Steam Machine ‘will be priced like a PC, not like a console’
Valve spokesperson says Steam Machine will be “very competitively priced with a PC”
Valve’s newly announced Steam Machine will be priced “like a PC, rather than like a console”.
That’s according to a Valve spokesperson who spoke to Linus Tech Tips during a reveal event. According to Linus Sebastian, this likely means the Steam firm won’t take a hit on production costs in order to reduce consumer prices, like companies like PlayStation and Xbox have done in the past.
Currently, PS5 retails for $500-$550, with PS5 Pro retailing for $750, and Xbox Series X starting from $600. Both platform holders have raised prices this year.
“Valve wasn’t able to give any specific numbers due to the ‘rapidly evolving market conditions’, but they will obviously have it nailed down when the Steam Machine launches in Q1 202, alongside the new Steam Controller,” Sebastian said.
“They did offer me one hint, though: they said that while they expect it to be very competitively priced with a PC, it will be priced like a PC, rather than like a console with games subsidizing the upfront hardware purchase.
“They wouldn’t say why, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s partially to avoid stepping on the margin opportunities of their potential partners for Steam games and Steam software, but also because they recognize that the Steam Machine is a full-fledged PC.
“So there’s no guarantee then that, say, a corporate purchase of 10,000 of these things would result in a single game sale, so they really do need to protect the sustainability of their harbor business.”
Announced on Wednesday alongside a new VR headset and controller, Steam Machine is a six-inch console-like cube with “over six times the horsepower of Steam Deck”, which is designed to allow PC games to be played on the TV.
Valve says Steam Machine will offer “4K gaming at 60 fps with FSR, thanks to a discrete semi-custom AMD desktop class CPU and GPU” and be powerful enough to stream games to other devices, including the Steam Deck.
Valve says it will reveal pricing for Steam Deck ahead of its release next year. According to Ampere Analysis, much of the device’s success will depend on its price point.
“Ampere expects the new version of the Steam Machine to see success akin to the Steam Deck selling in the low millions over a few years,” said Ampere’s Katie Holt. “It will appeal to both established Steam gamers wanting an alternative access point to the platform perhaps through gaming on the TV and also to those consumers on the fence about spending a lot on a gaming PC.
“Among these consumers, uptake will be heavily dependent on pricing. The specification of the Steam Machine is relatively low-powered compared to high-end gaming PCs, so ideally it should be priced in-line with these expectations. “
