Valve just release a news update where they answer some of the most asked questions regarding their newly announced hardware, with those being the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller, which were unveiled just some months ago, back in November 12th, 2025.

In this news report, they answer some of the most critical questions that many interested customers had regarding their hardware, with the most important being how much will the hardware cost and when will it release? To which, Valve responded with the following statement:

When we announced these products in November, we planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now. But the memory and storage shortages you've likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since then. The limited availability and growing prices of these critical components mean we must revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing (especially around Steam Machine and Steam Frame).

Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed. But we have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change. We will keep you updated as much as we can as we finalize those plans as soon as possible.

As many theorized, the fast-changing and increasing prices of RAM, GPU and SSD's due to AI demand has been a detriment to the release date and prices that Valve had planned for all their 3 hardware products this year, much more so with the prices hiking just a bare days after Valve's original announcement back in November.

Still, despite the dreaded technology landscape at the moment, Valve is still committed to releasing their hardware during the first half of 2026, albeit with no given date as of yet.

Additionally, Valve also took the opportunity to answer some questions regarding technical details of their hardware, like the Steam Frame having a built-in internet browser, from which players can use other stream services through a browser theatrical mode, the Steam Machine being able to play many titles at 4k 60fps, although specifying that some heavy titles might require upscaling to hit a playable 1080p target, and the SSD and DDRAM5 of the Steam Machine being modifiable/upgradable on release.

There's more detailed information in the news blog post that Valve released today, for those interested in the full read of the article.

Source

 

[MeowthBlep]

Fork found in kitchen

 

[Francie]

sounds like valve is going to announce a delay in June

 

[ShadowOne333]

sounds like valve is going to announce a delay in June

Sucks, I was really looking forward to both the Machine and the Controller.
But if it means better testing and/or a more polished product at the end, when prices stabilize for the components, I'm all up for it.
Just hope the Deck can hold for a little longer while the Machine comes lol

 

[Willgheminass]

The sooner the AI industry crashes and burns the better. I am so sick of not being able to afford nice tech because of water guzzling data center #234.
I want to get my hands on a Steam Frame at some point

 

[tech3475]

Wonder if they'll announce a DIY SKU? For example I recently made a backup server build using RAM I already had and I also have some DDR5 SODIMMs from a laptop upgrade.

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

Is it weird to be this excited to buy a controller? Well, here's hoping that if there is a delay, it's not too brutal.

 

[Noctosphere]

Sucks, I was really looking forward to both the Machine and the Controller.
But if it means better testing and/or a more polished product at the end, when prices stabilize for the components, I'm all up for it.
Just hope the Deck can hold for a little longer while the Machine comes lol

I feel like the controller could remain unaffected by all the component shortage.

 

[Axido]

The sooner the AI industry crashes and burns the better. I am so sick of not being able to afford nice tech because of water guzzling data center #234.
I want to get my hands on a Steam Frame at some point

I wonder which of the following two methods would make the bubble pop faster:
A - avoiding AI altogether or
B - setting up a small PC that sends prompts to their servers constantly, increasing their traffic without any actual engagement in return

 

[Noctosphere]

I wonder which of the following two methods would make the bubble pop faster:
A - avoiding AI altogether or
B - setting up a small PC that sends prompts to their servers constantly, increasing their traffic without any actual engagement in return

That is called DDOS. From what I've heard, you can actualy subscribe to "shaddy services", where you would "lend" your PC to DDOS a website/server when you are not using it. This is, of course, illegal and can only be found on the dark web.
Also, sending prompt to nearly any online AI tool requires subscription for limited daily/monthly use. Option B will most likely fail, since DDOSing those would not only require even more PCs working together to have any effect, but also, require insane preparation in order to launch the DDOS attack.

 

[wurstpistole]

I wonder which of the following two methods would make the bubble pop faster:
A - avoiding AI altogether or
B - setting up a small PC that sends prompts to their servers constantly, increasing their traffic without any actual engagement in return

cute of you to think that an individual could "make the bubble pop faster"

 

[Xzi]

Is it weird to be this excited to buy a controller? Well, here's hoping that if there is a delay, it's not too brutal.

The controller is the one thing they should just go ahead and launch ASAP, no need for RAM or a GPU in that. Maybe they had a specific date in mind to coincide with the launch of some software, though.

 

[Kioku]

I wonder which of the following two methods would make the bubble pop faster:
A - avoiding AI altogether or
B - setting up a small PC that sends prompts to their servers constantly, increasing their traffic without any actual engagement in return

The latter will only drive up costs due to increased energy usage. Further screwing the average consumer as they'll likely be forced to foot that bill.

Hoping to get my hands on the frame, at least. The controller looks so good though.

 

[Exnor]

How about price?

 

[Lumince]

How about price?

They would if AI wasnt fucking ram and storage prices. Its probably fucking the prices of all hardware atp. Right now It would probably cost $1000-$1200 and they probably dont want to say that and piss a bunch of people off.

 

[Exnor]

They would if AI wasnt fucking ram and storage prices. Its probably fucking the prices of all hardware atp. Right now It would probably cost $1000-$1200 and they probably dont want to say that and piss a bunch of people off.

If they launch above 800 euros, is more than certain to be DOA.

Unless people do have a lot of money to spend. I know i don't :/

 

[doorbell8423]

.

 

[shadow1w2]

I don't understand why they want to release the devices all at once so bad.
Brand recognition?

I'd think it would be a win win to get the controller out early and use it as an entry point for new customers and increase interest in the other devices.

Maybe they just really want to offer a bundle deal hmm.

I just want that controller, I need my track pads and weird menu labyrinth configurations.

 

[Lumince]

If they launch above 800 euros, is more than certain to be DOA.

Unless people do have a lot of money to spend. I know i don't :/

Honestly I have to agree with you. I dont see people looking at the price and choosing it over a Quest 3 currently. Most people that buy them are either parents looking for a VR headset for their kid or people that really don't care how shitty Meta is. $500-$600 for a Quest 3 is way more appealing than $1000+ for a Steam Frame. Yea there will be some that buy the Frame no matter what, but a lot of people will just wait.

I don't think we can really blame Valve for waiting things out. Nor could I blame them for pushing the price up for the cost of the hardware. We really should be blaming AI and the companies that shovel and burn so much money into this shit. The cost of a lot of tech is going up because of this garbage being pushed and its crazy that companies keep feeding it just to pass money around.

 

[tech3475]

I wonder which of the following two methods would make the bubble pop faster:
A - avoiding AI altogether or
B - setting up a small PC that sends prompts to their servers constantly, increasing their traffic without any actual engagement in return

We need people to use AI less, fake demand will still likely be seen as demand much like the old 1 illegal download = 1 lost sale idiocy.

Imagine seeing Sam Altman crying at having spent several billion dollars on hardware sitting idle.