We Finally Know How Damn Expensive Steam Machine May Be

When Valve first announced the Steam Machine, they had already hinted that it was going to be priced similarly to an “equivalent gaming PC” of similar power. Thus, we already knew it was going to be more expensive than your mainstream consoles like the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, or the Xbox Series X. But we did not expect it to be as expensive as a modern iPhone.

That’s right, the Steam Machine may be priced close to a 512GB iPhone 17 at $950, thanks to a new leak from a Czech retailer and some code snooping. This retailer is called Smarty, and it is an authorized seller of Valve, meaning we may have just received authentic information directly from the source.

However, this retailer’s website only shows the Steam Machine up front, but not the pricing. This is where user ClawSomeGamer came in, exploring the website’s source code to uncover the pricing. The price tags for both the 512GB and 1TB variants were leaked for the half PC, half console device at about $950 and $1,070, respectively.

Expected Prices

Reports note that Smarty appears to apply a 17% markup on the products it sells. Based on this, the estimated price of the 512GB model could be around $814, while the 2TB version may cost about $916. However, it was also clarified that these figures may only be internal estimates by Smarty.

For comparison, even after recent price increases, the most expensive versions of the PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X remain under $800. Meanwhile, the cheapest versions of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, both equipped with 1TB storage, are priced at $499 and $649, respectively.

Given this context, any product sold directly by Valve could be cheaper. For example, the Steam Deck OLED is priced at $649 when purchased directly from Valve, but costs nearly $200 more on Amazon due to third-party sellers.

Regardless of whether the Smarty leak turns out to be accurate, the Steam Machine is expected to carry a high price tag. Rising costs across the tech industry suggest that prices will continue to increase.