This past week has been a whirlwind of speculation for PC gamers. And just gamers in general really.
Valve Corporation, the company behind various masterpieces such as the Half-Life series, the Team Fortress series and my personal favourite, the Portal series, alongside the Steam gaming platform has finally spun their namesake and gave us all a big surprise — Three new pieces of hardware. These are the Steam Frame, Steam Controller and the Steam Machine.
My Reasonings
The latter is the one that I am ecstatic for because I am a console gamer at heart. I had gotten sick of being locked into the ecosystems of Xbox and then later PlayStation due to the price gouging and monopolistic practices on both console platforms — yes, I know Nintendo does the exact same thing but they have exclusives that I like.
My Reaction
When the news broke with the announcement video, I was very excited. I had been following the news and rumours surrounding the Steam Machine (then codenamed the Fremont) for months, so that’s why I was like this.
If #Valve is indeed creating a #Steam Machine, I might switch from #PlayStation fully whenever the PS6 comes around. I am not paying £60+ p/a for basic functionality. The only benefit, in my opinion, of being on console is the full controller support. Steam games need to improve it.
And then when it dropped, I did not hold back.
HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK store.steampowered.com/sale/steamma... @valvesoftware.com YOU LEGENDS!
It was incredible. They had done it again! The GabeCube is real!
Renewed Hope
When the Valve Index — which was the predecessor of the Steam Frame — released, so did Half-Life Alyx alongside it.
As well as the historical context, there has been a codename HLX in the works. This has been rumoured to be the almost fabled Half-Life 3, and I am very certain that it may well be. Don’t take my word as fact but I do think that Valve will announce it with the announcement of the new hardware’s launch price.
I also believe that it will be bundled with the Steam Machine as all Half-Life titles besides Alyx have been non-VR.
I personally really do hope for a Portal 3, but I know that Half-Life games are much much more popular. If not a Portal 3, then a remaster? I did notice that Portal 2 was featured in the Hardware Announcement video, so that may be a sign of something coming. I could just be looking way too hard though.
LAN Parties Galore!
I’m not the only one in my friend group who is very excited about this. One of them egged on doing a LAN party using our Steam Machines when they become available come 2026.
I would love that because it could also be done with anyone who has a Steam Deck (either on a WLAN or just over the internet anyway) or just any device able to use Steam. It could bring back the old feeling of childhood parties playing local multiplayer together. I miss that.
Skeptics Abound
Now, obviously there has been criticism. The Steam Machine has been called underpowered, and even questioned of its usage.
Who is Valve's "Steam Machine" FOR? I get the USP of the "Steam Deck" (mobile gaming) but the "Steam Machine"? Steam's user-base are PC gamers. They already have a (probably quite expensive) box in their house that they play on. Why would they want another?
These opinions are not… very unusual, it’s only natural when a new device is announced. But it feels like they forget that they are not the target market, they already have a gaming PC. The Steam Machine is a console-like gaming PC geared towards those who want to move to Steam but may not be able to afford a gaming PC. A stepping stone, if you will.
I am on Steam. I do not own a dedicated gaming PC. I prefer a console and controller interface. I do not care for portability. I want a Steam Machine. (but fair point!)
Who is Valve's "Steam Machine" FOR? I get the USP of the "Steam Deck" (mobile gaming) but the "Steam Machine"? Steam's user-base are PC gamers. They already have a (probably quite expensive) box in their house that they play on. Why would they want another?
What about the Price?
On that note of pricing, Valve hasn’t announced any figures on the new hardware’s pricing, let alone the Steam Machine.
Personally, I’m expecting a price of ~£500. This is due to the fact that consoles and entry-level PCs are around that same price and that the cost of manufacturing for the Steam Machine was estimated to be ~$425 and manufacturers typically price-match between currencies.
Oh and it runs Linux and we have full reign to do whatever the fuck we want with it. No overhead of Windows resource bloat or additional cost of licensing by default!
But It's a PC!
That is true. This is why I'm only being hopeful about the price. It will most likely be ~£700, which I am personally okay with swallowing, even if it is a bit of a hard pill. I just want a gaming plug-and-play on SteamOS. That is all.
Conclusion
As you may well know now, I am extremely excited about the potential purchase. It gives me hope that I can finally move on from console gaming (aside from Nintendo, I don’t mind that) and settle into PC gaming on Steam properly. Sure, I’ll be using a controller still, but that’s a necessity for me. I like the flexibility, though!
I am curious though, are you getting any Steam Hardware?