51
votes
Steam Machine and Steam Frame will be shipping this summer
Link information
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- Title
- Steam :: Steamworks Development :: Steam Machine and Steam Frame Standalone Verified
- Published
- Jun 4 2026
I found out from Wario64, and that I found out from ResetEra
It's good to get a time frame on the frame, I was worried they'd have to cancel their 2026 plans, because of RAMageddon
I was afraid too, but now I'm worried I'll regret buying it if the price adjustment is anything like what they did to the Steam Deck
Awesome, now if we can only get a confirmation on the price. That's what I'm most concerned about.
$1000+, like $1200+ i'd say.
Personally I think they're basically going to get knifed by everyone for not being cheaper, and then a year later they'll all say "well yeah that's what it costs to get a half decent gaming PC these days". Especially when the whole point is its supposed to work out of box with the Steam Frame
When a 5 year old console gets $150 price hike things aren't good. I feel like the gaming market just hasn't caught on that old hardware prices are over unless the AI bubble pops.
For another data point, if you glance at https://www.logicalincrements.com/
The "no shipping, tax, bought at MSRP, you build it" price for something "Good" is $850.
The steam machine specs put it between the "Very Good" and "Great" tier at $950 - $1050.
Sooo yeah. I suspect it will be competing with things like ibuypower, which glancing at it has a "low end" custom build of about $1500.
Edit-
And to be clear that ibuypower low end is a full tower, not a small footprint like the steam machine, which is another thing probably not considered in the logicalincrements pricing/build time.
I'm completely out of the social media hive mind, but I think you're right. Separately I do not understand the thought processes that lead to people blowing up over something as inconsequential as whether a console they've never used is a bit more expensive than they'd like.
This case is a bit different from the usual complaining because people actively want these systems and many planned to get them. But until recently, $1k was on the higher end of predicted prices, and now it's looking to be guaranteed. A $1k+ price will place them firmly out of a lot of budgets, especially in the current economy.
So yeah. A lot of the complaints will be coming from people who'd actually wanted to get these instead of total outsiders just looking for reasons to be mad.
I was initially in the market for the Steam Machine, especially because I've already been wanting to replace one of my machines for a while. Even without knowing its price though, I've had to do general financial belt tightening (that's unfortunately far too necessary currently), so I'll be passing on it.
Also, I didn't really need a Steam Frame since I already have a fully functional Index, but I planned to keep an eye on the price and might have jumped on it just because it's a lot more versatile and comfortable than the Index (no cable, no base stations). I was 50/50 on whether I'd pass on it or splurge a bit and snag one, but I've toggled fully over to passing.
That said I don't really blame Valve for this, nor am I going to get angry about it online.
My current plan is to run my current tech into the absolute ground before upgrading. I used to feel limited by what could/couldn't run, but, honestly, I play mostly low-spec games anyway, and I also have MORE than enough of those to keep me busy for
yearsdecades, so the need to upgrade was driven more by convenience rather than necessity.Also, my outlook genuinely shifted from "I want the new shiny thing" to "I love my trusty gaming hardware pals that have stood by me for years now" when I started thinking about the cost savings of continuing to use them.
To some extent I get it. Having THE prebuilt Linux gaming box to but would be nice for everyone. But people set their expectations at the level of what they’re used to, not what’s realistic. And I’m not sure the market is going to support it anyways.
I understand the desire side. Not the outrage side.
The closest I come to Twitter and such is watching videos from moistcr1tikal on YouTube. His channel is a daily news report on social media (what's funny is he often says stuff like "Everyone knows about this, but just in case you don't I'll catch you up" and I really need that every time). He had some video recently on Backrooms. I liked it, thought it was a good movie. He said there was some mass of people spending a lot of time online hating on the movie because they found it boring. Why spend so much time online hating on something? Just move on. And that's tame by internet standards. As far as I'm aware no death threats were made.
