Steam Machine delayed as memory shortage forces Valve to rethink pricing

Valve has pushed back the release of its Steam Machine, Steam Frame VR headset, and Steam Controller, citing skyrocketing memory and storage costs that have upended its original pricing strategy. The company now aims to ship all three products sometime in the first half of 2026, walking back earlier promises of an "early 2026" or "Q1 2026" launch."We planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now," Valve said in a Wednesday blog post. "But the memory and storage shortages you've likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since then."The culprit? AI companies hoovering up RAM and storage components for data centers, leaving traditional PC and gaming hardware makers scrambling. RAM prices have tripled or even quadrupled in recent months as memory makers pour their supply into the more profitable AI server realm. Storage hasn't fared much better, with SSDs across the board seeing sharp price increases.Valve had originally positioned the Steam Machine as an entry-level PC gaming console, competitive with traditional consoles rather than high-end rigs. That pitch gets trickier when core components cost two to four times what they did three months ago. The company now says it must "revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing, especially around Steam Machine and Steam Frame."The Steam Controller might dodge the worst of it—controllers don't pack the RAM or storage that's driving costs skyward. But for the Machine and Frame, which need those exact components, higher prices seem inevitable.AMD CEO Lisa Su said at the company's earnings call that Valve was "on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year," though she carefully qualified that with "from a product standpoint"—words that now carry considerably more weight. The hardware may be ready, but the economics aren't.Valve promises updates "as soon as possible" once it lands on firm pricing. For now, anyone hoping for a $500-$700 living room PC should probably start budgeting higher.