no way steam machine The Welcome Tour experience has been added to Valve's digital store. Based on the company's recent patterns, this addition could indicate that its long-awaited PC line is finally getting closer to launch, with Steam Machines likely to debut in early summer 2026.
Valve announced the second generation Steam Machine in mid-November 2025. Announced as the company's latest attempt to bring Linux-based gaming into the living room, the mini PC has been revealed with an “early 2026” launch window. Six months later, the device has yet to materialize, and industry observers attribute the long wait largely to an increasingly difficult component supply situation. Memory was cited as a particular pressure point, as hyperscalers powering massive AI investments are said to have absorbed a significant portion of available supply.
Steam Machine iterates on the Steam Controller roadmap by adding an interactive welcome tour ahead of launch.
As originally reported by hardware analyst Bradley Lynch, the Steam backend received a basic Steam Machine welcome tour on May 29th. The additional features come in the form of short, interactive guides that inform new owners of the features of their upcoming mini PC. Lynch was also the one who discovered an equally welcoming tour for the Steam Controller when Valve added it on April 2nd. That's exactly 25 days before the company announced pricing and availability information for the Steam Controller, and just over a month ahead of the gamepad's market launch. If this pattern holds, the Steam Machine will finally receive a release date in late June, and could potentially launch in early July 2026.
As for the newly discovered Welcome Tour, there isn't much that has leaked, but it does show that the Steam Machine's microSD slot is mentioned in a new guide that instructs users on how to insert, eject, and format supported cards. Based on screenshots of the minified JavaScript code that Lynch shared with X, it appears that Valve has implemented two versions of the welcome tour. One for first-time users and one for users who have already viewed it. This difference means that users will have to restart manually after completing the introductory tutorial.
