Valve has already unveiled the Steam Machine, but kept two crucial details under wraps: pricing and availability. While the launch date remains a mystery, Czech retailer Smarty broke the silence by listing the Steam Machine at $950 for the 512GB model and $1,070 for the 1TB version, before taxes.
Although Smarty appears to be a reputable retailer, it's wise to treat these prices with caution until Valve makes an official announcement. As the Redditor who discovered the listings pointed out, the Steam Machine price tags weren't publicly visible—they were hiding within the website's source code. Meanwhile, Hajedan, a Czech user on X, discovered that Alza—one of the largest retailers in the Czech Republic—has also listed the Steam Machine at prices similar to Smarty. While the two discoveries lend some credibility to the numbers, they could be placeholders or estimates, so we still recommend you throw some salt over the listings.
As a retailer, Smarty's listed prices naturally include the store's markup, which means they'll be higher than Valve's direct pricing. For context, the Czech store sells the Steam Deck OLED 512GB for $632.96 pre-VAT, while Valve offers the same configuration for $549. It suggests that Smarty applies a roughly 15% markup to its products. If we apply the same logic to the Steam Machine, U.S. prices might be closer to $826 for the 512GB model and $930 for the 1TB version. That's a notable difference—and it could make Valve's official pricing slightly more palatable for potential buyers.
Grain of Salt: Steam Machine Price Leaked ($1000+ for 2TB)from r/Gamingnewsandleaks
While some may not consider the Steam Machine to be a true console, Valve intentionally designed it to deliver a console-like PC experience. It makes comparisons to the latest gaming systems—such as the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, and Xbox Series X—both relevant and compelling. If Smarty's leaked prices are accurate, the Steam Machine could be 50% pricier than a PlayStation 5 (with disc drive) and up to 27% more expensive than an Xbox Series X (1TB model with disc drive). That's a substantial premium for PC gaming in a console form factor.
Unlike traditional console makers, Valve won't subsidize the Steam Machine—in other words, it won't take a loss on hardware to boost game sales. Instead, Valve will price the Steam Machine like a standard gaming PC, which makes sense given that it's essentially a small-form-factor (SFF) system masquerading as a console.
The Steam Machine is launching amidst a global NAND shortage, which has significantly driven up prices for storage and memory—both critical components for Valve's console-PC hybrid. Even if Valve wanted to keep prices low and limit profit margins, rising component costs make that virtually impossible. If we were betting, we'd wager that the ongoing NAND shortage is the main reason Valve hasn't committed to a price or release date for the Steam Machine, despite revealing it in mid-November of last year. Valve has hinted at a possible Q1 2026 launch for the Steam Machine. Now, all eyes are on the company to see if it can deliver on schedule.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
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TheyStoppedit We all kind of knew this was going to happen, especially with component shortages. Sorry kids, gaming on a budget isn't a thing anymore unless you want indi-side-scrollers or minecraft. 500$ consoles are done. That's not a thing anymore. PS6 and X-Box 2880 will be $799 each, minimum.Reply -
TerryLaze Reply
Meh you can get dirt cheap decommissioned office systems and put a used GPU in it and play pretty much anything at acceptable levels, you will have to go below 1080 sometimes and below 60FPS and at low quality but if you don't have money for more it will be extremely playable.TheyStoppedit said:gaming on a budget isn't a thing anymore
You misspelled xbox backflip 180.TheyStoppedit said:and X-Box 2880 -
TerryLaze Reply
These were designed months ago and everything was sourced months ago and I doubt gabe cares about squeezing more money out of them, it's just a publicity gag for them to make steam more accessible to more people.Notton said:When 16GB of DDR5 goes from US$60 to US$260. -
hotaru251 and nobody should be shocked.Reply
its an arm machine, has an 8gb gpu (not replaceable), IO, custom case, etc.
Add on valve tax and there was noway it wasnt gonna be over $900
Also reminder: don't buy one. It is e-waste as you can't upgrade its gpu and 8gb vram isnt enoguh for todays modern games meaning its longevity is dropping day its launched & resale of them is going to be nothing. -
Elrabin If you look at the same retailer, they're selling the 1tb OLED Steam Deck for $950 when to buy it in the US is $650Reply
So, i'm still thinking it'll be $800-900
I don't know why people are looking at this listing like it's official Valve pricing, especially when it's a RESELLER in a country with massive markups. -
TerryLaze Reply
What are you talking about?hotaru251 said:Also reminder: don't buy one. It is e-waste
First of all it's an x86 (x64) machine, second of all it will for ever be able to run whatever version of linux will be capable of running on it and you will forever be able to play all the games it is able to play.
Yes, it's not a top end e-peen gaming system, it's not supposed to be, but whatever plays fine on it will be playing fine on it until it decomposes. -
ezst036 Valve picked the greatest of times at the same time the worst of times to introduce a brand new Steam Machine.Reply
The best of times: Microsoft's OS is quite possibly the most unpopular they've ever had. It's certainly the most unpopular in a generation.
The worst of times: AI memory price hikes are going much much higher than can be recovered by skipping the Windows Tax. -
ezst036 Reply
The AI memory crunch is going to force video game companies to invest in some memory optimizations. There simply aren't enough users/gamers out there with 5090s to justify constantly dishing out the most disorganized code anymore.hotaru251 said:and 8gb vram isnt enoguh for todays modern games meaning its longevity is dropping day its launched & resale of them is going to be nothing.
This AI memory crunch is going to cost us a generation. -
VizzieTheViz Reply
Well at least that’d be a benefit from AI: decently optimized games. I’m willing to forgo a generation of some hardware or another (don’t exactly know what you mean there) if it means games will be optimized at least a little again.ezst036 said:The AI memory crunch is going to force video game companies to invest in some memory optimizations. There simply aren't enough users/gamers out there with 5090s to justify constantly dishing out the most disorganized code anymore.
This AI memory crunch is going to cost us a generation.