Valve has launched its Steam Machine gaming computer at a higher price than expected — £879 in the UK and $1,049 in the US — blaming soaring component costs for the steep tag.
The gaming giant said in a blog post on Monday that the device, which doubles as a PC and console, now costs more than it originally planned. “The overall effect is that our original goal for the price of Steam Machine is no longer viable,” Valve wrote.
“Valve launches Steam Machine at £879, citing soaring component costs for the higher-than-expected price.”
The price hike reflects a broader trend of manufacturers raising prices as memory and storage costs rise. Earlier in 2026, Valve increased the price of its handheld Steam Deck by 40% due to similar expenses. It also announced that its new Steam Controller would cost £85, raising eyebrows among gamers.
Valve said it first began sourcing components for the Steam Machine in 2023, believing it had “a good understanding of how those costs might change over time.” That confidence was based on years of data showing PC hardware tends to get cheaper as new technology arrives. But, Valve admitted, “over the past year or so, that has changed quickly and significantly, most visibly for RAM [random access memory] and storage components.”
Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis said his firm had estimated a starting price between $700 and $800 for the Steam Machine. He said rising costs meant “Valve has been unable to deliver a more accessible price point to consumers.” Harding-Rolls added that the pricing, at 75% more than a PlayStation 5, would cement the Steam Machine as a “niche offering.”
The device, unveiled in November as a PC “optimised for gaming” that can also function as a console, is a spiritual sequel to Valve’s 2014 Steam Machine, which failed to break into a market dominated by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.
Valve is offering several configurations: a 512GB edition paired with the Steam Controller for £938, and a 2TB model for £1,149 — or £1,208 with the controller. High-end gaming PCs are generally more expensive than consoles, though the games themselves can often be cheaper than those on Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo machines.
Whether the £879 starting price will attract enough buyers remains to be seen, as the industry watches whether Valve’s latest attempt can carve out a lasting place in a crowded market.