The impression I get is that a lot of people just have nothing better to do with their time.
ibuypower also has zero quality control and uses the cheapest possible parts that still allow them to advertise beefy specs. Meanwhile valve has something of a reputation for quality hardware.
Yep, although for what it's worth I know someone who bought 2 ibuypower machines and was happy with them. The average user is not going to quibble over little things if it works, but god knows you could also get a full on lemon from them and then you're in hell.
I imagine that's the biggest concern among those interested.
There was definitely some hype among my friends when we heard about the GabeCube. But with the recent significant price hike of the Steam Deck, and even other consoles, and PC components in general, we're definitely left wondering how this is gonna shake out.
I would love to have one. But I also don't have a problem continuing to hook up my Steam Deck to a dock and my TV. Or build another computer and put that with my TV like I used to do. If the price is really high, I'm not sure paying for a SFF computer that runs SteamOS, as the biggest differentiators from a standard PC, is gonna be worth it.
I'm afraid Frame will be priced at one grand or more. I was hoping for 700-800, but seeing the price of Steam Deck nowadays...
It doesn't matter that much, as there is probably so high demand that I won't likely get the first wave one anyway.
They could, and probably should, sell a version with no RAM in it for enthusiasts. Then one could use RAM one might already possess.
You are mixing up the devices, or this is a joke too advanced for my brain. Frame will have soldered LPDDR5X.
Oh, sorry I replied to the wrong comment! Yes, that was not meant to be about the Frame.
I like the concept though: the Steam Frame Frame, ready for you to fill with all your own components.
Surely I can repurpose an some old phones for the eye displays, right?
It'll only take a few hundred successful microsoldering joints. How hard could it be?
I'm not too concerned. The price of the 512GB OLED Deck is $780, which is only a little more than I paid new for my slightly lower spec 512GB LCD Deck at launch. I assume they'll have different price points, and I'll bet there'll be something like a 512 model for under a grand.
At the end of the day you could still get a ROG Ally and a dock if you really had a tight budget.
Price doesn't matter if the pupillary distance doesn't go smaller than 60mm. Some of us aren't so wide-eyed and that is a make or break option.
Seems similar to the original Vive and Index, which are the headsets they've previously been involved with. In fact, I'm surprised to learn that there are (now) any headsets with less than 58, including the Apple Vision Pro! What's your IPD and current headset? A Bigscreen perhaps?
58, I have a Samsung Odyssey+ and it works, but not for long periods because it only goes down to 60
Mood. My PPD is 56 and I've always had to just set PPD to the minimum. I really wonder, given the fact that children and teenagers exist, why mainstream headsets don't go below 60
To be fair, I don't think very young children are supposed to be using VR headsets for the most part. But you are otherwise correct, and I think this just might be a matter of where we started vs where we're going. The Quest 2 was disproportionately popular with young users, and that must be part of what has driven the makers of more recent hardware to include support for closer distances. Meaning time is on your side!
Potentially stupid question, how do I measure my own PPD? Before I buy a VR headset, I mean?
Not a stupid question at all. One option is to go to an optician or opthomologist and have them measure it as part of an exam.
If you don't need perfect accuracy, there are websites where you can have it estimated by holding something like a credit card up to your face (since they're a standard size)
https://www.kits.com/pd-tool
cc: @donn
There are also phone apps that will do it (just check the privacy notifications beforehand to find one that isn’t selling your data).
I’ve used EyeMeasure on iOS, and its measurement matched the one on my prescription.
I don’t have a recommendation for Android but I assume something similar is out there.
I was able to try EyeMeasure just now and even with inaccuracy caveats I think I'm in the 68 range or so, which is actually a touch higher than mean + standard deviation, meaning I have the exact opposite concern to the other folks here!
Regardless I didn't even know about PD and SH before this, gotta ask for more accurate measurements next time at the ophthalmologist's. Thank you so much! (cc @Interesting)