The Steam Machine’s Original Price Would’ve Given Valve’s Machine A Much Better Shot

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Valve’s Steam Machine finally has a price, and its far steeper than anyone was likely imagining. That goes for Valve, too, with the company indicating that its original target was significantly less, and would’ve made a lot more sense for the hardware on offer.

Speaking to both IGN and Aftermath, engineers from Valve indicated that the Steam Machine’s price increased similarly to that of the Steam Deck, whose own price was increased by around 35% for the base model (and closer to 50% for the 1TB versions). Assuming Valve is talking about the lower figure of the two, some quick math suggests that the Steam Machine was likely originally priced at or around $750, a figure that was widely guessed at the time.

But that was in November 2025, when the now-apocalyptic RAM crisis was just starting. Since then, memory prices have surged globally. The United States of America has fared best, with an average 163% increase, while other regions, like Japan and the UK, have seen increases of 619% and 219% respectively, Regardless of where you live, building a PC has become prohibitively expensive, with few signs suggesting that is changing soon. And unfortunately for Valve, it got caught