Valve has officially opened the waitlist for the long-awaited Steam Machine. Think of it as a video game console — if the said console were much smaller, easily repairable, built with PC parts, and completely free from the walled gardens of digital storefronts, forced subscriptions, and proprietary first-party accessories.
You can tap this link to enter the queue. Take note, however, that the hardware won’t come cheap — and to be fair, that’s a reality the company heavily telegraphed leading up to today’s announcement. Unfortunately for those in the Philippines, the Steam Machine isn’t launching locally, meaning local gamers are currently locked out of the waitlist.
Pricing and waitlist process
Here’s how much the Steam Machine costs in the United States:
- 512GB: $1,049 (around ₱64,302)
- 512GB with Steam Controller: $1,128 (₱69,145)
- 2TB: $1,349 (₱82,692)
- 2TB with Steam Controller: $1,428 (₱87,534)
While those numbers are quite staggering (we had hoped the cost would be around $700 or ₱42,909), they align perfectly with what many of us expected. The ongoing memory and storage shortages haven’t just squeezed the computer market; they’ve strained practically every consumer electronics category reliant on heavy RAM and SSD usage, including smartphones. There’s likely nothing else the manufacturer could have done. Still, that doesn’t change the math for consumers. For the same money, you can buy a modern system like Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, a Sony PS5, or even the PS5 Pro at its currently hiked-up price, and still have cash left over for a couple of games or an online multiplayer subscription for a year.
As for securing a unit, Valve has detailed how the preorder process will unfold: “Join the list any time before June 25th at 10 a.m. PT. On that date, the list will be closed and randomized, and you will receive an email with your results shortly after.” That means anyone who registers before the deadline gets an equal shot, with winners randomly selected for the opportunity to buy. Valve hopes this lottery system minimizes scalping and gives fans a fair chance to own a Steam Machine.
To help you make a more informed decision before joining the queue, here are our thoughts on exactly what this hardware is — and what it isn’t.
Valve’s announcement
What the Steam Machine is
This is a small form-factor gaming PC designed to bring the desktop experience into the living room with the convenience you’d expect from a modern video game console. Preinstalled with Linux-based SteamOS, it uses the Proton translation layer to run Windows games right out of the box.
Under the hood, you’ll find a semi-custom six-core Zen 4 CPU from AMD, paired with an RDNA3 GPU alongside 8GB of dedicated VRAM. It includes HDMI CEC, which lets you control your entire home-theater setup directly from the controller.
It’s also quiet and thermally efficient, achieving cool thermals through a strictly limited power profile and a custom high-pressure fan design. And like its handheld cousin, the Steam Deck, the Steam Machine remains relatively open and repairable. You’re free to upgrade accessible components like the RAM and NVMe SSD, install alternative operating systems like Windows 11, and plug in standard peripherals without issues.
What the Steam Machine is not
Despite ambitious marketing, multiple sources report the Steam Machine isn’t a 4K, 60fps powerhouse. Its power-limited, laptop-grade internals place its actual performance closer to older or entry-level gaming components, such as the AMD RX 6600 or NVIDIA’s RTX 3060. It lacks capable ray-tracing chops, too, reportedly struggling to maintain playable frame rates in some titles when the feature is forced or heavily used.
And with a steep starting price for the base 512GB model, it delivers worse price-to-performance value than a comparable custom-built DIY PC. Plus, the core processing components are soldered and cannot be swapped out.
Despite its obvious limitations, the Steam Machine delivers a pretty compelling blueprint for the future of living room PC gaming. It proves that an open, repairable, and console-like desktop ecosystem is entirely possible. Sadly, it will likely fail to live up to the sky-high expectations surrounding its launch, largely due to factors completely outside Valve’s control. Crippling industry-wide component shortages and inflated memory costs have transformed what should have been a disruptive system into a highly priced product only enthusiasts might appreciate.
Valve Steam Machine specs
- 152 mm tall (148mm without feet) x 162.4mm deep x 156mm wide chassis, 2.6kg weight
- Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 processor (6C / 12T, up to 4.8 GHz, 30W TDP)
- Semi-custom AMD RDNA3 graphics processor (28 CUs, 2.45GHz max sustained clock, 110W TDP)
- 16GB DDR5 RAM + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
- 512GB or 2TB NVMe SSD storage
- High-speed microSD card slot
- DisplayPort 1.4 (up to 4K @ 240Hz or 8K @ 60Hz; supports HDR, FreeSync, and daisy-chaining)
- HDMI 2.0 output (up to 4K @ 120Hz; supports HDR, FreeSync, and CEC)
- Two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports (front), two USB-A 2.0 high-speed ports (back), one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port (back)
- Gigabit ethernet
- 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 with dedicated antenna
- Integrated 2.4 GHz Steam Controller wireless adapter
- 17 individually addressable RGB LEDs for system status and customizability
- SteamOS 3 (Arch-based) with KDE Plasma desktop
- Internal power supply, AC power 110-240V
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