Valve rolls out update for Steam Machine release following Steam Deck price hike

Valve is quietly preparing for the release of the Steam Machine, a console/PC hybrid that will be the next serious competitor in the console market, right alongside the Xbox and PlayStation.

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Valve has said the Steam Machine is on track to release "this summer," and it was only recently that the company put out new Steamworks Documentation that stated the Steam Machine will be approximately six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, and for games to receive a Steam Machine verified badge, they will need to meet specific performance requirements on the system. One of the latest pieces of Steam Machine information, and perhaps the furthest thing people actually want to know about the console, is that Valve rolled out support for the Steam Machine in SteamOS.

We knew this update was on its way, as Valve put out a preview of SteamOS version 3.8 in March, and within that preview, Valve states that the update includes "Initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware". That update has now rolled out in SteamOS 3.8.9 Beta: Second Clutch patch notes, which also state that support for the Steam Machine has been added to SteamOS. What people actually want to hear about the Steam Machine is the price. Valve has stated the console is launching "this summer," but hasn't said anything about the price.

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To be completely fair, putting a price on a new console that false hardware components rampantly being swallowed by the endless hunger of AI companies is quite difficult, especially when considering new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently said the price of storage and memory has increased by 4x since she entered her new position in February, 2026.

With that said, Valve will have to slap a price tag on the Steam Machine sooner or later, given that the Steam Deck OLED recently had a price increase. The prices of the Steam Deck OLED 512GB and 1TB have increased by 43.7% and 46.2%, respectively. The 512GB started at $549 and is now $789. The 1TB began at $649 and is currently at $949.

If that price is anything to go by, and Valve's own comments, the device will be approximately 6x more powerful than a Steam Deck. We can easily expect this console to exceed the $1,100 mark, likely closer to $1,500 than $1,000.