*** Valve Steam Machine ***

[Timber]

If I recall, the Steam Machine was attempted over a decade ago, 2014? Though, it failed. Anybody have any insight into why it never really picked up? I guess Valve's offering couldn't really compete with the rival consoles at the time.

I know someone has already answered, but in the main it's because Linux at the time had very little software support, particularly gaming. The original concept was based on developers writing Linux versions of their games which didn't happen. They were based on Steam OS 1/2, (still out there for download from Valve), build by hardware Partners NOT Valve (Dell, Levovo etc.), were quite expensive for the time, not a fixed specification so the experience varied per machine and then peripheral support was bad. The original 2015 Steam controller, which was born of this initiative was a 'marmite' device. Most people did not like it (I have mine somewhere still).

What has changed is that Linux Desktop is much better now, even those that have had the Steam Deck since launch will tell you the experience on Steam OS has improved massively. The new machine is build by Valve, with learning from their other hardware they manufactured over the years. But mainly because of this software layer called 'Proton' which allows Windows versions of games to run on Linux with minimal latency. That and Steam has grown massively meaning Valve are well placed to leverage those customers with their massive software libraries.

 

[Soulja]

So it's not even as powerful as a PS5 that was released like 4 or 5 years ago? I do like the sound of a new steam PC/Console, especially with it being small form factor and being able to use it on my living room TV more easily etc but it needs to be priced at around £300ish for it to take off imo. Anything higher than that and I think people will just buy a PS5.

 

[Timber]

So it's not even as powerful as a PS5 that was released like 4 or 5 years ago?

The current projection (which I think has been mostly from Digital Foundry's video) is that it will not be as powerful as the base PS5. Probably close, but in their words 'between Series S and (base) PS5, but closer to the PS5'. I guess newer parts, more powerful CPU vs. unified faster RAM and more powerful GPU on the PS5.

 

[Kill_Phil]

As others have said, pricing is going to be key on this. Although I think it will miss the mark based on the price of the deck

 

[lovelyhead]

So it's not even as powerful as a PS5 that was released like 4 or 5 years ago? I do like the sound of a new steam PC/Console, especially with it being small form factor and being able to use it on my living room TV more easily etc but it needs to be priced at around £300ish for it to take off imo. Anything higher than that and I think people will just buy a PS5.

I agree. I really think it needs to be priced at £300 to make this device compelling.

The facts are:

Releasing in 2026 with only 8GB of VRAM when 8GB is just not enough for modern games. Some games like Indiana Jones can only handle low quality textures with 8GB VRAM. Can you imagine how bad GTA VI will run on a Steam Machine? Are you really going to pick a Steam Machine over even a base PS5 to play it?

The more powerful PS5 console has been out for nearly 5 years and can be purchased for £330 with a game when on sale.

Although not exactly a direct competitor, Nintendo's latest console has just launched and can be purchased for around £400 with Mario Kart World.

Most modern online multiplayer games can't be played on Steam Machine.

No Gamepass access except streaming.

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If it is priced at £300 it would be an excellent way to play older PC titles and new indie games on your TV and I imagine it will be really good for emulation. It really has to be priced no higher than a PS5 if it is to sell big numbers. Once the initial hype dies down and we get Digital Foundary doing benchmarks with new AAA releases, it will become apparent that the system is too underpowered and interest will wane.

 

[manic111]

I agree. I really think it needs to be priced at £300 to make this device compelling.

The facts are:

Releasing in 2026 with only 8GB of VRAM when 8GB is just not enough for modern games. Some games like Indiana Jones can only handle low quality textures with 8GB VRAM. Can you imagine how bad GTA VI will run on a Steam Machine? Are you really going to pick a Steam Machine over even a base PS5 to play it?

The more powerful PS5 console has been out for nearly 5 years and can be purchased for £330 with a game when on sale.

Although not exactly a direct competitor, Nintendo's latest console has just launched and can be purchased for around £400 with Mario Kart World.

Most modern online multiplayer games can't be played on Steam Machine.

No Gamepass access except streaming.

------------------------------------------------

If it is priced at £300 it would be an excellent way to play older PC titles and new indie games on your TV and I imagine it will be really good for emulation. It really has to be priced no higher than a PS5 if it is to sell big numbers. Once the initial hype dies down and we get Digital Foundary doing benchmarks with new AAA releases, it will become apparent that the system is too underpowered and interest will wane.

