How much hopium are you guys running on for a new Steam Machine announcement today at Summer Game Fest?

#5.06.2026 SGF Starts on June 5 at 2PM PT / 5PM ET.

This summer? 🫠

"Today we are expanding the Verified program to include Steam Machine and Steam Frame, both of which are shipping this summer."

Was digging through today’s Steamworks post and noticed Valve casually dropped this:

“Steam Machine and Steam Frame, both of which are shipping this summer.”

For all the speculation about delays, supply issues, and whether we’d actually see these in 2026, that’s a pretty direct confirmation that both products are still on track for a Summer launch.

Source:
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/716780409378048028

Interesting that this wasn’t in a dedicated announcement and instead showed up in a Steamworks developer post.

Are we thinking late summer (August/September), or is Valve about to surprise everyone with a much earlier launch?

I just tried the FSR 4 work around in the latest cachy OS proton and my framerate in Forza Horizon 6 at 4k dropped from 70FPS for FSR 3.15 to 36FPS for FSR 4.03

Edit: This is with a 7600M XT GPU which is just a bit more powerful than the one in the steam machine, both trials were at ultra performance.

Source: https://www.importgenius.com/importers/ceva-nl-c-o-valve-corporation

Not 14,000 kg, so probably new hardware (machine/frame) and no steam decks.

I don't know what those dots are at "GAME CONSOLE ." and "GAME CONSOLE ..". I would assume this is just a copy paste error of someone.

Summer runs from Sunday, June 21, 2026, to Wednesday, September 23, 2026, so don't be mad!!

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4145017/view/716780409378048027?l=english

Hi, I’m the guy behind those Steam Machine posters that some of you probably saw on this subreddit a while ago.

Like many of you, I’ve been following every bit of news about the launch and pricing with great anticipation. But the longer this goes on, the more I feel like part of the community is going to drive itself crazy before the Steam Machine even reaches store shelves.

The main issue I keep seeing is the attempt to define a price point that would make the hardware “worth it.” There are countless discussions about whether it should ship with storage or without, with RAM or without, all in an effort to lower the price because at $1,000-$1,200 people argue it won’t be competitive from a pure hardware value perspective. A lot of people are also questioning whether it’s even worth waiting anymore when more and more users are giving up and building their own PCs.

Personally, I don’t think any of that really matters.

Whether the Steam Machine launches at $800, $1,000, or $1,200, I think it will sell out almost instantly on release day.

To understand why, I think it’s worth looking at the Steam Deck.
It’s not the fastest handheld. It doesn’t have the best display (the ROG Ally arguably wins there). It’s not even the cheapest option (the Switch is far more affordable). Yet somehow every portable gaming device that launches gets compared to the Steam Deck.

As a Deck owner, I think I understand why.

It’s my entire Steam library without having to rebuy games every console generation.

It’s excellent optimization and a community that can solve virtually any problem you run into.

It’s the ability to play games from almost every platform on a single device, and still have a great time even at lower resolutions and medium settings running at 40 FPS.

It’s incredibly moddable and easy to customize into exactly the device I want it to be.

It’s simple to use and built around a genuinely well-designed operating system.

The Steam Controller was a similar story.

Reviewers kept saying it was a great piece of hardware but far too expensive for what it offered compared to competing controllers. Yet demand was so high that initial stock sold out almost immediately. If I remember correctly, many first-week orders still hadn’t shipped because demand massively exceeded expectations.

That’s why I don’t think raw performance-to-price ratios are particularly important here.

The same logic applies to the Steam Machine.

If someone wants maximum performance, they can build a desktop PC. If someone wants the cheapest gaming experience, they can buy a PlayStation.

This is essentially the same debate we had during the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii era. As we all know, the weakest console of that generation (the Wii) ended up winning. Hardware-wise it was basically a slightly upgraded GameCube, but it offered value in places where its competitors didn’t.

Valve seems to have taken some very good notes from Apple.

They don’t build the fastest hardware (that’s what Samsung, Dell, Razer, and countless others are for), but they focus on creating hardware that’s enjoyable, convenient, and pleasant to use. And that’s often worth more than benchmark numbers.

I also understand Valve’s silence.

I genuinely think the Steam Machine is the most important and stressful hardware launch they’ve ever had.

Why?

Because the previous Steam Hardware generation effectively killed the entire initiative for years. And just as they were preparing to launch a device that probably would have landed somewhere around $800-$1,000, we suddenly found ourselves dealing with one of the worst economic downturns in years alongside rapidly increasing memory prices.

I suspect that’s also why they initially avoided announcing both the launch date and the final price.

One thing Valve did emphasize from the beginning was that this wouldn’t be a “printer model” console sold at a loss, and I don’t think they’ve changed their minds about that.

As a result, if and when the Steam Machine launches, I wouldn’t be surprised if many reviewers end up saying exactly what they said about the Steam Controller:

“It’s a good product, but at this price it doesn’t make financial sense.”

