company framed subsidized pricing and exclusive-content deals as moves toward more closed systems, where consumers have less choice over software, and said open systems have driven hardware and software innovation by letting anyone try new ideas.

United States

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