I think it depends significantly on what type of gamers people are. My PS5 has barely been used for the last 6 months, while I'm frequently on my Steam Deck, despite usually being on my couch at home. I have a much bigger library of more interesting games on the Deck, whereas the AAA games I have on the PS5 are largely uninteresting. Further, most AAA games can now be streamed eg via GeForce Now.

As long as the price of the Steam Machine is comparable to a PS5, I may well pick one up on day one for the convenience of Steam on my TV in a format which can run most things well.

 

[Joxeon]

Apparently it has a 28CU 8GB RDNA3 card. So slower than an RX7600.

8gb VRAM is disappointing especially when games are now struggling even at 1080p with this, the console is marketed at 4k too so I can’t see it running anything modern particularly well.

 

[xiphrex]

Its very interesting that they are persistent in trying to break into the console market. There must be a lot of money to be made there!

Then why is Microsoft self-sabotaging itself and killing off its xbox?

To be honest, if I want to play a PC game, I would just play it on a PC, rather than infront of my tv on my sofa.

 

[Timber]

Its very interesting that they are persistent in trying to break into the console market. There must be a lot of money to be made there!

Then why is Microsoft self-sabotaging itself and killing off its xbox?

To be honest, if I want to play a PC game, I would just play it on a PC, rather than infront of my tv on my sofa.

I don't think it's so much as wanting to break into the console market, but everything Valve do is in the interest of growing Steam. The companies with successful digital ecosystems; Sony, Nintendo, Apple, Google, Valve, are rolling in it. It's why Microsoft also can't quite give-up on that 30% dream and just become a publisher. They are trying to find a way to transfer that 35/40m users from Xbox Console to Windows 11 and to refocus on PC.

EDIT: Some perspective on expectations for the Steam Machine.

https://bsky.app/profile/matpiscatella.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3m5hjptjeps2f

 

[alex24]

I’m still liking this even having thought about it a bit overnight.

The controller with touchpads must allow you to play classic PC games, including RTS etc. on your sofa. I assume this is how the old controller and current deck work? That means most or all the steam library is accessible I would guess.

1080p gaming would seem well in reach and most people with 4k TVs should get pretty clean scaling to that?

AAA games are increasingly often poorly optimised grind-fests devoid of particular creativity, usually running on the same engines and I think real gamers are starting to see this and looking to indie and smaller titles for enjoyment which are very numerous on Steam. Couple that with decades of quality PC games of the past available on Steam and the Steam Machine effectively has a much larger library of varied and quality content compared to any console. Add emulation of many retro consoles and really you’re only missing some of the latest AAA and intrusive kernel-based multiplayer, both of which are probably better on a dedicated gaming PC anyway as you’ll need to spend a lot more to get the performance. This could be a nice sweet spot. Way too much is being put on specs versus what the product can actually deliver overall. Look at the success of the Switch as a good example. If you want high specs, build your own, always an option.

Then you add the fantastic Linux-based gaming-centric experience of SteamOS and Proton that Valve have developed with the Deck and it starts to look like a super compelling package.

Two more things I’d like to see to make this even better:

- Embracing Linux community and considering some sort of curated open-source model for the OS or at least the components that are not Steam specific but would allow users to support new technologies and hardware more easily. I’m not sure how it works now but I think there could be something here.
- Repairability and upgradability of the Steam Machine should be excellent. Repair especially, but maybe they could follow a Framework-like model for hardware upgrades where users can upgrade if they wish.

 

[lovelyhead]

I’m still liking this even having thought about it a bit overnight.

The controller with touchpads must allow you to play classic PC games, including RTS etc. on your sofa. I assume this is how the old controller and current deck work? That means most or all the steam library is accessible I would guess.

1080p gaming would seem well in reach and most people with 4k TVs should get pretty clean scaling to that?

AAA games are increasingly often poorly optimised grind-fests devoid of particular creativity, usually running on the same engines and I think real gamers are starting to see this and looking to indie and smaller titles for enjoyment which are very numerous on Steam. Couple that with decades of quality PC games of the past available on Steam and the Steam Machine effectively has a much larger library of varied and quality content compared to any console. Add emulation of many retro consoles and really you’re only missing some of the latest AAA and intrusive kernel-based multiplayer, both of which are probably better on a dedicated gaming PC anyway as you’ll need to spend a lot more to get the performance. This could be a nice sweet spot. Way too much is being put on specs versus what the product can actually deliver overall. Look at the success of the Switch as a good example. If you want high specs, build your own, always an option.

