As gamers come to grips with the $1,049 value of the Steam Machine, Valve has stated it might “like to make” it extra reasonably priced, whereas warning that a value drop will not arrive “any time quickly.”
Engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat opened up in regards to the Steam firm’s {hardware} technique throughout an interview with Digital Foundry. Their phrases arrive amid shortages for parts like RAM and skyrocketing prices for gaming consoles and PCs throughout the globe.
The Valve workforce was requested if they might be open to reducing the worth of the Steam Machine ought to these wider points be resolved. Griffais admitted that there’s “no level for us to maintain {hardware} at a excessive value.”
“It is meant to be an enabler of a stronger connection between individuals and their video games,” Griffais stated, “and never one thing that we’re attempting to promote to individuals for different causes… [For us], the cheaper the higher.”
“The cheaper the higher” ought to come as a welcome thought each to these keen to select up a Steam Machine and people ready for a value drop. The difficulty, nevertheless, is that the longer term is not precisely arrange for prices to return down within the close to future.
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated earlier this week that the expectation is for the AI-driven RAM scarcity, particularly, to final at the least via 2027. Whereas Mehrotra stated the hope is that issues will begin to ease in 2028, as famous by Digital Foundry and as reported by The Register, the reminiscence expertise firm simply locked in traditionally excessive costs for 5 years.
Aldehayyat doubled down on the concept that Valve would favor for its Steam Machine to return down in value. Sadly, it does not seem like such a transfer might be within the playing cards for fairly a while.
“It is clearly onerous for us to foretell the longer term, however we’re not optimistic it is going to occur any time quickly,” Aldehayyat defined. “Different individuals within the business have stated as a lot.”
He continued: “Clearly, we might love to have the ability to make the Steam Machine extra reasonably priced and attain extra individuals, however I do not wish to promise to those that it is coming quickly. I would not say that that is one thing that is going to resolve very quickly.”
Valve pulled again the curtain on its Steam Machine in November 2025 to disclose a gadget it hopes will bridge the hole between PC and console gaming. It nearly instantly started to warn that its value might be fairly steep earlier than lastly asserting its official price ticket earlier this week. For these nonetheless catching up, it prices $1,049 for its 512GB mannequin, with its 2TB possibility priced at $1,349 or $1,428 when bundled with a Steam Controller.
For extra in regards to the Valve console, you may learn IGN’s 8/10 Steam Machine evaluate. It’s also possible to see why the corporate is refusing to subsidize the gadget, in addition to what it needed to say about its relationship with RAM firms.
Michael Cripe is a freelance author with IGN. He is greatest identified for his work at websites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Make sure you give him a comply with on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).