The Steam Machine price has been revealed! (And it's a little higher than everyone expected…) Still, if you're considering buying Valve's little black box, this is important knowledge to have. What you also need to know is exactly how to buy a Steam Machine. It's not a straightforward process, but hopefully it will be a fair one.

On this page:

  • Price
  • How to buy
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Need to know more about the Steam Machine before making your purchase? Don't worry, I've taken a look at everything you need to know about the Steam Machine.

Steam Machine price

There are two models of Steam Machine available - one with 512GB storage, another with 2TB. Both can either be brought by itself or in a bundle with the new Steam Controller.

Below lie the prices for each Steam Machine model, along with the two Steam Controller bundles:

GBP EUR USD CAD AUD PLN Steam Machine
512GB 879 1,039 1,049 1,509 1,609 4,389 Steam Machine
512GB and
Steam Controller 938 1,108 1,128 1,628 1,728 4,698 Steam Machine
2TB 1,149 1,359 1,349 1,919 2,109 5,739 Steam Machine
2TB and
Steam Controller 1,208 1,428 1,428 2,038 2,228 6,048

Note: If you purchase either the Steam Machine 2TB by itself or the 2TB controller bundle, then you'll also receive two additional faceplates - red fabric and solid walnut.

Valve has been quite open about how the cost of the Steam Machine's components are why the console's price doesn't match the original one they envisioned. It shouldn't come as a surprise, but the main offenders are the current costs of RAM and storage components. Valve also chose not to subsidize the price as they don't believe that's how healthy ecosystems are built. Especially when it comes to the openness of the PC ecosystem where everyone has the chance to experiment with different hardware and software. Subsidizing the price of the Steam Machine could lead people to thinking they have to buy Valve hardware rather than it simply being an available option.

Returning to components, it's not just the price which has been affected over the past couple of years but availability. This too has had an effect on Steam Machine production, which has led Valve to creating a rather unique method for buying one. I'll walk you through this process, and the many things you need to keep in mind about it, down below.

How to buy a Steam Machine

So you want to buy a Steam Machine? Well to do that you need to sign up for a reservation and hope luck is on your side. I'm not kidding. It's like Valve looked at how Nintendo decided to do pre-orders for the Switch 2 on their store last year and decided to make it more 'fun'. (Though I have gone into some detail on why Valve has taken this course of action a little further on if you're interested.)

Before you can consider purchasing a Steam Machine though, you need to meet the following criteria:

  • Have a Steam account in good standing. (No current bans etc.)
  • Have made a Steam purchase prior to 27th April 2026.
  • One signup per household limit. With payment method, shipping address and additional information being used to remove multiple entries.

If you meet those requirements, here's what you need to do if you want a Steam Machine.

  1. Sign up for the Steam Machine model/s or bundle/s you're interested in before Thursday 25th June at 6pm (BST) / 7pm (CEST) / 1pm (EDT) / 10am (PDT).
  2. Once this time passes, Valve will perform a one-time randomization to decide upon reservation order.
  3. After doing so, you'll receive an email sometime on the 25th June. This email will either be a:
  • Reservation Email - This email means that there is a Steam Machine reserved under your name. If you get this email, you need to wait until you get an email offering you the chance to purchase a Steam Machine at some point in the future. You will then have 72 hours to make your purchase. The first batch of Steam Machines will become available starting Monday 29th June and Valve intends to get through the reservation queue by the end of the year. After you've purchased your Machine, it will be shipped to you.
  • Waitlist Email - This means you've been added to the waitlist queue and will be notified of when more Steam Machines will be available.

Anyone who signs up after the Thursday 25th June deadline will be automatically added to the back of the waitlist queue. Your position on the waitlist only changes if someone cancels their reservation, misses their purchase window, someone before you in the waitlist purchases a Machine or Valve does future production runs for the Steam Machine.

Just to reiterate for anyone who receives a reservation email - this means a Steam Machine has been allotted to your name and you'll be able to purchase one sometime in 2026. It does not guarantee you the chance to purchase one Monday 29th June.

Since the reservation order has been randomised, there's no way to tell when your chance to purchase a Steam Machine will arrive. But, again, Valve does aim to get through the reservation list by the end of 2026. Keep an eye on your inbox and, if you truly want a Steam Machine, make sure you purchase it quickly. The good news is that once you've purchased your Steam Machine, it will be shipped to you! (So really you're just waiting for an email.)

Remember: you have 72 hours from the point of receiving a reservation email to purchase the Steam Machine allotted to your name. You can't change the model you've chosen. If you miss this 72 hour deadline, then your reservation will be cancelled and given to the next person in the queue. You will then have to join the back of the waitlist.

Here's some additional information to keep in when signing up, and waiting, for your Steam Machine:

  • You can not change the model you sign up for.
  • Cancelling your reservation or leaving the wait list will cause you to lose your spot.
  • There are separate reservation lists for each shipping region: North America, United Kingdom, European Union and Australia. You'll be automatically placed in the reservation list for your home region (i.e. the one list your address as during sign up).
  • You can sign up for multiple models since each model will have its own reservation list.
    • If you've assigned a reservation queue for one or more models, you'll be allocated to the model you rank highest for and removed from the others.
    • If you don't get a reservation spot for any of the models you signed up for, you'll be placed on the waitlist for the model you were closest to the front for.
    • This ensures that everyone still gets the chance to purchase a Steam Machine without breaking the one purchase per household rule.
Image credit: Valve

Why has Valve chosen this reservation method?

Valve has chosen this randomised reservation purchase method with the hope it will prevent scalpers and botters from taking advantage of the Steam Machine's release. It also gives Valve time to weed out anyone attempting to make multiple orders to the same household and ensure all of the orders are coming from real accounts.

For you personally, Valve hopes it will make the process of buying a Steam Machine easier and fairer. There's no need to worry about your Internet speed or taking time off work. You simply need to sign up, hope you end up in the reservation queue and then wait for your chance to purchase a Steam Machine. (And do so within 72 hours if you do get the chance to buy one!)

Yes, the process is a little drawn out. Yes, there's a chance you might not actually get to buy a Steam Machine. Yet this method does appear to have been designed with fairness in mind, while also ensuring Valve doesn't oversell the Machine and end up in a situation where they're offering more than they can supply. Though time will tell with this latter point.

Best of luck buying a Steam Machine!