Then you add the fantastic Linux-based gaming-centric experience of SteamOS and Proton that Valve have developed with the Deck and it starts to look like a super compelling package.

Two more things I’d like to see to make this even better:

- Embracing Linux community and considering some sort of curated open-source model for the OS or at least the components that are not Steam specific but would allow users to support new technologies and hardware more easily. I’m not sure how it works now but I think there could be something here.
- Repairability and upgradability of the Steam Machine should be excellent. Repair especially, but maybe they could follow a Framework-like model for hardware upgrades where users can upgrade if they wish.

I fully agree. The Steam Machine could be awesome or a complete flop. It all depends on the price.

 

[lovelyhead]

I just noticed an extremely niche thing about the Steam Machine regarding it's lack of 3.5mm audio out. If you happen to have a recent Alienware monitor that also doesn't have an audio out port on it, I am not sure how you will get audio to speakers or headphones whilst using the monitor? USB sound card?

 

[Kenai]

I just noticed an extremely niche thing about the Steam Machine regarding it's lack of 3.5mm audio out. If you happen to have a recent Alienware monitor that also doesn't have an audio out port on it, I am not sure how you will get audio to speakers or headphones whilst using the monitor? USB sound card?

It's surely aimed at people for TVs / Home Cinema setups with the intention audio will be delivered by HDMI?

I mean, I struggle to see the market for it as is but I doubt many people will be replacing actual gaming PCs with this and hooking up to their monitors and PC speaker setups surely?

 

[Timber]

I just noticed an extremely niche thing about the Steam Machine regarding it's lack of 3.5mm audio out. If you happen to have a recent Alienware monitor that also doesn't have an audio out port on it, I am not sure how you will get audio to speakers or headphones whilst using the monitor? USB sound card?

It's surely aimed at people for TVs / Home Cinema setups with the intention audio will be delivered by HDMI?

I mean, I struggle to see the market for it as is but I doubt many people will be replacing actual gaming PCs with this and hooking up to their monitors and PC speaker setups surely?

Tbf Valve's marketing does say it's a PC and has a picture of a gamer at a desk with mouse and keyboard, so I think they know some people will buy it for desktop use.

But audio hasn't been mentioned at all. And even though Linux should be better than Windows (less latency) it doesn't have 3D audio, or as easily accessed Virtual Surround. Linux does work out of the box with loads of USB Dongles and DAC/AMPs so you can easily go that route for actual hardware to connect to. I do think it's something Valve need to work on for Steam OS. Improve 3D and VSS audio options for games that support it and on their hardware in general. Some of the github guides are horrific.

 

[MatsyLR]

Still on a i5 2500k and SLI 670 with 3GB vram (even though SLI is long dead and nothing uses it). I'm surprised nothing has died so far it's been like 14 years. The only change I've made is adding a extra SSD for storage and putting more RAM in when my dad got rid of his PC (yes mismatched RAM )

Works fine for what I do mainly indie games with the odd AA/AAA and emulation for older titles, sure id love more power but I'm not willing to buy a whole new PC.

AAA games of recent have been largely devoid of creativity apart from a few gems. While inde gaming has been blossoming with loads of bangers that don't need powerful hardware. Not had much of an urge to pay anything for a new PC for what I use it for and how much I use it (some weeks I don't even turn it on as I'm busy with other stuff)

If this is around the £300-£500 mark, I'd probably buy it after waiting for the dust to settle and reviews/benchmarks to come out) Im already using the Linux ecosystem (KDE plasma) so the desktop part would work fine for me.

Although I'm expecting it to be closer to £1000 (at least for the higher storage version) based on the wording around priced like a PC not a console, but hoping it's somewhat reasonable. Linustechtips video made it clear in my eyes that pricing is going to be a big issue just by the way he worded it and the way he said it could just see it in the body language.

If it does well it will hopefully push developers to bother implementing Linux based changes (games that use kernel anti cheat etc) but don't expect anything to happen.

