The Steam Machine is sold out, overpriced, can't quite do 4K – and now scalpers are asking $3,000 for it

[Daniel Sims]

WTF?! Most people, including Valve, agree that the Steam Machine's launch price is far from optimal, but that hasn't stopped the mini PC from facing supply constraints right out of the gate. While the company claims that it is powerless to lower hardware prices, a few bright spots have emerged on the software side.

Only weeks after landing in users' hands, the Steam Controller's unique properties have quickly inspired interesting, or at least amusing, new features. Despite its high price, the PC gaming controller might be the only new piece of hardware from Valve that most users can access for some time, as the Steam Machine launches with low inventories and rising prices.

Developer and blogger Ray Foss recently demonstrated a program that causes the Steam Controller to drift across flat surfaces toward its charging puck. While the trick is quite noisy and might be of limited use, it showcases the gamepad's impressive modding potential.

– Ray Foss (@FossPrime) June 25, 2026

Foss likely built on an earlier mod that allows users to directly steer the Steam Controller by activating its rumble motors at the right frequency. The auto-charging program appears to visually gauge the controller's location relative to the puck until the two connect. Foss says its accuracy is not perfect, but users can try the manual and auto-steering apps via their web portals.

The feat comes amid widespread criticism over the price of Valve's flagship 2026 product, the Steam Machine. The company indicated that it initially aimed for around $750, but skyrocketing memory prices and Valve's lack of supply chain muscle forced it to launch the pre-built PC at a shocking $1,049. While engineers admitted they would still like to lower the price, they are not optimistic, especially after Micron's recent decision to lock in high memory prices for another five years.

Despite this, eBay listings for the Steam Machine from scalpers have already rocketed past the $2,000 mark, with some approaching $3,000. The scalpers didn't even wait for the device to reach their hands, as most of the listings are just screenshots of notifications from people who made reservations.

Performance is another source of concern regarding the Steam Machine. Benchmarks show that it doesn't run games quite as well as Sony's PlayStation 5, and Valve had to revise its promise of 4K gaming to "up to 4K."

– Steam Hardware Updates (@HardwareSteam) June 26, 2026

The company recently confirmed that the Steam Machine will soon utilize the full bandwidth of HDMI 2.1, increasing its maximum possible refresh rate. However, restrictions in AMD graphics cards running on Linux, which the Steam Machine uses, currently limit the living room PC to 4K 120Hz. Fortunately, Valve and AMD recently resolved the issue, and a forthcoming update will unlock uncompressed 4K 144Hz and 4K 240Hz via Display Stream Compression.

Valve still has yet to reveal the release date and price of its Steam Frame standalone VR headset. The lack of details adds to the broader uncertainty surrounding the company's upcoming hardware lineup.

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The Steam Machine is sold out, overpriced, can't quite do 4K – and now scalpers are asking $3,000 for it

 

[rmcrys]

The original price is nonsense but I still would understand people that but it in certain situations. But people that buy from scalpers .... they are dumb. Very dumb. Period.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Eh there are plenty of people who like Valve enough to buy the Steam Machine as a collectors item, especially with this first likely limited run (Maybe 100K or 500k units?) and maybe over a lifetime run of 5 million units.

Ultimately that will still be a drop in the ocean of the world of console sales, but limited starting supply combined with a large and monied customer base means things sell out quickly.

 

[Megalomaniac]

I am so thankful I waited till 5090 prices cooled to get my new Desktop computer with 5090, 285k, 64GB DDR5 and 9TB SSD during Black Friday.

I never could have imagined that things could get this bad this quickly - as I thought things were getting better last Thanksgiving.

The Steam machine is garbage but the hype has these children with credit cards desperate to get one just because.

I might buy the controller, but the machine? Never.

Not sure how things will be as GTA6 releases but the PS5 and Xbox are gonna end up on the scalper's block. I may check and see how much Walmart wants for them when I go shopping this morning.

 

[Hexic]

You mean another niche, underpowered, overpriced console coming to market?

I’m shocked, shocked I tell you.

 

[yRaz]

Eh there are plenty of people who like Valve enough to buy the Steam Machine as a collectors item, especially with this first likely limited run (Maybe 100K or 500k units?) and maybe over a lifetime run of 5 million units.

Ultimately that will still be a drop in the ocean of the world of console sales, but limited starting supply combined with a large and monied customer base means things sell out quickly.

