Steam Machine price is 'nowhere near' what Valve originally planned

After confirming that the Steam Machine and Steam Frame will launch this summer, the next question gamers want to know is how much Valve will charge for the PC that looks like a console.

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Valve took to its official blog to announce that it's expanding the Verified program to include Steam Machine and Steam Frame, along with a confirmation that it will be shipping both "this summer". For those who don't know, the Steam Machine is a small-form-factor PC that runs SteamOS, a Valve-developed operating system optimized for gaming.

While this all sounds fantastic, the burning question is how much Valve plans to charge for the PC/console hybrid, especially given the company's target of 4K at 60FPS in most games. However, for a title to receive a Verified badge for the Steam Machine, it will need to run at a minimum of 1080p 30FPS on the Steam Machine hardware, which will be a semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU paired with a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 processor.

Now, Insider Gaming's Executive Editor Mike Straw has taken to X and written that he has heard "rumblings" that the price for the Steam Machine is "nowhere near" what Valve originally planned. Notably, Straw writes that he "doesn't know what that is," or the individual prices of the previously rumored four models Valve is reportedly planning.

Furthermore, Valve confirmed in March the performance targets developers need to meet to receive a Steam Machine Verified label. Developers will need to ensure their title averages at least 30 FPS at 1080p to receive a Verified badge. This system extends the Steam Deck Verified badge, which guarantees a specific performance target for each title.