Steam Machine's 2026 Release Still Certain, Says Valve

In early February, Valve confirmed that the Steam Machine’s launch was pushed out of its early 2026 release window due to the ongoing RAM shortages. At the time, Valve expressed confidence that a 2026 release was still on the table, but the company seemed a little less confident in its Year In Review 2025 report, which initially stated the afternoon of March 6: “We hope to ship in 2026.” However, the company has since clarified that its plans have not changed.

In a statement to The Verge, Valve PR said, “nothing has actually changed on our end.” The Verge also noted that Valve’s language in the Year In Review 2025 report had changed, shifting from the ambiguous use of “hope” to “we will be shipping all three products this year.”

The report goes on to mention that the “Steam Machine has more than six times the horsepower of Steam Deck, packed into sleek, quiet form factor.” Like the Steam Deck before it, players will be able to install custom software on the Steam Machine as they would for any PC. Alternatively, it can just be used to explore the Steam ecosystem and play games at will.

Earlier this week, Microsoft officially announced the new Xbox, which is codenamed Project Helix. Since that console will play Xbox and PC games, it appears to be a direct competitor of the Steam Machine. An analyst recently estimated that Project Helix may cost $900 or more. As for the Steam Machine, Valve has yet to disclose any pricing details. Analysts have had a harder time predicting the cost.

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