Memory supply issues, pricing speculation, and competition rumors cloud the road to the Steam Machine launch.
This week has seen some surprising changes to Valve hardware, mainly with the Steam Deck becoming available and rumors about the long-rumored Steam Machine growing. At first, there were only a few reports from users.
But soon, the whole PC game community was talking about it, and many hardware listings quietly changed to “out of stock.”
On Valve’s official storefront, both the 512GB OLED and 1TB OLED Steam Deck models — previously available for $550 and $650 — suddenly became unavailable without explanation. The LCD 256GB model had already been taken off the market, and Valve had already said that it would not be made again once it was sold out. But the sudden disappearance of the OLED models has made people wonder about supply, production goals, and the company’s plans for its next hardware strategy.
Online stores usually have brief shortages that go away in a few hours or days. However, the devices have not been available this time, and Valve has not made a public statement. People are guessing that the company might be moving its resources around before releasing its next gear because it hasn’t said anything.
At the same time, experts have started to say what they think the Steam Machine might cost, which shows how uncertain the hardware market has become. Mat Piscatella, an analyst for Circana, says the device could likely come out at around $1,000. However, if Valve decides to take some of the production costs, aggressive pricing could bring the price down to around $700.
Hardware expectations are changed by supply constraints.
Parts shortages that affect the whole PC hardware ecosystem are causing a lot of confusion. The price of memory has gone up a lot because of the high demand for DRAM around the world. This demand is mostly coming from AI infrastructure and data centers, not from consumer goods.
A number of companies that make handheld PCs have already recognized the effect. Recently, one company said that the price of its new enthusiast-level small device had gone through the roof because the cost of memory and storage space was going up so fast. Some configurations now cost more than $4,000 and are designed for power users rather than mainstream games, with lots of RAM and SSD storage that can hold multiple terabytes.
It’s getting pricey for even the smallest setups. A handheld with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD can now cost close to $2,000. Manufacturers say they plan to make little to no profit because of the high cost of the parts. Developers say that prices from storage and memory sellers have gone up a lot in the past few months.
Not just mobile PCs are following these trends. Releases of graphics cards have also been slowed down. Updated GPU models were supposed to be shown off by Nvidia at CES, but the company had to delay the reveals because of supply problems. Reports say that AI hardware production is getting a lot of DRAM, which means that there are fewer parts for game devices and consumer PCs.
It makes sense from a business point of view: AI companies are willing to pay higher prices for guaranteed supply, which makes bidding very competitive and hard for smaller hardware companies to match. Because of this, companies that make gaming gadgets have to either raise prices or make fewer of them.
Why the Steam Deck might not be in its full potential yet.
One popular idea about the lack of Steam Decks is that Valve is putting more memory and buying power into the launch of the Steam Machine. By ordering lots of parts early, the company was able to make sure that production would stay steady until the device came out and even through the holiday shopping season.
If the Steam Machine comes out in the first half of 2026, maybe in April or May, Valve would need to be able to make enough to meet demand all year. Keeping memory components on hand ahead of time could help keep supplies steady during busy shopping times.
This plan would be similar to things that other companies in the gaming business do. For example, Nintendo is said to have raised orders for Switch 2 parts to keep prices stable and avoid shortages during the console’s lifecycle.
Another option is less strategic but just as important: the current cost of parts for the Steam Deck may make it impossible to keep the prices at which they are now. As the prices of RAM and SSDs rise, it may be hard to keep prices in the $550–$650 range without cutting into profits.
The problem is shown by the cost of retail components. The prices of DDR5 memory kits and fast SSDs have gone up a lot, which has made it more expensive to make things, even for big businesses that get deals for buying in bulk. The costs and benefits of handheld game PCs are getting harder to figure out.
The battle for a living room PC.
Valve is having trouble with supply and pricing, and competition may be coming from a strange source. Many people think that Microsoft is making the next Xbox into a Windows game PC that can be used in the living room and can run multiple storefronts, such as Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.
This kind of gadget would be right up against the idea of the Steam Machine, though it would probably cost more. If the next Xbox has better speed, especially in 4K games, people may see more value in it even though it costs more.
Valve therefore faces a timing challenge. If the Steam Machine comes out earlier, it might help them get a foothold in the market for PCs for the living room before Microsoft does. If you wait too long, you might have to compete with an environment that is much bigger and has a better reputation.
Even now, the environments for Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Switch are still much bigger than Valve’s hardware install base. Traditional consoles still make up a bigger part of the gaming hardware market than the Steam Deck, even though the Steam Deck has been popular.
Ready for Valve to do something next.
Valve says that the Steam Machine will still come out in the first half of 2026 for now. But the company’s production plan isn’t clear because prices aren’t clear, and there are sudden shortages of Steam Decks.
If the schedule stays the same, people in the industry expect an official word soon—possibly within the next month—that includes information about pricing, when the game will come out, and what hardware will be used. If that isn’t made clear, rumor is likely to keep growing.
Valve is now juggling a number of risks, including rising component costs, limited supply, and the threat of new competition in the game PC market for the living room. What the company says next could mean the difference between the Steam Machine being a strong addition to the Steam community and just another big hardware experiment.
The next few weeks could show both customers and experts whether the lack of Steam Decks is just a short-term supply problem or the start of a big change in Valve’s hardware plan.
