'Memory and storage shortages' means Valve can't give us pricing or release dates for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame

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The hardware isn't being delayed in the midst of an AI-induced memory crisis, but pricing it is an issue.

The Steam Deck alongside Valve's three new products: the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller.
(Image credit: Future)

Valve has confirmed it still plans to release the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller in the first half of 2026, but more specific release and pricing information has been complicated by the ongoing memory and storage crises, or as we like to call it, the RAMpocalypse.

"When we announced these products in November, we planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now," Valve writes in a newly published FAQ about its forthcoming hardware. "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)."

Meanwhile, also in November, a Valve coder said the Steam Machine would be priced like a PC, rather than a console. The latter are usually sold at a loss to bolster an install base, all the better to sell software. "If you build a PC from parts and get to basically the same level of performance, that’s the general price window that we aim to be at," Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais said at the time.

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Shaun Prescott
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.

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