Typically, gaming consoles are sold at a loss. Losses can vary, but in most cases a console becomes profitable when you factor in software and accessory sales or when it releases multiple models later in its generation.
However, Valve is completely rejecting this strategy. The Steam Machine, a PC/console hybrid, will be sold at cost price, with Valve refusing to subsidize its costs and make its money back in software and accessories. This probably puts Valve in a position to make money through game sales, despite its absolute dominance of the PC gaming market.
Now we know why steam machines are so expensive. Valve doesn't want to lose money on every sale.
Steam Machine pricing was revealed yesterday and the following bundles are available:
- Steam Machine 512GB: $1,049 / £879 / €1,039
- Steam Machine 512GB and Steam Controller: $1,128 / £938 / €1,108
- Steam Machine 2TB: $1,349 / £1,149 / €1,359
- Steam Machine 2TB with Steam Controller: $1,428 / £1,208 / €1,428
A Valve spokesperson explained the company's strategy for these price points in an interview with The Verge. To this end, they shot down the idea of selling each Steam Machine at a loss.
“This may seem like an easy solution, but it is inconsistent with our beliefs about how healthy ecosystems are built,” the spokesperson says. “When companies sell hardware at low prices or buy exclusive content to gain a competitive advantage, they do so in order to create a more closed system in which they cannot choose which software they want to use.
“We don’t want that in PC hardware, and we don’t think you should want that either,” they continue. “You shouldn't feel like you have to buy Valve hardware. You should see it as an option with all the devices you have to play the games on and be able to choose what's right for you. […] “This is the strength of the open PC platform, and providing hardware subsidies goes against this.”
In other words, Valve doesn't want to join the console race by playing by the same rules as Xbox and PlayStation. In fact, the fact that they sell at a loss makes them more hostile towards each other, either withholding games from competing platforms to boost hardware sales or risking multi-platform releases instead to try to recoup some money through software. Xbox is struggling with both of these strategies in this console generation, so it makes sense that Valve would want to avoid adding another horse to the race.
This means Valve will have to carve out its own niche. It could be a great thing to make it another option for PC gamers, but the gaming performance we're seeing so far leaves a lot to be desired, and many of us already have equipment that suits our needs. If you're looking to make the leap from console to PC for the first time, I don't think this is the worst way to do it. With component prices being that high, any PC you want to get your hands on is going to be expensive.
We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out. In any case, Valve appears to be expecting high demand, as it has launched a randomized pre-order system that limits one console per household.
- brand
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valve
- operating system
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SteamOS 3 (Arch based)
- processor
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Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C/12T up to 4.8GHz, 30W TDP
- solve
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Up to 4K@240Hz or 8K@60Hz
- HDR support
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yes
- original release date
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2026
