The Steam Machine's Price Might Have Just Leaked And It's Not What We Hoped For

Ever since the Steam Deck landed, gaming enthusiasts have increasingly found refuge in SteamOS. PC gaming, driven by the Linux-based software, is at an all-time high, partly owing to performance woes that come with Windows. Valve's upcoming Steam Machine console was supposedly trying to cash in on the demand, but it seems that gaming nirvana will come at a premium. On Reddit, an individual shared a Steam Machine listing from a retailer's website and dug into the code to find its asking price. It's not good news.

The cube-shaped console is still listed on the website of Smarty.cz, a Czech electronics and gaming retailer, in 512GB and 2TB variants. The backend code mentions a starting price of 19,826 Czech Koruna (before taxes), which roughly translates to $949 based on the current conversion rates, while the 2TB model comes in at approximately $1,070. Now, before we dig into the value debate, there are two crucial variables to consider. First, the backend pricing could very well be a placeholder based on rough estimates, which means the final price could be different. Second, the Steam Machine will most likely be cheaper in the U.S. owing to the import duties levied on electronics sold by U.S.-based companies in the bloc.

To give you an idea, the Steam Deck OLED starts at $549 in the U.S., but the aforementioned Czech retailer sells the same 512GB model at the equivalent of $690 in the market, amounting to a 22% higher sticker price. If one were to apply a similar deduction, the U.S. price of the Steam Machine, at least based on the latest leak and duties, should broadly come in at $750. But do keep in mind these are speculative rates based on a pre-launch listing, which means the official launch price could sway either way.

So far, Valve hasn't said anything official about the Steam Machine's asking price. However, a few employees have dropped a few hints. "We intend for it to be positioned closer to the entry level of the PC space, but to be very competitive with a PC you could build yourself from parts," a Valve executive recently told The Verge. But what performance baseline Valve has set for an "entry-level" PC is totally opaque. Right now, building a PC that can handle 1080p gaming at respectable frame rates in modern AAA titles will easily cost you around a thousand dollars. 

On the console side of things, the PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Series X hover in the $650-750 range. But the situation has changed a lot in the past few months. Thanks in no part to the RAM crisis triggered by AI data centers, the cost of memory modules has skyrocketed absurdly. PC and mobile brands are already prepping customers for impending price hikes. Valve may be forced to follow the trend and raise the internal pricing estimates, with only two possible escape routes — either Valve has stockpiled its inventory with enough memory chips in advance, or it is willing to trim its margins. 

In 2021, Valve chief Gabe Newell said that picking the $399 asking price for the original Steam Deck was painful. That won't be the case with the Steam Machine. Valve executives have made it clear that the upcoming console won't be subsidized. To sum it all up, an asking price of around $800-850 seems likely for shoppers in the U.S., but it could very well go up owing to the rising cost of components. The only consolation? It would be "more powerful than 70% of gaming PCs that Valve registers," as per Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais.