For anyone hoping the price of the Steam Machine was going to be as competitive as the Steam Deck’s, you might be in for some sticker shock. While some were already warning that the Steam Machine was likely going to cost more than you think – it is basically a small form factor gaming PC, after all — there weren’t many guesses that came close, if the new price is accurate. As reported by Wccftech, Czech retailer Smarty.cz listed price estimates for Steam’s upcoming cube-shaped computer, and they’re quite the doozy.
In USD, the listings are about $950 for the 512GB model of the Steam Machine and $1,070 for the 2TB model. That puts the price tag quite a bit higher than many were anticipating. The prices are merely estimates, though, so take this information with a grain of salt for now. Most importantly, by directly converting the estimated Czech koruna prices into U.S. dollars, there’s going to be some discrepancy.
There are also tariff and import taxes included in those prices and potentially additional fees that U.S. listings won’t have. The actual MSRP is expected to be lower. Valve has not made any official statements on prices yet, nor has it commented on these leaked prices, so everything is speculative. But still, that would put the prices well above what most are expecting to see, certainly above the current cost of consoles like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.
Why are the prices estimated to be so high?
The global memory shortage has only gotten worse since the Steam Machine was first announced back in November 2025. Caused by the need for more advanced hardware to keep up with AI, the chip shortages could potentially drive up the cost of new smartphones. It’s not at all a stretch to consider the Steam Machine, a PC through-and-through, would see elevated prices if it launches in the middle of that chip shortage. There isn’t an official release date yet, but the Steam Machine still has to be mass-produced, which means the manufacturers will be acquiring the necessary parts and hardware soon, if they haven’t already. GPUs are also seeing price hikes lately, so there’s that cost bump to worry about, too.
As for how and why the Steam Machine is more costly than, say, the PlayStation 5, it’s because consoles are often sold at a loss. Companies like Sony and Microsoft sell consoles for around the same amount of money as they cost to produce (or even less), hoping to recuperate those costs over time through video game sales and subscription services like Xbox Game Pass. Valve has already publicly stated it will not be subsidizing the price of the Steam Machine in the same way as modern consoles.
Basically, all of this means that the cost of building a Steam Machine is going to be higher than expected. That may result in final model being priced higher than some fans were hoping, so, unfortunately, the Czech retailer estimates could be realistic. That said, with the Steam Machine potentially set to launch this year, it shouldn’t be long before we know for sure.
