Valve has acknowledged changes to the Steam Machine’s launch plans after warning that ongoing memory and storage shortages are forcing the company to rethink both its shipping timeline and final pricing.
In a recent blog post, Valve said rising component constraints prevented it from finalising launch dates and pricing as planned.
Valve now targets shipping the Steam Machine, alongside the Steam Frame and Steam Controller, within the first half of 2026, rather than the earlier “early 2026” window previously discussed.
That shift effectively moves expectations from a first-quarter release toward a broader timeline that could extend as late as June, even if Valve has avoided explicitly labelling the change as a delay.
The update follows earlier comments from AMD CEO Lisa Su, who had recently stated during an earnings call that Valve remained on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year.
Valve’s revised messaging signals that component market conditions, rather than development progress, now represent the primary constraint shaping the hardware’s release window.
Pricing pressure from the RAM market
In a recent blog post, Valve acknowledged that rising memory and storage shortages have forced it to revisit both pricing and its shipping schedule for the Steam Machine.
Valve directly linked the uncertainty around pricing to the worsening global shortage of memory and storage components, which continues to drive up costs across the PC hardware industry.
Rising RAM prices have already affected laptops, graphics cards, and game consoles, and those pressures complicate efforts to price a living-room PC competitively against established consoles.
Before the update, speculation placed the Steam Machine’s entry-level pricing closer to the higher end of the PC market, rather than directly competing with subsidised consoles like the PlayStation 5.
Valve’s acknowledgement that pricing remains unresolved suggests the final cost could increase further if component markets fail to stabilise before manufacturing ramps up.
The situation also indicates Valve lacks sufficient pre-purchased component inventory to insulate the Steam Machine from current market pricing, limiting flexibility around launch configurations.
Despite the uncertainty, Valve reiterated that it still intends to ship the Steam Machine in 2026, though without committing to specific regions, configurations, or preorder timelines.
For now, the update reframes expectations around both timing and affordability, placing the Steam Machine’s launch squarely at the mercy of broader PC component economics.
