Steam Machine will start shipping to Australia on the same day as the rest of the world, marking a brave new era for Valve

Valve announced a new range of hardware overnight, in the form of the Steam Frame, Steam Machine and Steam Controller. It's probably the biggest PC hardware news we'll see in 2025, but Australians can be forgiven if they feel a little unenthused. After all, Valve is famously slow to release its hardware into Australia: the Valve Index took a year, only to be thinly available at some EB Games outlets. Worse, the Steam Deck took more than two years.

But never fear: No such antipodean delay is in the cards for Valve's new line-up. Here's confirmation straight from Valve: "All three products will ship in all the same regions we currently ship Steam Deck (US, CA, UK, EU, AU) as well as regions covered by Komodo: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan."

None have a specific release date nor price at the moment anywhere in the world, but are targeting early 2026. "Specific launch timing and pricing to be shared sometime after the first of the year," Valve writes.

That means for Australians, the Steam Frame, Steam Machine and Steam Controller will all be purchasable directly from Steam at the same time as all those other regions. If Steam Deck is any indication, this hardware will ship from an Australia-based warehouse, so there shouldn't be any excruciating two week wait (my Steam Deck came in two days, for example—I'm based in New South Wales).

PC Gamer's hardware team has extensive coverage of Valve's new hardware line-up, ranging from raw specs through to hands-on experience. You can check out absolutely everything you need to know about the new gear on our hub page.

Before Steam Deck started shipping to Australia in October last year, Australians had to make do with two annoying ways to acquire the handheld: buy it via a grey market seller (which Valve itself warned against) or jump through VPN hoops in order to trick Steam to sell you one. For those who vividly remember those dark ages, and who still feel a sharp jab in their chest when recalling the trauma inconvenience, news of Valve's new hardware launching day one in Australia will be very welcome indeed.