Steam Machine hitting 4K 60FPS on demanding games will require aggressive FSR upscaling

The good news is that Valve is looking to improve upscaling performance on the Steam Machine as well as add driver-based optimizations for ray-tracing.

Steam Machine hitting 4K 60FPS on demanding games will require aggressive FSR upscaling
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TL;DR: Valve delays its Steam Machine launch from early 2026 due to memory and storage shortages, now targeting the first-half of 2026. Powered by a custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU, it relies on aggressive FSR upscaling and VRR for smooth 4K 60 FPS gaming. Valve is optimizing drivers to enhance performance and ray tracing.

Earlier today, Valve confirmed that the planned early 2026 launch of its new Steam Machine has been upended by ongoing "memory and storage shortages" and "growing prices of these critical components." It went so far as to say it's not yet sure of an exact shipping date or pricing, but it's still targeting a first-half of 2026 launch.

Steam Machine hitting 4K 60FPS on demanding games will require aggressive FSR upscaling 3
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As part of the same community post, Valve also included answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about its upcoming hardware releases, including the Steam Frame and the Steam Machine. For the Steam Machine, which will be powered by a desktop-class custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU with 28 Compute Units and 8GB of VRAM, many are wondering how this relatively low-power GPU will handle some of the most demanding PC games at 4K 60 FPS.

Especially when the GPU's closest desktop equivalent is the Radeon RX 7600, a card best suited to 1080p gaming. Well, the answer to that is upscaling, which Valve confirmed when it announced the Steam Machine late last year. However, the latest FAQ confirms that to hit 4K 60 FPS, you might need to use an aggressive FSR setting (upscaling from 1080p), and even then, you'll need VRR to maintain smooth performance when frame rates drop below 60 FPS.

"In our testing the majority of Steam titles play great at 4K 60FPS with FSR on Steam Machine. That said, there are some titles that currently require more upscaling than others, and it may be preferable to play at a lower framerate with VRR to maintain a 1080p internal resolution.

In the meantime, we are working on HDMI VRR, investigating improved upscaling, and optimizing ray tracing performance in the driver, so we are approaching this from multiple angles."

The last part there is worth highlighting, as the Steam Machine running SteamOS and Valve's custom drivers could be the key to unlocking more performance. The fact that it's looking to improve FSR and even ray tracing performance at the driver level is good news, as Valve has already proven that it can do wonders with lower-specced hardware, ala the Steam Deck.