After quite some time waiting, we now know how much Valve’s new SteamOS Linux powered Steam Machine will cost – and it is quite on the pricey side.
Valve are taking steps to fight off scalpers and deal with probably a somewhat limited inventory this time, so we don’t have a repeat of all the issues with buying the Steam Controller.
You have to join a waiting list and you have up until Thursday June 25th at 10 a.m.
Pacific / 5pm UTC.
Once that date and time hits, Valve said they will do a “one-time randomization to determine the reservation and waitlist order”.
The Steam Machine will launch directly via Steam across the U.S., Canada, UK, EU, and Australia.
Like with other Valve hardware, Komodo will distribute across Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong Steam.
Not everyone will be able to purchase right away, as Valve said depending on the order you’ll get an email on June 25th to let you know one of two things:
The lists are separated by region, so you’re not just bundled into the biggest possible list.
A first batch of purchase emails will come Monday, June 29th.
After that, Valve said they will continue going through the queue as units become available.
From the announcement – pricing is as follows:
Quite pricey, higher than I was expecting for the 2TB model – but this is one of the worst times ever to be launching any kind of hardware.
Prices everywhere are just going out of control thanks to the AI generation boom with data centres sucking up all the manufacturing.
As Valve said “There were periods where we found we couldn’t source some of our components at all, at any price” that’s how rough the industry is right now.
Touching on the price, how traditional consoles operate and why it’s a PC not a console – Valve said:
“Is this the Valve console?
We think of Steam Machine as an extension of PC gaming, not as a console.
The traditional console model is to sell hardware at a loss and make up the revenue with subscription services or by selling games that are locked-in to the hardware.
We think this can make sense for a single business in the short term but that open ecosystems are better for customers over the long term.
PC gaming’s history proves this: The openness of the PC gaming space has enabled it to be the primary driver of hardware and software innovation for decades.
The strength of PC gaming is the ability to play the games you want on the hardware you want.
Steam Machine is *a* solution to these problems (and we think it’s a great one), but it’s not the only solution, and we don’t want it to be.”
Just like the Steam Deck before it, the Steam Machine uses SteamOS Linux which is based on Arch Linux.
And it has a full KDE Plasma Desktop Mode just the same – so you can do whatever you want with it.
And that includes installing other stores, with the same steps as you would for the Steam Deck.
And a nice bonus of SteamOS and PC as a whole – the same games across platforms, play your existing games or buy new games – whatever.
You also don’t need to pay any extra to play online like with certain consoles.
So there’s still quite a lot of other benefits to it.
Valve sent out units to various others (not us) and so there’s a few reviews already out including:
Digital Foundry
Gamers Nexus
PC Gamer
Eurogamer
Linus Tech Tips
And no doubt a good few others…I won’t link them all.
I’ve put a reservation in for the 2TB model, so hopefully GamingOnLinux will be able to get a proper review of it done without too much delay.
We haven’t heard back from Valve on any review hardware so far which is a shame after covering the Steam Deck LCD / OLED and the Steam Controller.
Want to help? Check out our funding drive.
Will you be picking one up? If so, which model are you going for? Let us know in the comments.
If you’re not going to grab one, and want to build your own, Valve said they are “continuing to work toward enabling SteamOS to be used on more hardware than just ours” and note that the recent release of SteamOS 3.8 “can run the same code and operating system as Steam Machine on your own living-room PC using whatever PC parts you want” and point people to their support page.
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**📚 Original Source:**
[Steam Machine pricing and launch announced and yes it's pricey](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/06/steam-machine-pricing-and-launch-announced-and-yes-its-pricey/)
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