Valve Launches Steam Machine at $1,049 with Lottery-Based Reservation System

Valve has officially launched the Steam Machine, a living room-friendly PC designed to bring Steam's gaming library to the television, with a starting price of $1,049. The company is managing preorders through a unique lottery-based reservation system intended to ensure fairness and prevent bot exploitation. Registration began on June 22nd and closes on June 25th at 1 PM ET, after which Valve will randomize the order of all signups. Winners will receive purchase emails starting June 29th.

The Steam Machine is available in four configurations: a 512GB model for $1,049, a 512GB model with Steam Controller for $1,128, a 2TB model for $1,349, and a 2TB model with Steam Controller for $1,428. The 2TB configurations include two swappable faceplates in addition to the standard black design. Each configuration has its own separate signup list, and regional lists exist for North America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Australia. Prospective buyers can sign up for multiple configurations, though if randomly selected for more than one, they will automatically receive the highest-end model they registered for.

To be eligible, customers must have a Steam account in good standing and have made a purchase on Steam prior to April 27th, 2026. The signup is limited to one per household. Those who secure a reservation spot will have 72 hours to complete their purchase. Anyone who registers after June 25th or fails to secure a spot will be placed on a waitlist for their chosen configuration.

The Steam Machine's $1,049 starting price positions it significantly above current generation consoles: the PS5 digital edition costs $599.99, the Xbox Series X costs $649.99, and the PS5 Pro costs $899.99. However, Valve emphasizes that the Steam Machine offers access to a vast library of existing Steam games accumulated over years or decades, functions as a full Linux PC that users can customize, and is priced at component cost rather than subsidized. Performance is reportedly equivalent to the PS5, though the console launched nearly six years earlier. The price announcement comes after Valve delayed the Steam Machine's release in February due to global memory and storage shortages, which required the company to revisit its pricing strategy.