A global memory crisis that sent DRAM contract prices soaring over 170% year-over-year nearly derailed Valve's return to console hardware. But the company confirmed this week that both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame VR headset are on track for a summer 2026 launch, announcing the timeline in a blog post about its Verified program expansion.
Valve announced the Steam Machine in November 2025, promising a compact 4K-capable living room PC running SteamOS. The company originally targeted an "early 2026" release.
Then the memory market imploded. DDR5 prices roughly quadrupled by January, with some 32GB kits jumping from around $95 to between $350 and $600.
NAND flash, SSD components, and graphics VRAM all faced shortages. Valve confirmed earlier this year that the component crunch had delayed pricing and release details.
"Today we are expanding the Verified program to include Steam Machine and Steam Frame, both of which are shipping this summer."
Valve wrote on its Steam Community site. The Verified program, previously exclusive to Steam Deck, will now flag whether games run well on the new hardware. Valve told developers that Steam Machine Verified requirements are "nearly identical" to Steam Deck Verified, meaning any game that runs on the handheld will also run on the console without extra work. The Steam Machine is a roughly 6-inch cube powered by a semi-custom AMD chip, targeting 4K gaming at 60 fps with FSR upscaling. Two storage configurations are expected at launch: 512GB and 2TB, both with microSD expansion. The console supports HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, four USB-A ports, a 10Gbps USB-C port, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, HDR, and variable refresh rate features like AMD FreeSync. Users can install other operating systems, Valve told Eurogamer the device isn't locked down like a traditional console.
Pricing remains unannounced, but the math is worrying. Valve originally told The Verge the Steam Machine would be "comparable to a PC with similar specs" and "positioned closer to the entry level PC space." The company later told Eurogamer it aimed for the "same ballpark as other consoles." Analysts initially estimated a $700 price point based on components.
Then memory prices doubled. Valve raised Steam Deck prices by as much as $300 on May 27, the 512GB OLED jumped from $549 to $789, and the 1TB version from $649 to $949. The company has not revealed Steam Machine pricing, and Insider Gaming's executive editor Mike Straw stated in June that the price was "nowhere near what the company was predicting."
Valve programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN in April:
"We don't have exact details about the timeline to share today. And we're hard at work on trying to get them out the door. I think we are definitely expecting to roll out some news soon about that, but in general, I think things are going well."
Code discovered in a Steam update by a Reddit user in May suggests Valve will use a reservation queue system for the Steam Machine, similar to the Steam Controller's waitlist, to combat scalpers. The Steam Controller launched May 4 at $99 and sold out within roughly 30 minutes. The Steam Frame, Valve's standalone and PC-connected VR headset, shares the summer shipping window.
Both devices now have their own Verified badges on Steam, with the Frame's standalone verification focused on out-of-box performance on its built-in display.
Despite the pricing uncertainty, Valve is committing to a launch within three months. The question is what that launch will cost.
