EmuDeck's Playnix console is stealing the Steam Machine spotlight with a Ryzen 5 and RX 9060 XT 16GB

After possible delays with the Steam Machine, Frame, and Controller, Valve recently updated its release status to "coming soon" without providing an official date. The original plan pointed to early 2026, but the first quarter is nearly over, and nothing has been confirmed. But it seems we are not the only ones tired of waiting.

The developer behind EmuDeck, the popular retro emulator tool, has decided to build its own Steam Machine-style console called the Playnix. A similar project, EmuDeck Machines, debuted in August 2024 but never got off the ground. Its spiritual successor, however, is available for global order, with shipments from Spain.

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The Playnix is a PC-console hybrid that draws its hardware from the PC world while taking design cues from the Xbox Series S, though it is slightly bulkier at 320x246x64mm compared to the Series S at 275x151x65mm. That extra room packs in a solid punch of gaming hardware.

The product page calls it a console-style Linux gaming PC powered by AMD hardware. It uses an AMD Ryzen 5 CPU with 6 cores running at 3.5 GHz and a 65W TDP, paired with an AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT featuring 32 compute units, 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and a 150W TDP. The rest of the spec sheet includes 16GB DDR4-3200 memory in dual-channel configuration, a 512GB NVMe SSD with a second free slot, and a Flex 600W PSU. Cooling comes from Noctua and Thermalright heatsinks and fans.

Connectivity is well covered too, with Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5, Gigabit Ethernet, one USB-C 3.1 port, two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 2.1. Out of the box, PlaynixOS comes preinstalled as a custom Arc-based Linux distribution made by EmuDeck, though users can switch to Windows, Bazzite, SteamOS, or whatever suits their preferences. It also comes with a two-year warranty as an EU seller and allows users to replace or upgrade internal components within the case's power and size limits.

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The company claims the Playnix is faster than the Xbox Series X and PS5 and on par with Sony's PS5 Pro, all of which have recently seen price hikes. While independent benchmarks are not yet available, Playnix's own guidance targets 4K 60 FPS gameplay using FSR or XeSS quality presets in demanding AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077.

The system is priced at $1,139, and the first batch has already sold out. The package includes a 4K HDMI cable, a power cable, and an 8BitDo Ultimate 2 controller (typically sold for $59.99).

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All in all, the Playnix looks like a solid option for anyone growing impatient with the wait for the Steam Machine. It checks all the boxes for Steam Machine verification and should offer more grunt than Valve's own mini-PC, which ships with an RDNA 3 28CU semi-custom GPU with 8GB of GDDR6 memory.