Half Life 3 Steam Machine rumors just won't go away, with high RAM prices now somehow connected

When Valve unveiled the Steam Machine, there was a huge amount of expectation that the company would also finally be revealing Half-Life 3 alongside it. After all, what better way could there be to get PC gamers excited about a new piece of hardware than to launch it alongside the single most anticipated PC game ever. Those dreams were dashed on the day, though, with not a single hint of a new Half-Life game accompanying any of the new Steam gear. However, fresh rumors hint that Valve had in fact planned to launch the game, and it's only because of these annoying recent RAM price increases that the plug was pulled.

Valve's SteamOS-powered tiny gaming PC, the Steam Machine, has, of course, been a huge success in terms of hype, but with there still being no firm Steam Machine release date or price, speculation is rife as to just how much it will cost and what that could mean for its success. Were Valve to launch Half-Life 3 with it as a flagship title, it would likely help sales - just as the exclusive Half-Life: Alyx did for the Valve Index. But it's also a risky move that's complicated by recent price rises across the industry.

The latest Steam Machine Half-Life 3 rumor fueling this speculation fire comes from the Insider Gaming podcast (video embedded below), on which Mark Straw says that multiple sources are "still adamant that Half-Life 3 will be a launch title for the Steam Machine." He also says these are "not run-of-the-mill sources" and that they have "given me details on Madden," suggesting they've provided accurate leak information previously and so should be trusted on this latest rumor.

Crucially, Straw goes on to say that "the reason [for the delay] is PC RAM prices," although it isn't made clear exactly how this would affect the launch.

The recent DRAM price explosion is being driven by AI data centers buying up all the supply of RAM, and has seen the cost of PC RAM more than triple, causing prices for all sorts of other PC tech to rise, too. We've seen graphics card price rises, and multiple sources we've talked to have suggested that new gaming laptops and other gear set to be announced at the big CES tech trade show in early January could face delays or launch at far higher prices than we've been used to in recent years.

How this all ultimately affects the Half-Life 3 launch, though, isn't entirely obvious. We would be very surprised if Valve chose to make Half-Life 3 exclusive to the Steam Machine, even just for a few weeks, just to push hardware sales.

Meanwhile, as YouTuber Linus Tech Tips discusses in the video below, the economics of the Steam Machine mean that the company is unlikely to look to sell it at a loss-making, console-like price, in the hope it will make back its money in game sales. That's because the Steam Machine is ultimately just a normal PC, so there's nothing to stop us from buying the Steam Machine at its discounted price then just installing Windows and running other game launchers.

As such, there seems little reason why Valve wouldn't just decouple the Steam Machine launch from the Half-Life 3 launch. It could either delay the hardware, raise its price, or even pull the plug altogether if PC pricing really goes bananas, and none of this would likely affect the success of the game's launch.

Ultimately, this all very much remains speculation, though, with no meaningful hints or leaks pointing to a Half-Life 3 launch and still no official word from Valve on the game's existence.