technology
Valve Announces Steam Machine at $1,049 Without Gamepad
Valve released the Steam Machine gaming console on June 22, 2026. The device starts at $1,049 without a gamepad and $1,128 bundled with one, positioning it as a compact PC alternative for living-room use.
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Valve announced the Steam Machine on June 22, 2026. The device starts at $1,049 without a gamepad and $1,128 when bundled with one. It measures smaller than a PlayStation 5 and runs cool and quiet during operation.
The Steam Machine runs Linux in desktop mode and supports any modern gamepad for navigation without a mouse or keyboard. Testing showed that a keyboard, mouse, speakers, headset, USB hub, two monitors, and an external Blu-ray drive all functioned when connected. Valve set the default resolution to 1080p.
Valve stated it is selling the components at cost after negotiating with suppliers amid a global memory supply and demand crisis. The company secured approximately two-thirds of its planned stockpile due to component shortages. Performance tests produced smooth frame rates at 1080p upscaled to 4K using AMD FSR in multiple titles.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Returnal ran at 1440p medium settings. Forza Horizon 6 ran at 1440p high settings. Cyberpunk 2077 ran at upscaled 4K high settings. Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at true 4K medium settings.
Alan Wake II ran at an 847p base resolution via the Epic Games Store using Heroic. Valve confirmed that AMD FSR 4 upscaling will arrive via a future update. A graphics driver update is expected to improve ray-tracing performance by as much as 20 percent in some games.
A vanilla PlayStation 5 costs $650 after three price hikes and launched 5.5 years earlier. Valve fixed spontaneous reboot, freeze, and graphical error issues one day after they were reported. Sleep mode preserved game sessions in three instances but lost them in three others, with one case of the television remaining on overnight.
