The increasingly expensive hobby of gaming added another notch to its pricy belt today. If you want Steam’s upcoming PC/console hybrid, you will need at least four figures.
The base model of the Steam Machine will cost $1,049 when it launches on June 29. This model only comes with a 512 GB drive. And it only gets worse from there, somehow, because you’ll likely want a controller and more storage, right?
If you want a Steam Controller with it, the bundle costs $1,128. And if you’re like just about anybody in this machine’s target audience and the 512 GB is not enough, there’s a 2 TB model that clocks in at $1,349 (a whopping $1,428 if you want the Steam Controller with it).
Valve will once again be running a reservation queue for the Steam Machine, learning from scalper lessons with the Steam Controller earlier this year. This means you can register interest and then be placed in a randomized queue for a chance to even get in the door to try and buy it.
The Steam Machine is a PC, but with the ease of a console setup. You can easily mod it to high hell if you want, like a Steam Deck, but I’m genuinely not very sure who this machine is for beyond enthusiasts with a whole hell of a lot of disposable income. That price point is going to scare away the majority of players, because at that point, I feel like I’d just rather upgrade an actual PC or get another console since they’re basically all around the same price anyway. We’re in hell.
Gaming has never been a cheap hobby, but it’s rapidly turning into a luxury one with how prices are ballooning across the board whether it’s PC components, consoles, or something in between like this new piece of tech.
You can sign up for a specific version of the Steam Machine on Valve’s website today until June 25. After that, it’s in Gabe’s hands, and he’s probably on one of his yachts watching this all go down.
