Valve has delayed announcing pricing and release dates for its upcoming hardware, including the Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame VR headset. The delay, announced on , is directly attributed to significant and rapidly increasing shortages and prices in the memory and storage markets.
Originally intending to reveal pricing and launch details by , Valve now states that the situation has changed due to the volatile component market. The company remains committed to launching all three products within the first half of , but concrete dates and pricing are currently under review.
The Impact of Memory and Storage Costs
The primary driver of the delay is the dramatic increase in the cost of RAM and storage. According to reports, prices for key components have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in the last three months. Specifically, the price of 16GB DDR5 RAM has more than doubled on Amazon UK, rising from £67 to £148 since Valve’s initial announcement in November 2025. Similarly, a 512GB 2230 NVMe SSD, used in the Steam Machine, has increased in price from £54 to £88 over the same period. Larger 2TB drives have seen even steeper increases, jumping from £129 to £244.
While Valve doesn’t purchase components at consumer prices, these price surges reflect a global trend impacting the entire PC industry. The situation is severe enough to potentially delay the release of next-generation game consoles as well.
Steam Machine at the Center of the Issue
The Steam Machine is identified as the major catalyst for the delay. As a living room PC designed to bridge the gap between consoles and entry-level PCs, its pricing is particularly sensitive to component costs. The base model is expected to include 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of storage, and the rising costs of these components are forcing Valve to reconsider its pricing strategy.
The Steam Frame VR headset, powered by a Snapdragon processor and featuring 16GB of LPDDR5X memory and 256GB or 1TB of storage, is also affected. Valve had previously aimed to price the Frame below the Valve Index (£919), but this goal is now under review.
Component Accessibility and Future-Proofing
Despite the delay, Valve is emphasizing the accessibility and upgradability of the Steam Machine’s components. The SSD (NVMe 2230 or 2280) and DDR5 SODIMM RAM will be user-replaceable, allowing owners to adapt the machine to fluctuating market prices and potentially upgrade components in the future. This design choice suggests Valve anticipates continued volatility in the component market.
Performance Expectations
Valve states that the Steam Machine is expected to run most Steam titles at 4K resolution with 60 frames per second using FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR). However, some demanding games may require further upscaling or a reduction to 1080p resolution. The company is also working on improving Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support via HDMI and optimizing ray tracing performance through driver updates.
Valve also plans to release the CAD files for the Steam Machine’s facades, enabling third-party manufacturers and enthusiasts to create custom designs.
Broader Industry Context
The current component shortages are linked, in part, to a significant agreement between Samsung, SK Hynix, and OpenAI for the supply of DRAM. This agreement allocates 900,000 DRAM wafers monthly – potentially 40% of global production – to infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence. This reallocation of resources has exacerbated the supply constraints for other sectors, including gaming.
While AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su, recently stated that production was “on the rails,” Valve’s situation highlights the specific challenges facing companies relying on memory and storage components. The delay underscores the impact of the global supply chain crisis on the gaming hardware market and the difficulty of maintaining pricing targets in the face of rapidly changing market conditions.
