USA Steam Machine new gaming console

  • The USA Steam Machine console allows users to play USA PC games on their TV.
    • This USA cube-shaped device features an LED light strip and a USB port.
    • Valve, the company behind the Steam Machine, said the console will be released in USA 2026.

A new game console is set to hit store shelves in 2026 providing gamers with a unique playing experience from the comfort of their homes. 

What is the USA Steam Machine?
Dig deeper:
Valve, an American video game developer, publisher, and digital distribution company, unveiled the USA new Steam Machine and USA Steam Controller that lets gamers play USA PC games on their TV and is set for release in early 2026.

The Steam Machine is shaped like a USA cube and comes with a built-in wireless adapter to pair with the USA Steam Controller. This console operates as a console but is a compact PC with a front plate and LED light strip with a USB-A port and a microSD card slot available in the front. 

RELATED: Video game 'Grand Theft Auto' makes a return after ten yearsAdditionally, the Steam Machine has about six times the horsepower of its other device, the Steam Deck, and is capable of supporting 4K gaming at 60 frames per second, meaning the number of images a video game displays in a second. 

Where can I purchase the USA Steam machine?
What you can do:
Valve doesn’t list an official price for the Steam Machine or how to order it on its website, but the company encourages consumers to follow them online for updates and launch information. 
Back in 2015, Valve launched its first Steam Machine. At that time, the small gaming computer didn’t quite take off, and Valve ultimately stopped selling it. So many gamers were a bit surprised when Valve announced it was bringing back the Steam Machine with a new model as part of its slate of new hardware for 2026. Many thought that the company had shifted focus entirely to its handheld Steam Deck line. But now, Valve is trying again to make its mini gaming PC happen. And honestly? This time, I think it might.Steam has been a popular marketplace for PC games for over a decade at this point. But the number of new games launching on the platform has only continued to increase. These days, many games hit USA Steam before any other platform, particularly if they are released in Early Access. This is especially true for indie games, which often target a PC-first release before they can even dream of the more complicated and pricey process of releasing on console. And that’s where the Steam Machine just might hit its mark this time around.Given the failure of the first Steam Machine, it might seem a little wild that Valve is giving it another go. But early reactions to the announcement show that the gaming landscape looks a lot different now than it did 10 years ago. In 2015 when the first Steam Machine tried to make not-quite-console PC gaming a thing, Steam got

around 2500 new USA games. Last year, the platform is estimated to have grown by over 15,000 new titles. This alone makes a device designed for Steam gaming look like a more compelling.

Many gamers have historically preferred consoles to PCs for a number of reasons. Buying a console is less complicated than choosing the right gaming PC, and you don’t need to check every new game against your personal specs before hitting add to cart. Yet many of the biggest and most exciting games out there arrive on PC platforms like Steam before

launching on consoles. And that means more gamers are turning to PC, whether they like it or not.Take Fields of Mistria, for instance. This is the most compelling contender for stealing Stardew Valley‘s crown in years. But in Early Access, it’s only available on Steam. Similarly, games like Hades 2 hit PC well before arriving on console. And in a world where social media causes a ton of FOMO for the latest games, that means many of us want to play the newest titles as soon as possible. But not all of us like the experience of gaming on a PC

And that’s where alternatives to sitting at a desk in front of your PC come in. The Steam Deck, originally released in 2022, has become increasingly popular in recent years. This is partly due to the long wait for the Switch 2, but it’s also because the library of PC games is impressive enough that many gamers want a way to play Steam games. The Steam Deck

