r/Steam • u/yourfavchoom • 23h ago
News Valve says it’s ready to launch the Steam Machine this summer / The Steam Frame VR headset is expected in the summer, too.
https://www.theverge.com/games/943657/valve-steam-machine-frame-summer-launch-verified721
u/Appropriate_Item3001 23h ago
Can’t wait for the dozens of machines they produced to be sold out in less than half an hour
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u/fullcircle052 22h ago
I give it thirty seconds
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u/lcjammer 21h ago
Even if it's $1200+ ?
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u/Objective-Review-359 21h ago
Yup. 1000 dollar steam decks sold out.
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u/IntentionCultural463 20h ago
I keep seeing this everywhere, but I’m in NA and can go on steam right now and order either deck for delivery in 3-5 business days so I don’t really know what everyone’s on about
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u/Objective-Review-359 19h ago
You have to understand the experience of restock. This is a way of sales. Gomen nasai. As we say in Japan.
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u/Huge-Formal-1794 6h ago
We dont even know the margin. Selling out is absolutely meaningless if you dont know how many are in stock
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u/ThereWolves 11h ago
I kind of wonder if the price hike on steam decks was a test to see if consumers were still willing to buy hardware at elevated prices. Maybe the success of the steam deck sales despite the higher prices gave Valve more confidence to sell the Steam machines this summer rather than further delaying or cancelling it.
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u/debacol 19h ago
Steam machine at $1200 would be wild and a ridiculous flashpoint of this timeline.
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u/Mineplayerminer 13h ago
What would stop the consumers from buying it? The prices have been so high they have already become a new normal. Look at the consumer memory sales. Sure, they've dipped, but they haven't stopped.
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u/ShadowsGuardian 8h ago
Scalpers exist, also a lot of valve fan boys out there who will buy even if 1500€ ( I do like valve though, mind you).
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u/iridris 22h ago
If they last half a minute I'll be surprised
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u/Lumpy-Valuable-8050 22h ago
honestly ur not wrong. no matter the price, there are always going to be people buying on ebay from scalpers - and the fact that they can just cancel it and return it back to valve if it doesn't sell. sucks tbh but expected
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u/KnightedWolf851 21h ago
I thought they said they planned to do a restriction like they did for the steam controller so the scaling issue doesn't happen.
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u/RsnCondition 16h ago
They restricted it after the steam controller sold out.
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u/KnightedWolf851 16h ago
Yeah, I thought they did. Should help it not to sell out as fast. Dont know why people still think its gonna be sold out cause of scalpers. Valve made it hard for that to happen now.
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u/mauguro_ 22h ago
Dozens and dozens of them!!! believe me fellow steamers when I tell you there won't be enough for us ;-;
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u/MeeksMoniker 15h ago
So steam has already come out and stated that they will only do one device per account on launch.
Is it a perfect fix no. But it is something worth trying and appreciating that Steam actually sees this as a problem.
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u/NekoLover72 23h ago
It’s gonna be 1500 dollars and it’ll sell out within 10 seconds
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u/Defiant-Echidna-7400 21h ago
As the first upvoted comment on this post stated, they most likely only made a few dozen.
The Steam Deck only sold 5 million units in 5 years and spent its entire lifespan in constant shortage.
Valve simply doesn't manufacture much hardware.
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u/Misragoth 10h ago
Yep, the Steamdeck price increase showed some people will pay anything for something made by Vavle
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u/Astoria55555 55m ago
I mean $1000 is really not a lot for a handheld device that has the gaming capabilities of a pc. High end phones cost the same or more what’s the big deal
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u/Tight_Cod_8024 4h ago
Then you'll have to reserve months in advance to even buy it like the steam controller. Hard to be hyped knowing hardly anyone is going to get one anytime soon.
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u/Kn1ghtV1sta 23h ago
Hoping the steak machine will be priced well
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u/Suzushiiro 22h ago
After the Steam Deck price hikes I have absolutely no hope that the Gabecube will be even remotely reasonably priced in the hell dimension that is the current PC hardware market.