The rumor was there was one shipping container that made it to the US and it was partially filled with steam decks. I have a feeling that the steam machine is going to be a very limited release. Also, the guy in charge of the Steam Machine said that when he went to go buy memory and NAND for it he was told "we can sell you this much as this price and if you do not like it we can sell it to someone else"

 

[Squid Surprise]

Unless you just want to support Valve (why? they don't need it!), or like the looks that much (again, why?), just buy a PC...

The PC will play all of the games this will - plus any PC games that are non-Steam... plus you can use it for work... plus it can run Windows (and/or linux)... plus...

Why oh why would you waste cash on this?

 

[The Talking Tech]

The original price is nonsense but I still would understand people that but it in certain situations. But people that buy from scalpers .... they are dumb. Very dumb. Period.

Let's face it....
unless that person is very well off, it will be very stupid in buying this regards if buying from scalpers or not.

The Steam machine doesn't have the rock solid stability of a console since its games are not individually optimized for the hardware neither as powerful as a computer...it's just expensive.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Unless you just want to support Valve (why? they don't need it!), or like the looks that much (again, why?), just buy a PC...

The PC will play all of the games this will - plus any PC games that are non-Steam... plus you can use it for work... plus it can run Windows (and/or linux)... plus...

Why oh why would you waste cash on this?

-As a collectors item. People waste a lot more money on collecting sillier things than this.

 

[rmcrys]

Let's face it....
unless that person is very well off, it will be very stupid in buying this regards if buying from scalpers or not.

The Steam machine doesn't have the rock solid stability of a console since its games are not individually optimized for the hardware neither as powerful as a computer...it's just expensive.

If that was true, steak deck wouldn't be a thing not those optimized games for it

 

[Tom316]

$2,000 to $3,000 never in my life. I could be the most diehard fan and I would never pay that for what is a low to mid end laptop without a display. It was old tech 5+ years ago.

I get memory prices are up. You can still get 32gigs of DDR4 ram for around $200 and 32gigs of DDR5 for $300-$400. At no point does that make the steam machine worth $2k or $3k.

This is just going to fall to the wayside like the first steam machine did and thats just sad. Its the wrong product at the wrong time. This needed to release 3 years ago.

 

[Squid Surprise]

If that was true, steak deck wouldn't be a thing not those optimized games for it

Proofread please… and while I’d love a steak deck, I dunno what you actually meant with this…

The games aren’t optimized for “this”… they are generally optimized for Windows or Linux… and Steam just runs them.

 

[The Talking Tech]

If that was true, steak deck wouldn't be a thing not those optimized games for it

Do you know how many Steam Decks have sold in comparison to consoles?

Put it this way, even the Series S has blown the Steam deck sales out of the water.

The only handheld like system that have outsold everything has been the Switch and Switch 2 ...and that's a fully optimized game system.

Steam hardware products are very niche....with loyal fans to a fault....but niche.

 

[BadThad]

Another scalpers dream product! $$$$$

 

[Burty117]

Yeah I unfortunately didn't get one, I’m now in the queue, which probably won't be for a many months now, probably not even this year.

That's okay with me, I'm not desperate for it or anything, I have a use case which the SteamDeck currently fulfils just not very well, I've been in the queue for a Steam Controller since the day the pre-orders for that went up as well.

Love Valve but they're particularly bad at hardware launches, It took 10 months to get my SteamDeck when that launched. Valve almost act like they're a strange small boutique company, and are seemingly afraid to order a decent amount hardware in fear it wouldn't sell.

 

[seeprime]

They don't ship until tomorrow, June 30. It might be that reservations are no longer being taken. I suspect the price will settle down quickly. Maybe.

 

[gingerbill]

seemingly afraid to order a decent amount hardware in fear it wouldn't sell.

I assume its just the old artificial scarcity trick , they aren't stupid and should be capable of having a good estimate of sales .

I reckon we could have had a good guess and not been far off .

Maybe its a manufacturing limitation . Either way I doubt its because they didnt think they would sell.

 

[Burty117]

I assume its just the old artificial scarcity trick

It's overpriced for it's on sheet spec though, they launched knowing the price was going to sting, why would you release something that's seemingly overpriced AND artificially create a shortage? It's already a tough sell.

they aren't stupid and should be capable of having a good estimate of sales.

