Valve confirms Steam Machine is still on track to release in the first-half of 2026 despite memory and storage shortages, with a possible price hike

The tech industry is currently dealing with a growing memory and storage crisis, largely driven by the ongoing AI boom. Increased demand for memory chips and storage components has pushed prices higher across the PC hardware market, affecting everything from GPUs to consumer devices. However, despite these challenges, Valve says its plans for its upcoming devices, the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller, remain unchanged, something which AMD's CEO also confirmed recently. 

Valve first announced these products in November last year, but did not provide a specific release date at the time. Instead, the company said the devices would arrive sometime in the first half of 2026. While that window still stands, Valve has now explained why exact pricing and launch details have yet to be shared.

In a new update posted on Steam, the company admitted that it originally expected to have pricing and shipping schedules finalized by now. However, the situation around memory and storage availability has worsened faster than expected.

Valve explained that limited availability and rising costs for key components have made it difficult to lock in exact pricing and launch dates, particularly for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. This suggests that higher component costs could lead to increased prices compared to earlier expectations.

Even so, the company stressed that its overall release goal has not changed. However, the company wants to be careful when finalizing these details, especially given how quickly memory and storage prices can change. Locking in prices too early could either hurt consumers or force adjustments later, something Valve wants to avoid.

According to Valve, all three products are still planned to ship in the first half of 2026. The company said it is continuing to work on concrete pricing and launch timelines and will share updates as soon as the plans are finalized.