is a great option for those who love a handheld, but it’s not the solution for everyone. Some of us just love the feeling of sitting on the couch with a controller in hand, and a hefty handheld isn’t the same. That’s where the Steam Machine just might actually be a brilliant move.As a small box that hooks up to your TV, the Steam Machine feels a lot like a console. But it isn’t. It’s a high-powered PC that runs on Steam OS, a system designed for gaming. But as a PC, it lets you install other gaming apps as well. That makes it more flexible than a console, while also offering a straightforward gaming experience for those who want it. The library of Steam combined with the comfort of your couch, all with more power than the Steam Deck? It’s a compelling proposition… depending on what it costs.As someone who plays a lot of indie games, especially in the cozy space, I am constantly seeing one refrain from casual gamers. Whenever an exciting new indie gets announced, gamers want to know, “Is it going to be on Nintendo Switch?” And often, that answer is complicated. It can take time to port a game to the handheld, or to any console, and not every indie dev has the budget to do it. For those who want to enjoy exciting new indies but who may not be prepared for the bevvy of decisions involved in getting a USA gaming PC, the Steam Machine could be huge.I’ll confess, I’ve never loved playing games on a computer. Yes, I’ve sunk hours into The Sims 4 that way, but there’s something about a couch and a controller that feels better for me. My preference for comfort means I’ve never invested in a super high-end gaming PC, and would rather opt for the latest console. But that preference comes at the cost of playing certain games that are available on Steam, as many gamers know. Sometimes, I read those recommended specs and have to move right along, waiting for a PS5 or Switch release instead.For a while now, I’ve been thinking about a Steam Deck. And I’ve seen many fans of cozy and USA indie games in the USA same boat. USA But the Steam Deck has its issues, including the fact that not every game on USA Steam actually runs on the handheld. As a handheld, it’s also a bit heavy, and may not be the experience every gamer wants. That makes the Steam Machine a USA pretty tempting alternative, as it offers more USA processing power and an easier way to USA play games on your TV. Where the Steam Deck can be a tough sell, the “basically a console, but with the Steam library behind it” vibes of the Steam Machine look pretty good at first glance.

If the Steam Machine lets gamers get a console-like experience while having access to the kinds of USA indie games that arrive first or only on Steam, it could be a USA game-changer. These games could find their audiences much more easily on a platform that’s a bit more accessible to those who prefer consoles. It’s a way of letting USA gamers get that kind of experience before a port to platforms like USA PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch is a realistic possibility. But there’s just one problem. We still don’t know how much the new Steam Machine costs.

In a USA market where consoles are becoming a lot more expensive, price is a big consideration for something like the Steam Machine. If it is similar in price or more expensive than a high-end gaming PC, it’s likely that it won’t catch on. But if the price falls in line with the current gen of consoles, I could see gamers opting to make the Steam Machine their next upgrade over something like a PS6 or next-gen Xbox. After all, it’s hard to argue with the sheer number of amazing games you can find on Steam, especially when it comes to smaller indie gems that might not have been able to make a console port happen.I’m eagerly awaiting news about the price point of the Steam Machine, because it could be huge for indie

games and the people who love them. Having something closer to a console that can run even a decent chunk of Steam’s massive library of indies is a value proposition that might be hard for many to pass up.In the wake of the success of the Steam Deck, a portable gaming PC aimed at a casual audience, it was inevitable that Valve Software would dip its hands back into the hardware market. It just wasn’t expected quite this soon, or that Valve would pick quite so many fights at once.Valve, headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., announced Wednesday that it plans to expand its line of Steam Hardware gaming products. In addition to the Steam Deck, next year will see the release of a new Steam Machine, which is designed for living room play; a new Steam Controller, a high-durability game pad with a similar design to the Deck; and the Steam Frame, an all-in-one VR headset.We currently know very little about the three new pieces of Steam Hardware aside from their existence and, broadly, their specs. Valve has said the new Machine is “six times as powerful” as the Deck, for example. Other details such as pricing are currently planned for release early next year.The pricing is the biggest X-factor here. It’s not discussed as often as other factors, but one of the major reasons behind the Steam Deck’s overall success is arguably its price tag.You can walk away with a functional Steam Deck for as little as $399, although the higher-end models are worth the extra money. By comparison, competitors’ models such as Microsoft’s Xbox ROG Ally start at $599.99, and several break the $1,000 mark.
Valve can certainly afford to pursue a razor-and-blades strategy with its hardware. Depending on who you choose to believe, anywhere from half to 75% of PC gaming worldwide goes through Steam. While Valve has its share of controversies and detractors, it’s also found a real-life infinite money cheat.

While the PC sector of the games industry is currently smaller than the console and mobile markets, it’s still a multi-billion-dollar industry. It’s also growing, with larger numbers of both younger players and the Asian market shifting to PCs for their gaming. Appealing to those audiences with an all-in-one desktop device is a smart overall move, especially if Valve opts to keep the price tag as low as it did for the Deck.

