Valve is taking another serious shot at the living room. The company has brought back the Steam Machine idea with a new compact gaming PC that aims to sit beside your TV like a console, but behave like a full PC. Announced on 12 November 2025, the updated Steam Machine arrives alongside a redesigned Steam Controller and the new Steam Frame VR headset.
This time, Valve is not pitching it as a cheap, subsidised console rival, but as a fairly priced entry into high-end PC gaming. The move comes more than ten years after the original Steam Machines stumbled in 2015 due to confusing models and weak sales.
Since then, the Steam Deck has quietly built a huge following, with over 3 million units sold since 2022. With that success, Valve now feels ready to bring a unified, in-house living room PC to market.
The reveal came in a polished announcement video on Steam’s official channels, which describes the device as “a powerful gaming PC in a small but mighty package”. It runs the latest version of SteamOS and, according to Valve, offers around six times the graphical performance of the Steam Deck OLED. With support for AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), it targets 4K gaming at 60 frames per second.
Storage options start at 512 GB and go up to 2 TB, both using SSDs, and you can expand further with a microSD card. Valve is keen to stress that the pricing approach is different this time. There are no hidden subsidies and no attempt to lure people in with a loss-making box. It is priced like a PC, not a console.
PC-style pricing, not console-style subsidies
Traditional consoles such as Sony’s PS4 (499 for the base model) and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X (also 499) usually sell with very slim hardware profit margins. Platform owners make their money back over time through game royalties, online subscriptions, and paid services.
Valve is taking a different route. “We’re pricing it like a PC, not a console,” Valve hardware lead Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN after the reveal. In practice, that means the cost of the Steam Machine will track the actual components inside, such as the AMD Ryzen CPU, Radeon GPU, and 16 GB of RAM, without any extra charge tied to a locked ecosystem.
Commentators have already started guessing the final prices. YouTuber Moore’s Law Is Dead, after looking at reported benchmarks and supply chain leaks, expects the 512 GB version to land somewhere between 449 and 599. That would put it in line with mid-range prebuilt gaming PCs from brands like Dell or HP, which often start around 800 dollars for comparable performance.
The 2 TB model could reach about 699, still under the cost of many custom builds once you add a case, power supply, and peripherals.
“If you’re trying to make a PC with similar features and performance, the Steam Machine is going to be really competitive,” Griffais said, stressing that Valve is focusing on value rather than pushing sheer unit numbers.
This pricing approach fits Valve’s long-standing preference for open platforms. Consoles are often sold as loss leaders, tied to locked storefronts and exclusive games. By contrast, the Steam Machine drops you straight into Steam’s huge audience of 120 million active users and its library of more than 50,000 games.
Indie developers avoid an extra 30 percent platform fee on top of Steam’s usual cut, and players can run many Windows titles through Proton on Linux-based SteamOS. For Valve, this is a direct move into the 50 billion dollar console market that Sony and Microsoft currently dominate with tightly controlled platforms.
The hardware also reflects PC values. The Steam Machine includes upgradeable RAM slots and modular ports, which should give it a longer lifespan. It nods to the PC modding scene, while side-stepping the messy, brand-fragmented approach that hurt the first wave of Steam Machines.
Back in 2015, critics at places like PC Gamer highlighted how partner-made boxes from Alienware, Falcon Northwest, and others ranged from 499 to 1,900. The spread confused buyers and stalled momentum. This time, Valve is sticking to a far clearer line-up, with one main design, two storage sizes, and the option to bundle or skip the new controller.
Pre-orders are set to go live in late 2025, with Valve promising concrete pricing details “closer to release,” according to spokesperson Will Judd. Early customers may be able to pick up bundles that include the updated Steam Controller, which once again uses dual trackpads for mouse-like control in shooters and strategy games.
Early 2026 Steam Machine launch: built for the living room
Valve plans to ship the Steam Machine in early 2026, likely in the first quarter, around February. That timing would match how quickly the Steam Deck moved from reveal to retail, and places the launch just after the holiday rush, when console makers often push refreshed bundles.
Availability should follow the Steam Deck pattern, with rollouts in North America, Europe, Asia, and other regions, and Valve says its supply chain is in better shape than during the shortages of 2022.
The box itself is a compact black cube, roughly the size of a Mac Mini, made to sit neatly under a TV. You plug it in via HDMI and use it with a controller on the sofa. It is clearly built for local co-op games such as It Takes Two, but it has the power to handle big AAA titles like Elden Ring as well.
If you prefer flexibility, you can stream games from the Steam Machine to phones or tablets using the Steam Link app. The device also hooks into the new Steam Frame VR headset. Valve is talking up support for eye-tracked foveated rendering, which concentrates detail where you are looking, to keep VR performance smooth in future Half-Life: Alyx follow-ups and other demanding titles.
It does not run on a battery, but Valve says it is quite power-efficient. Under heavy load, it uses under 150 watts, so it stands close to current consoles on energy use without feeling bulky or noisy.
Why it matters: PC power on the sofa
The Steam Machine is not just another small form factor PC. It is Valve’s clear statement against closed console ecosystems. At a time when services such as Game Pass and PS Plus are trying to lock players into monthly subscriptions, Valve is pushing the idea of owning a fairly priced PC that happens to live under your TV.
For players, that means access to a huge catalogue of games at PC prices, with regular sales and no extra console tax. For developers, it reduces pressure to chase exclusivity deals. Steam’s recommendation systems reward games that people enjoy and keep playing, rather than titles tied to one box.
Proton already runs a large share of Windows games on SteamOS, with compatibility reports sitting around 95 percent for popular titles. That lowers the barrier for studios that might otherwise need to budget for a separate Linux or console port.
There are still hurdles. SteamOS can be quirky at times, and some users find the Deck’s verification labels confusing. Those issues could carry over if Valve does not keep polishing the software.
Even so, Valve has a huge advantage. Steam reportedly brings in around 10 billion dollars a year, and that financial strength gives the company room to support the platform, invest in updates, and market the hardware without relying on aggressive lock-in tactics.
As Griffais put it, “We finally have all the software and hardware bits to make the original vision a reality.”
The new Steam Machine is not trying to redefine gaming from scratch. It is a reminder that PCs were always flexible enough to live in the lounge, as well as on the desk. If Valve can hit a starting price around 449 dollars and keep performance strong, it could tempt long-time console players to try a more open, PC-style setup.
Keep an eye on early 2026. The living room PC push is about to start again, and this time, Valve seems far better prepared.