Yet so far, every single hardware launch by Valve has been a bit bodged, SteamDeck you can kinda let slide because it had been a long time since Valve had launched new hardware, it also was a great deal when it launched and people actually wanted to buy it.

Steam Controller? I reserved within hours of that going live, sounds like I might not get anything until next year, Steam Machine? Seems the same for that as well, I can only assume the Steam Frame will go just as badly, even though that has less mass market appeal.

Maybe its a manufacturing limitation . Either way I doubt its because they didnt think they would sell.

This is the thing though, they started talking to manufacturers back in 2023, three years ago now, surely they would have asked for I dunno, maybe a million units? It feels like they barely ordered fifty thousand.

From their interviews though, it does sound like RAM is the real limitation, they get a call every month and they either take the amount of RAM and price as is, or leave it, so maybe they've got motherboards, cases, power supplies etc... all ready to go and are just waiting on RAM to come in.

But then, why can't they get any Steam Controllers out the door? Surely that's not waiting on RAM or something that's been hit by the AI shortages?

 

[Rapob]

This machine is so garbage.

Just wait, build your own and install SteamOS if you care about the Steam Machine.
Or CachyOS, Bazzite etc.

It’s just a low-spec PC running Linux, and both factors restrict your game options.

For the entire PC gaming catalog, go with Windows. Then you get actual official driver and game support. 100% of PC game catalog available.

 

[Rudyduu]

Unless you just want to support Valve (why? they don't need it!), or like the looks that much (again, why?), just buy a PC...

The PC will play all of the games this will - plus any PC games that are non-Steam... plus you can use it for work... plus it can run Windows (and/or linux)... plus...

Why oh why would you waste cash on this?

The Steam Machine is a PC. It's a computer you can use for work. You can put the computer into desk top mode and not have to deal with windows, additionally, it's a super compact and transportable box which most ITX computers aren't. You can also put Windows on it, too. I've owned several mini-itx computers, and they can be heavy and bulky for traveling. This steam machine just seems perfect for people who travel all the time and have their evenings free to do some gaming on their hotel room's TV.

This machine is so garbage.

Just wait, build your own and install SteamOS if you care about the Steam Machine.
Or CachyOS, Bazzite etc.

It’s just a low-spec PC running Linux, and both factors restrict your game options.

For the entire PC gaming catalog, go with Windows. Then you get actual official driver and game support. 100% of PC game catalog available.

Of course, a super negative take from the most miserable poster on this platform. It's not garbage, it's just not for you. It's for people who want a super compact computer that doesn't run windows. If you want windows and don't need a super compact computer the Steam Machine isn't for you, it's as simple as that. It's well built, easy to work on, and compact. It's not as if the prices of other gaming platforms are dropping, why did anyone think the prices would be that of a console when Valve said it would be priced as a PC.

It's overpriced for it's on sheet spec though, they launched knowing the price was going to sting, why would you release something that's seemingly overpriced AND artificially create a shortage? It's already a tough sell.

Yet so far, every single hardware launch by Valve has been a bit bodged, SteamDeck you can kinda let slide because it had been a long time since Valve had launched new hardware, it also was a great deal when it launched and people actually wanted to buy it.

Steam Controller? I reserved within hours of that going live, sounds like I might not get anything until next year, Steam Machine? Seems the same for that as well, I can only assume the Steam Frame will go just as badly, even though that has less mass market appeal.

This is the thing though, they started talking to manufacturers back in 2023, three years ago now, surely they would have asked for I dunno, maybe a million units? It feels like they barely ordered fifty thousand.

From their interviews though, it does sound like RAM is the real limitation, they get a call every month and they either take the amount of RAM and price as is, or leave it, so maybe they've got motherboards, cases, power supplies etc... all ready to go and are just waiting on RAM to come in.

But then, why can't they get any Steam Controllers out the door? Surely that's not waiting on RAM or something that's been hit by the AI shortages?

I don't see how you can form an opinion based on speculation from someone with no objective data. Why would Valve create artificial scarcity? How would they benefit from it? Why would anyone think Valve has the buying power of Microsoft, Apple, HP, or Dell? What memory/storage vendor needs Valve's money? Does anyone know who makes the Steam Machine for Valve?

...Valve almost act like they're a strange small boutique company, and are seemingly afraid to order a decent amount hardware in fear it wouldn't sell.