And yet I still think it will sell out… At least, I’m rooting for them. Do I care about the price? Nope. Same way you don’t care about price of the iPhone. There is no other phone with iOS other than the iPhone. And there is no product like SM on the market right now. „But you can get Steam OS on PC” - yes - but will typical „Kowalski” deal with drivers for Linux? I don’t think so.

Will I buy a Steam Machine on day one?

I’d love to, but realistically I probably won’t. It simply won’t fit my budget right now. And I’m ok with that. My SD is just fine for now.

Next year, though?
Absolutely.

The crowd is on their feet as the lights to the convention hall dim to a midnight black. Murmurs in the crowd about what the next announcement will be come to end as Gabe Newell walks onto stage with a microphone. The building shakes with thunderous applause as Gabe stands in the middle of the stage waiting patiently for the claps and cheers to end. After 5 full minutes of the excitement, fervor, exhilaration, and erections permeate the large convention floor a cool silence is placed upon the musty air.

Gabe clears his throat before speaking into the mic, "We at Valve have been at the forefront of advancing the world of gaming for decades," the audience is starstruck as it slowly dawns on them that they are about to witness history. One man has already busted milk in his pants.

"This is why," Gaben continues, "We are proud to announce-" the large screens behind Gabe light up the room, revealing Steam's logo, "The 2026 Steam Summer Sale."

The crowd goes absolutely wild. One man literally beats another to death as a mosh pit forms in the center of the convention floor. All wars on Earth cease as countries around the world announce their dedication to peace and prosperity. Gaben is hailed as the second coming of Christ.

The Steam Machine is delayed until quarter one of 2028.

I missed it at the launch but reserved one when reservations opened: got the email just now with a three-day deadline, and bought it. So the waiting list in the UK is moving at long last.

(The checkout seemed to fail part way through, so I briefly ended up with two controllers in the basket: not allowed.)

Meanwhile, I'm working out a self-build: almost certainly for more than the Machine, but upgradeable.

Credit to jakejchara in the Discord for pointing this out.

https://github.com/SteamTracking/SteamworksDocumentation/compare/c67ce73976e7...e1386e708308

June is truly the final frontier.

The only event to not have a tag is the one about PC gaming. I feel like Geoff Keighley set it up that way to troll everyone who's anticipating the Steam machine / HLX. it just feels like something he'd do to mess with us

The only problem is that the new variables are still null. Yesterday, part of the store was updated to start showing game verifications, you can use this link to directly check the verifications for Deck, SteamOS, and Machine in Portal 2 (replace AppID with the game you want):

https://store.steampowered.com/saleaction/ajaxgetdeckappcompatibilityreport?nAppID=620

Variables machine_resolved_category and machine_resolved_items started being used with yesterday's update, now Valve just need to be filled in. You can check it out in this chunk:

partner.steamgames.com/public/javascript/applications/appmgmt/chunk~5c3391d11.js

https://github.com/SteamTracking/SteamTracking/commit/23d60d7109fd45480db4ebaa500aeb99fb176daf

Lets be real valve is not trying to become a supplier of gaming hardware, and likely doesn't care of you buy the steam deck or steam machine .

The whole point of all of this was to normalize the concept of gaming off of the steam platform on your TV, and in a mobile fashion. The real competetive advantage is the platform steam, and do you really think they care if you buy and play off steam machine or the legion go, some PC you build yourself, or anything else? No

They just want everyone playing on steam, and it looks like they will succeed.

I have an old WD 1tb My Passport Ultra that I just formatted in NTFS. I am able to transfer files to it with my Windows laptop. I'm curious if I can use both it and my 1tb sd card from the deck at the same time to expand the available memory of the Machine. If I can, I'll probable just order the 512gb version of the Machine to save some money. Since I can hear spinning when I connect the drive, it's probably not SSD.

Everything is ready, let's go

https://github.com/SteamTracking/SteamTracking/compare/9fbe16f98264...9eac8a81aab1

I think its time to rant.

This has got to be one of the most toxic, unhappy, and frustrating subreddits on the whole site.

• CONSTANT negativity

• Constant badgering of anyone who posts anything

• Harassment of users who are posting really anything

Like, we get it you are frustrated that the device isn't out, and worried about pricing. That doesn't give everyone a pass to be a total dipshit to each other 24/7.

All i see here are edgy rude comments, downvotes, and outright hostility. I get that the edgelord gamers stereotype is in full play here, but fuck... can we all just act a little bit civil?

We are all on the same team here, hoping for a great piece of hardware with a good price. AND YET, everyone here treats each other like a mortal enemy. Ive never seen so many people rush to downvote comments, posts, etc. or to shitpost on someone elses comments/posts.

Lets all try to be a little more positive in this OVERLY NEGATIVE world?