New speculation about the price of the Steam Machine

In the past few days, several users have apparently independently discovered offers for Valve's new Steam Machine in the online shop of the large Czech retail chain Smarty.cz. What is striking are the prices, which can be found in the website's source code. Including the Czech value-added tax of 21 percent, the model with a 512 GByte SSD costs around 988 Euros, and the version with a 2 TByte SSD costs around 1111 Euros. The surcharge of 123 Euros corresponds to current market prices for SSDs, so the framework appears realistic.

Among others, users on Reddit discovered the information in the source code, and heise online can still verify the listings in the website's HTML on Saturday afternoon. It is not possible to judge whether these are just placeholders, as are often used in online shops. However, given the ongoing memory crisis, which has made DRAM and flash components two to four times more expensive, the Steam Machine could indeed become this expensive. In addition to the SSD, the device also has 16 GByte of DDR5 RAM and 8 GByte of graphics memory from GDDR6.

Memory crisis could also affect Valve

It is not known whether Valve secured itself against the start of the memory crisis in autumn 2025 with long-term contracts at fixed prices. The few large DRAM and flash manufacturers have warned in recent months about a long-lasting shortage, which is expected to last at least throughout 2026. The main reason is the boom in AI data centers, for which a large part of the memory manufacturers' production has been repurposed or already sold in advance.

Since Valve introduced the new Steam Machine in mid-November, the company has refused to provide any concrete information about the price. While it was initially said that the device would be launched at the price of consoles, it was later stated that it should cost as much as a comparable PC. Since then, countless observers, including heise online, have been speculating about what the actual price might be. Before memory prices literally exploded in December, around 800 Euros for the 512 GByte model was considered consensus. It was clear from the start that it would not be around the 500 US dollars or Euros of a Playstation 5: When YouTuber Linus Sebastian (LTT) mentioned this price in response to a question from Valve about a reasonable price, there was according to his description an embarrassed silence in the room.

No subsidy through games

Unlike consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, for example, the Steam Machine is not intended to be subsidized by game sales. Valve has stated from the outset that the hardware business should be "sustainable." This also makes sense, as many interested parties will already have a well-stocked Steam library, and the major exclusive "system sellers" like those found on classic consoles are not in sight. Even the comparison with a similar PC made of standard components is difficult, as the new Steam Machine is a very compact custom PC. The motherboard, power supply, and cooling are custom-made, along with numerous other special parts such as antennas and the multiple I/O boards.

What is also surprising about the listing by Smarty.cz is that it exists at all. So far, Valve has focused on direct sales for its devices, such as the very successful Steam Deck, where all margins remain with Valve. Whether the Czech retailer has secured a special contingent and is charging for it separately is one of the further uncertainties. The same applies to the launch date for the Steam Machine, which Valve has only stated as "early 2026."

(nie)