In the PC hardware space, they are a small boutique company. There is no way to know how much they could order or how long it takes their suppliers to make the parts and put them together. There is no evidence to support Valve purposefully ordered a limited number of Steam Machines knowing demand would outstrip supply.

 

[Rapob]

The Steam Machine is a PC. It's a computer you can use for work. You can put the computer into desk top mode and not have to deal with windows, additionally, it's a super compact and transportable box which most ITX computers aren't. You can also put Windows on it, too. I've owned several mini-itx computers, and they can be heavy and bulky for traveling. This steam machine just seems perfect for people who travel all the time and have their evenings free to do some gaming on their hotel room's TV.


Of course, a super negative take from the most miserable poster on this platform. It's not garbage, it's just not for you. It's for people who want a super compact computer that doesn't run windows. If you want windows and don't need a super compact computer the Steam Machine isn't for you, it's as simple as that. It's well built, easy to work on, and compact. It's not as if the prices of other gaming platforms are dropping, why did anyone think the prices would be that of a console when Valve said it would be priced as a PC.


I don't see how you can form an opinion based on speculation from someone with no objective data. Why would Valve create artificial scarcity? How would they benefit from it? Why would anyone think Valve has the buying power of Microsoft, Apple, HP, or Dell? What memory/storage vendor needs Valve's money? Does anyone know who makes the Steam Machine for Valve?


In the PC hardware space, they are a small boutique company. There is no way to know how much they could order or how long it takes their suppliers to make the parts and put them together. There is no evidence to support Valve purposefully ordered a limited number of Steam Machines knowing demand would outstrip supply.

I have build tons of ITX machines that blows the Steam Machine away. It might be compact but its also weak and useless for the most part.

Since when was super compact highly important for a desktop machine? Buy a laptop. There is laptops faster than the Steam Machine anyway. Nvidia has mobile GPUs that literally stomps on Steam Machine.

Steam Machine is laughably weak and insanely expensive for what you get. A dated weak 7nm APU running low clocks with just 16GB of RAM, in a single stick that don't even run dual channel, and 512GB SSD in the basemodel. 1080p is the goal, 4K/UHD is possible with FSR Performance (funny enough, 1080p upscaled). Weak shite.

It's a PC, so it does not get the console optimization you often see with PS5 and XSS. Meaning the weak hardware fares even worse.

People don't buy the Steam Machine because its not running Windows. True gamers want nothing but Windows. Demanding gamers won't touch Valve hardware with a ten feet pole. Low-end hardware, made for running indie games. Steam Machine sells because people want to try it. Never meant to replace their main-rig. Sales are poor anyway.

Valve hardware don't sell much. Steam Deck sold 4 million units in like 4-5 years. You can be sure that 99% of the buyers had a high-end PC running Windows too. Had a Steam Deck OLED myself too. Weak for newer games but fun enough for emulation. Got old and boring eventually and sold it.

Valve just want to lock you into the Steam ecosystem. While milking developers. That is the main goal of SteamOS. Competition is always good and this woke Microsoft up.

No matter how much you casual gamers think Linux is good for gaming, Windows sits on 99% of PC game sells. PC games are aimed at Windows only, just read the requirements. Linux is no threat at all, yet. Lets see in 5-10 years.

 

[Squid Surprise]

The Steam Machine is a PC. It's a computer you can use for work. You can put the computer into desk top mode and not have to deal with windows, additionally, it's a super compact and transportable box which most ITX computers aren't. You can also put Windows on it, too. I've owned several mini-itx computers, and they can be heavy and bulky for traveling. This steam machine just seems perfect for people who travel all the time and have their evenings free to do some gaming on their hotel room's TV.

Yeah - but it’s an expensive under-powered one… if you bothered to read the rest of the posts on here, you’d have noticed that you can build a BETTER one for less - which will do MORE than this pile of junk.

And as for portability… you’ve heard of laptops, right?

 

[BobHome]

The original price is nonsense but I still would understand people that but it in certain situations. But people that buy from scalpers .... they are dumb. Very dumb. Period.

Some people simply have more dollars than sense?

 

[HomeyBroDude]

Nothing worse than a scalper, broker or pedo. Some people are all three.

 

[Later]

With the 3000$ to give to a scalper I rather build my own for less, with a small case also.