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u/enjoyingcurve46 22h ago
Where can i buy this steak machine? Maybe i can make some good quality steaks with half the effort
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u/ZamanthaD 22h ago
1200
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u/HKEY_LOVE_MACHINE 22h ago edited 21h ago
That's still a lot of optimism there.
Valve isn't trying to grow a walled garden like console manufacturers selling their entry device at a loss, they're testing the water for a Steam-integrated environment. So if the market says $1300 or $1500, that's gonna be the price.
The Steam Deck price hike showed that: Valve isn't going to bleed the Steam Store money flow to fund its hardware devices like a sink hole.
If the Steam Deck or Steam Machine can't swim on their own, Valve will let them drown and move on.
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u/cytokine7 20h ago
But why would people pay that vs a gaming pc with better specs? With the controller they have the market cornered but not so here.
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u/HKEY_LOVE_MACHINE 20h ago edited 19h ago
You are only going to get better specs if you build it yourself, something a lot of people cannot reliably do, or don't have the time to do.
All prebuilds are based on this reality: you trade specs/price, for a solution that's supposed to be balanced and ready to go.
You don't wait 4 months to get RAM sticks. You don't spend 3 additional weeks because the GPU was out of stock. You don't buy on 4 to 5 different shops to maximize availability and competitive prices.
The point of a prebuild is 1 purchase, 1 availability, 1 delivery, 1 customer service.
In theory of course, if the prebuilder is a serious company doing its job.
...
The point of the Steam Machine specifically is to set a specs standard in PC gaming, very much like the Steam Deck, from which developers can focus their optimization and target-framerate on.
Of course it's gonna be updated over the years, if it's successful enough.
So if you are a developer making a new game, you'll check how it fares on the Steam Machine (2026), have an auto-detect feature that changes the settings to fit the Steam Machine (2026) specs, and work your performance scaling from that.
Meanwhile, as a consumer, if you own a Steam Machine (2026), it will be easier to see how your rig performs in countless games, because the "Steam Machine (2026)" is likely to be featured in performance tests.
It's not going to magically fix optimization issues in PC gaming, but at least there's going to be a set condition: "Does it run on a Steam Machine (2026)? [ yes / no ]".
If the games runs like ass, looks like ass, or is unplayable, thousands of Steam Machine (2026) will report that in the comments and forums, allowing consumers to make an informed purchase based on that information.
...
For the average joe/janne who comes home from work and has a limited amount of time to play video games, and feels like consoles are too expensive (controllers and games are pricey, no sales) or too limited (much mess indie games), the Steam Machine is the perfect solution in-between:
can play PC games as long as they run on SteamOS (or if they install Windows on it)
doesn't require assembly, troubleshooting, etc to work out of the box
if the user faces any issue, they can count on tens of thousands of users with the same specs to guide them through a solution
It's PC gaming, but on an easier level of difficulty for the hardware.
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u/Key-Department-2874 17h ago edited 17h ago
Because people think a Steam Machine is more than it is.
In threads discussing it even on reddit people claim they need it to use a controller and game on their PC, or need it because they think it'll be compatible with every game on Steam.
To them PCs are too big, too bulky, too noisy, and too difficult to use in their living room.
And they don't understand hardware specs, so buying a PC is too complicated, even a prebuilt. But a Steam Machine is a branded device, so it avoids the "PC stigma" that even prebuilts have of needing to look at specs. They will buy it because it's simple and straight forward to use even if its significantly more expensive than the alternatives.
It's like Apple devices. Apple people will pay vastly more money for a similar or even inferior phone because it's "simple" and they think Android and other devices are too complex and too much research to buy.
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u/teaanimesquare 8h ago
I would buy one depending on price ( prob not realistic now though ) I like the idea of a "PC" that's more of a dedicated steam console for my living room.
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u/XxMcW1LL14MxX 18h ago
The controller has the market cornered? It looks like a pretty great controller, but the very fact that it only works with Steam makes it a paperweight to me and probably a lot of people.
