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Valve Delays Steam Machine and Steam Frame Pricing, Keeps First-Half 2026 Ship Goal

The company blames worsening memory and storage shortages tied to AI demand for the pause on firm details.

Overview

  • Valve still targets the first half of 2026 for Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller, but it has paused firm pricing and release dates.
  • The company cites constrained DRAM and SSD supply, with industry reports of DRAM contract prices rising more than 170% year over year due to large AI datacenter deals.
  • In testing, most Steam titles reportedly reach 4K/60 fps on Steam Machine with FSR, and Valve is working on HDMI VRR support, improved upscaling, and ray‑tracing driver optimizations.
  • Steam Machine will support user upgrades, including hot‑swappable NVMe 2230/2280 storage and replaceable DDR5 SODIMM memory.
  • Steam Frame introduces system‑level foveated streaming that applies to all games without developer changes, and Valve is distributing limited dev kits and plans to publish faceplate CAD for third‑party parts.