Valve’s long-awaited return to the console-style PC space may come with a far higher price than most people were expecting.
While Valve has yet to officially announce pricing or a release date for its new Steam Machine, early retailer listings in the Czech Republic suggest the device could land firmly in premium territory. Pricing data discovered in the source code of electronics retailer Smarty’s website points to a launch price of roughly $950 for the 512GB model and about $1,070 for the 1TB version, before taxes.
If accurate, those numbers would immediately put the Steam Machine above the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and closer to the cost of a high-end gaming PC than a traditional console.
Grain of Salt: Steam Machine Price Leaked ($1000+ for 2TB)
by u/chusskaptaan in Gamingnewsandleaks
Before jumping to conclusions, it’s important to stress that these prices remain unofficial. The listings were not visible on public product pages and were only found buried in the retailer’s website code. However, similar pricing later appeared on Alza, one of the Czech Republic’s largest electronics retailers, lending the leak additional credibility. Even so, nothing is confirmed until Valve makes an announcement.
There’s also an important layer of context that helps explain the eye-watering figures. Retailers typically apply their own markup. Smarty, for example, currently sells the Steam Deck OLED 512GB for around $633, compared to Valve’s official price of $549, a markup of roughly 15%. Applying that same margin to the leaked Steam Machine prices would put Valve’s direct U.S. pricing closer to $826 for the 512GB model and around $930 for the 1TB version.
Those adjusted figures are still expensive. Even at Valve’s likely pricing, the Steam Machine would cost around 50% more than a PS5 and 27% more than an Xbox Series X. That’s a steep ask for a device that sits somewhere between a console and a PC.
Emmanuel Umahi
But that positioning is intentional. Valve isn’t trying to build a mass-market console in the way Sony and Microsoft do. It doesn’t subsidize hardware to make money back on game sales. Instead, the Steam Machine is best understood as a compact gaming PC designed for the living room, priced like PC hardware but wrapped in a console-like experience.
External factors may also be working against aggressive pricing. Ongoing global NAND shortages have driven up the cost of storage and memory, both core components of the Steam Machine’s design. With component prices climbing, Valve has limited room to undercut expectations without sacrificing margins. That reality may also help explain why the company has yet to lock in a firm release date, despite revealing the device in November and hinting at a possible Q1 2026 window.
The Takeaway
If these leaked prices hold, the Steam Machine isn’t aiming to compete with PlayStation and Xbox on affordability. Instead, Valve appears to be betting that some players are willing to pay PC-level prices for console-level convenience.
It’s a bold gamble. But if it works, it could redefine what premium gaming hardware looks like in the living room. Either way, the Steam Machine is shaping up to be one of the most important and most expensive gaming launches of 2026.
Emmanuel Umahi