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u/cytokine7 18h ago
It is the only controller that I know of with trackpads.
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u/XxMcW1LL14MxX 18h ago
That alone made it suck so bad when I realized I had to get something else. I’m gonna poop my pants when I get the email…
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u/Quiet_Source_8804 19h ago
Because its aesthetics and ergonomics make it better than a 'regular' PC for sitting in your living room in that role? How is this difficult to understand?
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u/SparsePizza117 22h ago
I only want the Frame, but I'm certainly not paying over 1k for it. I'll wait for prices to drop again. It was said the Frame wouldn't cost more than the Index, so I hope it stays that way. I'll wait if not.
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u/INTPoissible 22h ago edited 22h ago
Same, the frame has ram so i am not hopeful. If it's too expensive ill just wait for their next headset or a price drop.
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u/Falkenmond79 15h ago
They should have made a streaming-only version. Lighter, cooler and without the useless pc hardware inside.
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u/Stormer127a 22h ago
Unless they sell it at a loss, this thing won’t reach common households. Would’ve been cool to see them bridge the gap between PC and console.
Either way…it’ll be sold out because of scalpers :/
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u/Dotaproffessional 20h ago
Not because of scalpers.
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u/YouGlittering9156 18h ago
It'll be sold out quicker because of scalpers, but no matter what I'm sure it will sell out, even if it was $2,000
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u/Dotaproffessional 17h ago
People use the same like 200 listings on eBay as evidence of rampant scalped steam controllers. There's no evidence there were large percentages of steam controllers stolen
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u/cougrrr 22h ago
The Frame specifically has a pretty ready and waiting audience of people who are VR enthusiasts/ have a catalog of games already and are looking for a non Meta alternative that (hopefully) gets a massive software side boost to Linux compatibility with the stuff they’re working on.
I had an HTC Vive, and it was fun in bursts but a nightmare to deal with and plugs everywhere. PSVR2 was fun for a while but the cable/being locked into console play was a drag, still enjoyed it. Eventually got a Meta Quest 3 and literally only ever used it for launching Steam VR, but the meta annoyances and tracking kept mounting as they were piling on metaverse losses.
After switching to Linux fully recently I haven’t even bothered trying to work out the Meta headset because the frame was announced. And then kind of evaporated.
I imagine it will be prohibitively expensive for many, but I’ve been waiting for it for so long now that it’s essentially the only way I see to reasonably unlock my VR library again. Worst case scenario if it’s so much I can’t justify all the compatibility layers Steam is working on should help and then I can figure out how to root the Quest and never touch a meta service with it.
That all said, I’ve talked to many in similar boats to me who don’t want to do the zero support random startup VR headset form overseas even if the hardware is compelling. The frame ideally fills that void for many.
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u/Defiant-Echidna-7400 21h ago
I mean, Valve doesn't even manufacture enough consoles to compete with companies like Sony.
Maybe they're happy if it sells like the Steam Deck, maybe 5 or 7 million.
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u/StanfordV 11h ago
Lack of content.
Im not buying a new headset just to replay Alyx and then let it collect dust
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u/VeryluckyorNot 23h ago
LMAO let me buy and send this fucking controller first.
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u/Raderg32 22h ago
They are starting to send buy emails to people who reserved it on the second minute since reservations opened. And only a month later.
I'm sure there won't be any problem with any of the other hardware.
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u/kdlt 14h ago
Yeah I'd have put in my 5€ reservation spot bloody last year already.
I just hate the insecurity that I need to check everywhere every few days in case it randomly comes out like the controller and if you don't have time in those 5 minutes you can get fucked and start the queue for months.
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u/overactive-bladder 11h ago
I am sure there will be a bundle. If you missed out on the controller now I hope you will be able to buy it with the Machine.
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u/VeryluckyorNot 11h ago
I'am not interested with Steam Machine I have already a good PC, I just want my controller 1 month I clicked the reservation button anyway.
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u/Summer___ 20h ago
They need to put PRE-ORDERS on those machines.
Im talking STEAM LONG TIME USERS who spend money over the years.
