Valve says it cannot yet provide exact release dates or final prices for the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller. The company originally planned to disclose that information in February, but a worsening shortage in the DRAM and component market has forced it to reassess timing and pricing for the new hardware lineup.
The shortage of system memory and related components has tightened supply and driven up costs. Valve explains that limited availability of these critical parts means it must revisit retail prices and delivery schedules, particularly for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. The company still intends to launch all three products in the first half of this year, but is finalizing dates and prices as the market situation evolves and will report updates as plans become firm.
On performance, Valve reports that internal testing shows the majority of Steam titles run very well on the Steam Machine at 4K resolution with a 60 frames-per-second target when FSR upscaling is enabled. However, some games currently need heavier upscaling; for those titles Valve recommends running at lower frame rates with variable refresh to maintain an internal 1080p render while preserving smoothness.
To address these cases Valve is working on multiple improvements: implementing an HDMI version that supports variable refresh rates, enhancing upscaling algorithms, and optimizing ray-tracing performance. These efforts are intended to broaden the range of games that can hit preferred visual and frame-rate targets on the platform.
The Steam Machine is built to allow user upgrades. Both the NVMe SSD (supporting 2230 and 2280 form factors) and the DDR5 SODIMM memory modules can be replaced with higher-capacity or higher-performance parts, according to Valve.
The Steam Machine mini‑PC was announced on November 12. Its specified configuration includes an AMD Zen 4 six-core processor clocked to 4.7 GHz, an AMD RDNA 3 GPU with 28 compute units, 16 GB of DDR5 system memory and 8 GB of GDDR6 video memory. Storage options are planned at 512 GB and 2 TB, and the device will include an additional microSD slot. Valve engineers say the mini‑PC should be more powerful than, or at least comparable to, the hardware used by roughly 70 percent of Steam users. The Steam Machine's release is targeted for early 2026.
Valve emphasizes that while the goal of a first-half launch remains, the company must balance that target against the realities of component supply and cost. Pricing and shipment timetables are under review, and Valve pledges to keep the community informed as final decisions are made.