Valve subtly hints that the Steam Machine launch has been delayed, but it looks like we won't be waiting too long

While we grow more and more worried about the impact of rising RAM costs and increasingly rare GPUs on our current PC builds, we're also concerned about what it might mean for upcoming devices, including the exciting Steam Machine. As recently as February 3, however, during the AMD earnings call, the company's CEO, Lisa Su, reassured us that the Steam Machine's release was still "on track" for "early this year." Just hours later, though, Valve has come in with its own contradictory statement.

On Wednesday February 4, Valve released a new FAQ article, seemingly addressing questions about the Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine's cost and release date expectations. While it starts by saying, "We want to get straight to the two [questions] we know everyone is wondering about the most: When will these be launching, and how much will they cost?", the FAQ deftly avoids answering both of these questions.

In what seems to be a slight contradiction to Su's "early" 2026 claims, Valve simply confirms, "Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed." Instead, it seems like Gabe's hardware team is giving itself some wiggle room, and we could be waiting until the summer before we can get our hands on the goods.

As for pricing, the statement simply reads, "We have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce," even though Valve "planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now." Naturally, this comes down to the shortages plaguing gaming hardware right now. The statement continues, "The memory and storage shortages you've likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since [the initial announcement]. The limited availability and growing prices of these critical components mean we must revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing."

So, really, this new FAQ doesn't tell us much at all, other than seemingly stretching out the definition of the word "early." If you're into the more nitty-gritty technical stuff, however, you might be interested in the answers to questions about the performance of the Steam Machine "when playing newer, more demanding games," which of the Machine's components are upgradable, and even the Steam Frame's foveated streaming.