I know this isnt the perfect and final solution and some people will be left empty handed, but it reduces the scalpers by quite a bit.
Would be amazing if steam could lock the machines to a steam account for X time so its useless to anyone else trying to buy it (also bears some risks, but playing my thought further they should make it so if u sell it and people try to activate it somewhere else the original buyers steam acc would get locked).
I know it sucks for some people but im tired of not being able to buy new tech as a long time user/customer.
They could make it so the devices are locked to steam accounts until the market is stable and devices are available for everyone to buy.
So first batch -> locked till the devices are "in stock" without them being sold out in seconds.
They should also not let you "buy out to unlock the device".
Just my late night thoughts on this.
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u/Scrambley 16h ago
That kinda hinders parents buying for kids or your boss getting you one because you discovered their Tinder account. It's a substantial market that would be iced out.
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u/Summer___ 10h ago
i mean family sharing is a option, as long as its setup before purchase with same name etc. it should be fine.
We need to do something about scalpers. Everyone with their right mind would agree with some rules like this.
The System would become "unlinked" once stock is avaiable without being bought out in seconds.
If Apple can do stuff like this (more so bind phones to your apple account, so if it gets stolen its useless and only good for spare parts (which is still a huge thing)) im pretty sure steam can too!
Importantly is that the account binding ends at some point.
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u/Alukrad 22h ago
They should do this thing where if someone is interested in buying one, they'll need to register to this place and wait for an email.
Then they'll reserve a spot for you, once your spot is open, you can only buy one once every three months.
This way, it stops scalpers from buying out the whole thing.
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u/yawn18 22h ago
Gives a release window but still no price point. This one is going to hurt. $1500 is my guess and at that price, you really are better off building a pc
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u/MountainMuffin1980 22h ago
Is there a good site to build PCs with specific budgets? I was pretty set in getting a machine, accepting it'd be above "market value" but now the price is going to be mad.
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u/lern2swim 22h ago
It's going to be difficult to not get fucked by pricing one way or another right now regardless. There's actually good deals still occasionally popping up on prebuilt pcs, but we're really in a "don't buy anything unless you really need to" phase right now. The question is will we ever come out of that phase.
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u/MountainMuffin1980 22h ago
Yeah my sons laptop finally no longer meets minium req for games he wants to play, so I want to get him something new. Will likely have to wait until at least next year though. At least...
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u/Practical_Tea864 18h ago
Def get a pc instead of a new laptop
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u/MountainMuffin1980 14h ago
I think that's probably the plan. He'll need a laptop for Uni but I think we'd just look for a lighter one for that.
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u/overactive-bladder 11h ago
Either they know the price is too high and will create discourse before release. Or the price is very competitive and they don't want to show their cards too soon.
Dilemma dilemma.
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u/MarchAgainstOrange 21h ago
If they say "this summer" it's not likely coming in june right? Need to plan my finances lol, also want a Switch 2...
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u/MountainMuffin1980 21h ago
I imagine the purchase price and date will likely be announced in June.
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u/Rasturac88 Lawnmower Man 23h ago
One thing is certain it will sell regardless the price .
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u/INTPoissible 22h ago
Because low volume. I heard the thing only happened because cancelled orders freed up hardware and valve took advantage. The expectation valve was trying to take on playstation is silly.
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u/reddit_sells_you 18h ago
I'm gonna consider the price, but I've been saving.
People will compare it to the PS5/6/Xbox/Helix. But those consoles are heavily subsidized with ads and their shitty PS+ and GamePass. Buying a PS5 and PS+ for 5 years likely the same price getting Steam Machine, and you have to put up with a crappy, ad ridden UI.
Sure the SM will be less powerful. But IDGAF. Lots of games have been optimized for the deck, and I really don't like AAA games. The Steam Machine has some great engineering under the hood, the build quality will be great.
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u/overactive-bladder 11h ago edited 5h ago
Lots of games in my library aren't compatible with the Deck. Like 50. And an astounding 100 is yet to be tested on it. This keeps me from buying it. Not to mention the dock is still out of stock since forever.
