Valve says RAM shortage could drive up Steam Machine price

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Valve has announced that the current shortage of RAM and storage is likely to increase the price of the new Steam Machine. They’ve explained that because the cost of parts is going up, they’re having to rethink how much the device will cost when it’s released.

In a new post on its Steam Hardware Blog, Valve said it originally hoped to have firm prices locked in by now, but that rapidly increasing memory costs across the tech sector have complicated those plans, particularly for Steam Machine and its new Steam Frame device.

The company confirmed they’re still planning to release their new hardware in the first six months of the year, but they haven’t finalized pricing yet because of ongoing issues with the supply chain.

RAM shortages force Valve to revisit Steam Machine pricing

Valve explained that because memory and storage parts are becoming harder to get and more expensive, they need to adjust when and how much the devices will cost.

We had intended to announce pricing and release dates for these products by now, as we mentioned in November. However, the industry-wide shortages of memory and storage have become much worse recently, delaying those announcements.

Valve explained that increasing costs and unpredictable supply chains have made it challenging to set a firm price for the Steam Machine.

As a big fan, I was happy to hear from Valve that they’re still aiming to get all three of their new products out within the first six months of the year! They also said they’re working hard to figure out the final prices and release dates, but want to make sure they’re confident about those announcements, because things can change quickly. Basically, they don’t want to promise something they can’t deliver, which I totally understand!

The blog post didn’t just discuss price; it also covered technical aspects of the Steam Machine, like how well it would perform and what options users would have to upgrade it.

Valve reports that most games on Steam can achieve smooth performance – 4K resolution at 60 frames per second – when upscaling technology is used. However, particularly demanding games might need more aggressive upscaling or a slightly lower frame rate, especially when combined with variable refresh rate features. Valve is also actively improving performance further through driver updates, focusing on technologies like HDMI VRR, ray tracing, and upscaling.

The company also stated that users will be able to upgrade parts of the Steam Machine, specifically the solid state drive and DDR5 memory.

A continuing shortage of RAM is impacting many industries. This could delay the release of new game consoles, and one graphics card manufacturer has cautioned that it might cause lasting problems for the graphics card market.

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2026-02-05 17:49