 

[Moothead2]

People keep saying it's not for those who already have a beefy gaming PC but I genuinely can't foresee many people outside of that demographic buying it as an easy way to play their steam library in the living room. As a console alternative it's DOA due to it running Linux and thus locking you out of the vast majority of casual games, a list including FIFA, CoD, Apex and Fortnite. Millions of people buy consoles solely for those kinds of games, a fact that people online seem completely blind to because FIFA/CoD/Fortnite bad. If you're installing windows to get around that it instantly loses the plug and play appeal it's clearly going for.

maybe it'll see some interest from people with very old PCs that want an easy, and hopefully affordable upgrade, or people wanting to ease their way into PC gaming for things like mod support but I can't see this ending up as anything other than a niche product for PC nerds and people who like shiny new toys. I think a new and improved Steam Link would have satisfied the majority of what will become the Steam PC market.

 

[will13]

People keep saying it's not for those who already have a beefy gaming PC but I genuinely can't foresee many people outside of that demographic buying it as an easy way to play their steam library in the living room. As a console alternative it's DOA due to it running Linux and thus locking you out of the vast majority of casual games, a list including FIFA, CoD, Apex and Fortnite. Millions of people buy consoles solely for those kinds of games, a fact that people online seem completely blind to because FIFA/CoD/Fortnite bad. If you're installing windows to get around that it instantly loses the plug and play appeal it's clearly going for.

maybe it'll see some interest from people with very old PCs that want an easy, and hopefully affordable upgrade, or people wanting to ease their way into PC gaming for things like mod support but I can't see this ending up as anything other than a niche product for PC nerds and people who like shiny new toys. I think a new and improved Steam Link would have satisfied the majority of what will become the Steam PC market.

Yeah there seems to be a lot of blind hype surrounding it and not enough realistic expectations from what I've seen

I think the price will be the real wake up call for some, cause I don't expect it under £700 but then again I've already seen plenty saying they'll buy it for $750+ which is crazy too me but then again I'm not a rabid fanboy of Valve

 

[MatsyLR]

Yeah there seems to be a lot of blind hype surrounding it and not enough realistic expectations from what I've seen

I think the price will be the real wake up call for some, cause I don't expect it under £700 but then again I've already seen plenty saying they'll buy it for $750+ which is crazy too me but then again I'm not a rabid fanboy of Valve

One of the main issues I have is it's already out of date compared to the consoles. I know it's a PC as well blah blah, but the Xbox is just a handicapped PC, I can't imagine it would be incredibly difficult for them to implement some kind of windows sub system or whatever if they really wanted to. Although probably not something they'd do.

New consoles are not that far away and this thing is already less powerful than a PS5 from what I've read. In the next couple years it's going to be lagging behind for anyone who wants to play latest games that requires more and more vram. Specially as developers just don't care for Linux as of yet and don't expect that to change anytime soon.

For people like myself it would make sense and would probably last for a good while it's a nice idea but the pricing is going to be a killer i'd imagine.

 

[will13]

One of the main issues I have is it's already out of date compared to the consoles. I know it's a PC as well blah blah, but the Xbox is just a handicapped PC, I can't imagine it would be incredibly difficult for them to implement some kind of windows sub system or whatever if they really wanted to. Although probably not something they'd do.

New consoles are not that far away and this thing is already less powerful than a PS5 from what I've read. In the next couple years it's going to be lagging behind for anyone who wants to play latest games that requires more and more vram. Specially as developers just don't care for Linux as of yet and don't expect that to change anytime soon.

For people like myself it would make sense and would probably last for a good while it's a nice idea but the pricing is going to be a killer i'd imagine.

I've said it a few times now but buying effectively a worse PS5 nearly 6 later and for more money probably isn't gonna appeal to many console players (and that's without mentioning the other issues), add on to the fact it's probably only gonna be available to order from Valve so that'll also leave out a lot of potential customers

So to me it pretty much just leaves PC players but I gotta question who it really appeals too in that crowd too, if you want a small TV PC well you could've built one anytime in last 5 years

 

[Grim5]

It's surely aimed at people for TVs / Home Cinema setups with the intention audio will be delivered by HDMI?

I mean, I struggle to see the market for it as is but I doubt many people will be replacing actual gaming PCs with this and hooking up to their monitors and PC speaker setups surely?

Yup this, it's targeting the home cinema market