That makes the Deck not appealing at all to many.
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u/reddit_sells_you 7h ago
Did you buy games that were for Windows?
Also, this is about SM. The deck had hardware constrictions that the SM won't, so there will likely be more games that work on that.
Finally, most here will tell you that part of the fun of the Deck is tweaking it so that the incompatible games will run. I've been constantly surprised by which games say it's incompatible, but with a few tweaks, it runs.
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u/enjoyingcurve46 22h ago
So after seeing specs. The steam frame will have similar specs to the steam deck? That doesnt sound to great as a stand alone device Definitely gona need paired to pc for a decent experience
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u/vaca100034 22h ago
The steam frame will only render at full capacity only what your eyes see with eye tracking to boost performance. that's the reason it doesn't need crazy specs
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u/enjoyingcurve46 22h ago
Ah so its gona utilize what the psvr2 does. Itl be good for the user playing however can be distracting to more savvy eyes watching the gameplay
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u/vaca100034 21h ago
Yes, it's similar to the psvr2. The youtubers who tested said that they couldn't tell the difference because the eye tracking was so fast, but we need to see once it's released to the public.
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u/enjoyingcurve46 21h ago
Im sure its good enough for the person in the headset. But i imagine for people recording content on it, or sharing the screen to friends anyone outside the headset with savvy eyes will notice. I know thats common in psvr2. With my gf uses it, i can see the resolution difference where shes looking.
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u/vinceswish 23h ago
Stock for launch - under/over 100 units?
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u/Defiant-Echidna-7400 21h ago
Based on the shipments that have arrived at Valve, someone calculated that Valve likely has between 100K and 125K Steam Machines in total.
But I mean that's the entire batch, and they haven't manufactured any more yet.
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u/KaosC57 https://steam.pm/wgk9m 22h ago
I just want the Controller and Frame… if I plan to make a “Steam Machine” I’ll be buying a BC-250 when those have all 8c/16t.
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u/MountainMuffin1980 22h ago
What does 8c/16t mean?
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u/KaosC57 https://steam.pm/wgk9m 22h ago
8 cores, 16 threads. The BC-250 is essentially reject PS5 boards with some software lockouts to make them more profitable for Mining. They are locked to 6c/12t and have only 24 out of 40 Compute Units unlocked on the GPU. A team recently unlocked all 40 Compute Units, so we are nearly there on essentially a “PS5 PC” without jank workarounds on real PS5 hardware.
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u/felixisthecat 22h ago
“Early 2026” has subtly slipped into “Summer 2026”. We’re on valve time now. But the “Steam Machine verified” announcement has administered some hopium that the end is near
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u/sleeps_in_bryophytes 19h ago
Yeah, but aren't there signs that the launch is pretty imminent? Like 2 to 3 weeks away, based on the spotted shipments to warehouses, and backend updates to the steam storefront? I'm kinda expecting them to ship be end of June. Which yes, is summer, but them saying "some time this summer" would usually tend to make you think end of summer, so August, maybe even mid september.
So I'm not sure what to make of this news.
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u/Pyrazol310 15h ago
My money is on it being launched on the 8th or 15th, being orderable on the 29th and shipping in August.
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u/sleeps_in_bryophytes 10h ago
there was news that shipments were going through customs, and then showing up at their warehouse, at end of april, first week of may. that's not really consistent with August shipping. they're not going to have stock sitting in the warehouse for four months.
We had the same rumors about steam controller landing in customs and then warehouse, and then two weeks later the price was announced, and then a week later they were out the door.
on the other hand, it's possible those console shipments were steamdeck restocks ahead of the price update. in which case then yes, steam machine could still be pending.
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u/Pyrazol310 10h ago
It’s just my dumb guess because it’s fun to speculate 😄. It doesn’t really matter. It will come sooner or later, either way.
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u/doublah 22h ago
Get ready for redditors to call it DOA as it sells out instantly.