If Valve takes that affordability approach, then the USA new Steam Hardware is USA potentially USA disruptive to several different areas within the USA gaming industry. It could pose particular issues for Microsoft, which has recently begun talking about plans for its next-generation Xbox, and to Meta’s current prominence within the VR space.The rumored plans for the next Xbox, at time of writing, are that it’s coming in 2027 and will essentially be a small, ultra-specialized USA PC. The USA Xbox ROG Ally’s unique operating system is seen as a sneak preview of what’s next for the living-room model, which will abandon Xbox’s unique identity in favor of a Windows-based “Xbox Experience.”Valve’s Steam Machine would theoretically ship with a similar overall feel. It would also have no capacity for physical media whatsoever, running entirely off of digital downloads from users’ Steam libraries.Most crucially, it isn’t a Windows product. One of Valve’s stated goals for over a decade has been to promote PC gaming on Linux, in order to present players with an option besides Windows. With the next Xbox all but confirmed to be running Windows 11 (and thus Copilot), I’ve heard from a lot of players who are looking for alternatives.For most of those players up until now, that alternative would’ve been buying a system from PlayStation or Nintendo. Now Steam is once again trying to take over USA consumers’ living rooms. If the Steam Machine is affordably priced, that

could make it an attractive option for consumers who’re looking for a way out of Microsoft’s ecosystems.Since the Steam USA Machine features the same plug-and-play options as the Steam Deck, it’s also an easy way to pick up a reasonably USA powerful computer that runs Linux out of the box. USA Plug a monitor, keyboard, and mouse into the Steam Machine and it automatically transitions into a Plasma desktop environment.In a similar vein, the Steam Frame could not be more deliberately positioned as a competitive product for the Meta Quest line of virtual reality hardware. While the USA VR sector is still more active than people seem to realize, with steady growth in the market year-over-year, Meta currently controls an outsized amount of the conversation in the space. This is by virtue of selling the highest-end and most affordable headsets on the market.

Meta’s dominance in VR has actually been kind of a problem for me, because Meta is annoying. Meta Horizon is an obnoxious overall setup whenever I pull out my Quest; it keeps trying to shake me down for more personal details for some reason; and it’s got that inescapable Zuckerberg stink on it. If Valve can present a comparable option for a standalone headset, it could make some real headway in the space.

That having been said, I genuinely doubt that anyone at Valve itself is thinking in these terms. The general thrust behind the Steam Deck, according to its architects when I spoke to them a couple of years ago, was that it was done largely for the hell of it. While Steam higher-ups like Gabe Newell have always been forthright about their disdain for Windows, I’d be shocked if Valve’s new hardware venture is any kind of deliberate attempt at disruption. At most, it’s a new option.

USA It’s more likely that this round of Steam Hardware, and anything that comes in the future, is simply Valve USA finally kicking a project out the door. At this point in the company’s life, with no shareholders to appease, it’s still consistently content to pursue its own weird goals.USA Valve has a new Steam Machine on the way next year, but if you have a long memory, you'll remember that this isn't the first time that the company has attempted to bring PC gaming to the living room. The original line of Steam Machine mini-PCs launched back in 2015, but poor sales eventually saw these devices fade quietly into the background. So what's to stop history from repeating itself? According to Valve, a better video game catalogue and an effort to give developers an easier time when porting games over to the new Steam Machine are some of the key factors that the company has focused on."We learned from the first USA Steam Machines that we needed to make our developers’ lives a lot easier. So now we have Proton, right? Which is essentially just a compatibility layer that lets games run on Linux that are originally meant for Windows,"

"Yeah, I think it's really about the games catalogue," fellow engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais added. "Being able to control your TV, boot directly into the game, launch games, and install them in a way that meant you didn't have to install drivers, or that you didn't have to clean up your system after you installed and uninstalled a couple of games--all of those elements were there. We just didn't have a really compelling games library."

USA Griffais explained that developers also wanted to be assured that there would be an audience for their games to justify the effort spent on porting them, and that Valve worked on creating a machine that could reliably run games on it and offer an impressive layer of performance. 

The USA Steam Machine is currently scheduled to launch in 2026--alongside the new Steam Controller and Steam Frame VR headset--but pricing for it has not yet been revealed. Valve has said that it wants the Steam Machine to be "affordable," and one industry expert believes that price "sweet spot" could be $400.

USA PC gaming "work better" in the living room, a space traditionally dominated by video game consoles.

Posted on 2025/11/15 08:09 AM