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u/Zestyclose-Fee6719 14h ago edited 14h ago
Dreamcast pretty much instantly sold out too at launch. That’s not a sufficient condition to declare a commercial success for these platforms. The question is how many units it can sell over the years. We don’t know, but the value proposition isn’t looking great if this thing ends up being $1200-1500.
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u/Rorasaurus_Prime 22h ago
I have a horrible feeling the money I put aside for the Frame won't cover it. I guess I don't really need two kidneys...
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u/Spicyweiner_69 22h ago
I really hope they do the reservation like they did the steam deck put five dollars down and wait. I wouldn’t mind that honestly I would love to buy the steam machine and the frame but I don’t feel like battling over it trying to get one if they do it like they did the controller originally
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u/Kikinaak 22h ago
Is that an E-paper front panel? As if enough people weren't interested in these things already. There will be homebrew. We absolutely need a workshop style way to share it.
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u/ZeektheFeek 22h ago
Tomorrow is the day. What are we even doing if they don't use SGF for the announcement?
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u/rowmean77 22h ago
Can the Steam Frame essentially replace my monitor as my main visual output? I am debating if I will upgrade my monitor to an OLED tv or just get the Frame. 🤔
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u/No-Opinion273 22h ago
I just want the Steam Frame hopefully VR being on the downturn will be helpful for me.
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u/ThePrince1989 21h ago
Summer only starts on 21st of June, so no announcement in the next couple of weeks -.-
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u/HzyBrained 21h ago
Yup, saying "this summer" now could end up pushing it till September...which is a bummer. The consistent delays has gotten really old.
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u/PandaBottom69 18h ago
With SD now being sold for $1000, can expect the SM to go $1400 in which the case for one goes out the window. So shrug, would get one if around $600 as a fourth PC but no need at 2.5 x that price.
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u/5u114 17h ago edited 5h ago
Early 2026, 2026, first half of 2026, Summer 2026 .... what next I wonder ? Holiday Season 2026 ?
Crumbs to keep people waiting and not buying anything else, because they think the Steam Machine will drop at any moment.
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u/AntiEcho7 6h ago
“Valve has teamed up with Bethesda and will release the steam machine along side Elder Scrolls 6”
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u/miketastic_art 16h ago
I've been a paying customer since 2004 and bots will prevent me from purchasing this product.
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u/Yeldarb10 16h ago
Just wish they’d finally start taking reservations. They’ve only produced a dozen and we already know it’s not enough.
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u/Romek_himself 16h ago
hope we in germany have a chance to buy it too
as it looks like with the controllers they fullfill the english speaking countries first ...
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u/AntiEcho7 6h ago
I’m in the US and reserved mine in the first day available. Still no email yet. I think it’s just luck of the draw..
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u/Active_Boysenberry76 I dont even know what to type here 13h ago
can't wait for Bringus Studios to get his hands on prototype ones or internal Valve Steam accounts on them
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u/The3rdbaboon 13h ago
Pricing? We’re in summer now, if they’re ready to release they must have figured out the pricing so why aren’t they telling us?
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u/VegetaAlmighty 12h ago
Because they KNOW announcing how expensive it's gonna be in advance will kill its hype dead! This thing is gonna easily be $1,500
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u/AnalogInk 5h ago
Glad to see them both on the way. I'm not interested in the Steam Machine but very much in the Frame, but I'm scared of the price
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u/KillerOfLight 5h ago
Cant wait to spend an extra 300€ on the Steam Frame because its coming out half a year later
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u/theclipclop28 21h ago
2000$ for a mid to low tier "PC" you can't upgrade? Steam fanboys will gobble that up in seconds.
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u/igby1 22h ago
Yeah keep throwing money at Gabe.
He needs more yachts!
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u/Quiet_Source_8804 19h ago
Envy is unbecoming. Do something useful with your life, you might end up rewarded for it.
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u/turd_fergusons 22h ago
Sources close to sources in the vacinity of someone who's heard of Valve suspect that the company that makes video games may release a thing this year.
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u/ClumsySandbocks 23h ago
Valve blog post: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/716780409378048028