The Steam Deck didn’t break any sales records, but it did leave a major mark on the world of PC hardware. It’s by far the most popular hardware product from Valve, it made PC handhelds mainstream, and is the best-selling PC handheld ever. Could the new Steam Machine repeat its success? Likely not.
Unlike the Steam Deck, the Steam Machine is set to enter a fiercely competitive world of gaming PCs and consoles that take no hostages. Many pieces have to fall into place for it to replicate the Deck’s success, and there are plenty of reasons it might fall short of its handheld cousin’s legacy.
1
Pricing
Adequate pricing is the first hurdle the Steam Machine has to clear to entice legions of PC gamers. If it enters the market at too high a price, it can easily flop. But if it’s priced just right, its chances of becoming a hit will grow considerably.
Credit: Valve
The thing is, it looks like no one knows how much the Steam Machine will cost, possibly not even Valve. The company has stated time and time again that the Steam Machine will cost as much as a similarly-priced PC. The reality is that the current PC hardware market is too volatile to know just how much a PC with similar specs will sell for once the Steam Machine enters the fray, sometime in early 2026.
From what I’ve seen online, the magic number Valve’s PC 2.0 has to hit to turn heads seems to be between $400 and $650 for the base unit with 512GB of storage, which sounds reasonable. But if the analysts who claim the base model will sell at $799 end up right, I can’t see Valve’s second attempt at creating a gaming box ending up a success.
The Steam Deck has been selling like hotcakes (at least compared to other handheld PCs) because it outprices virtually every other handheld PC on the market. The catch is that the PC handheld market is much less competitive than the console and gaming PC market. So if the Steam Machine ends up costing the same or more than a similar PC you can build yourself or something like the PlayStation 5 Pro, I can’t see it ending up a winner.
2
Lack of multiplayer support
Even if Valve prices its Machine at the lower end of the spectrum, the lack of support for major multiplayer titles might keep it from taking off.
The Deck works even without being able to play popular multiplayer games because it’s seen as a secondary gaming device, as a “backlog killer.” But the Steam Machine aims to squeeze into that coveted spot under or next to the TV, becoming your primary gaming device and replacing your current PC or console.
Credit: Valve
The issue here is that almost half of all PC and console gamers prefer multiplayer games. Games such as Fortnite, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Valorant, and other multiplayer behemoths, none of which work on SteamOS. If Valve wants its gaming box to replace the one currently sitting under the TV in millions of homes, it needs to address this issue sooner rather than later.
3
Limited upgradability
Now, the Steam Machine is touted as a gaming PC with a console-like UI, combining the best of both worlds. And while it looks like you will be able to upgrade its RAM and storage, I still think that’s not enough to make it a better deal than a PC you can build yourself and equip with SteamOS or Bazzite, let alone a console.
Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
I believe that not providing an easily accessible extra M.2 slot to expand SSD storage was a mistake on Valve’s part, especially since even the PS5 includes an extra NVMe slot you can easily drop an SSD into. With the Steam Machine, you’ll have to either replace the primary SSD since there’s no secondary SSD slot, or use SD cards, which are too slow for modern AAA titles.
There’s also the issue with the GPU used, which should be slightly less potent than the Radeon 7600M. The GPU in question boasts about the same performance as the now-aging RTX 2060 Super, meaning you’ll be stuck at 1080p unless you use upscaling—and the mere 8GB of memory doesn’t help either.
Considering the GPU inside the Steam Machine is based on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture, chances are it’ll only support FSR 3, which looks rough even at 4K, the resolution Valve claims the Steam Machine will be able to push with the help of FSR.
Without a way to upgrade the GPU, the Steam Machine will become underpowered soon after launch. Its owners will be forced to play new games at low settings and around 30 frames per second—if that. This didn’t stop the Deck from becoming a hit, but, as I said, the Deck isn’t gunning for the spot under the TV where your primary gaming machine resides.
4
Stiff competition
Back when the Steam Deck came out, the PC handheld market consisted of boutique Chinese vendors, with the most popular devices only reaching four-figure sales numbers. But the market where the Steam Machine seeks to find its place under the sun is dominated by behemoths like the PS5 and Switch 2, as well as hundreds of millions of custom and prebuilt gaming PCs.
Credit: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek | charnsitr / Shutterstock
The competition here is much fiercer. Making just one wrong move could mean the difference between success and utter defeat. Considering that the Steam Machine might launch at too high a price, there’s a risk it will be labeled DOA—something that’s virtually impossible to recover from, even in a market that isn’t as cutthroat as the one it’s about to enter.
5
The Xbox full screen experience
Lastly, there’s Microsoft with its Xbox Full Screen Experience interface for Windows 11 that has finally made Windows controller-friendly, just in time for the Steam Machine’s arrival. Millions of PC gamers don’t really like Windows, myself included, but it’s got some significant advantages over SteamOS.
Credit: Microsoft
Advantages like game compatibility, the ability to run all those multiplayer hits that SteamOS can’t handle, and letting PC gamers play titles from every launcher without jumping through hoops—as you often have to on SteamOS. Thanks to the Xbox Full Screen Experience, Windows is now also almost as controller-friendly as SteamOS.
I’ve been using the Xbox FSE on an ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X for about a month now, and while it has its share of issues, I quite like it. As long as I don’t have to install new apps or read MSI Afterburner and Intel Presentmon benchmark data, I don’t have to deal with the Windows desktop. While the Xbox FSE is currently limited to certain PC handhelds, Microsoft will likely make it available to every Windows PC at some point.
When that happens, the Xbox FSE will make millions of Windows PCs as well-suited to sit under the TV and be used solely with a controller as the Steam Machine, eliminating SteamOS’s most critical advantage over Windows and creating yet another hurdle for the Steam Machine to topple to find its way to success.
While I’m not interested in the Steam Machine myself (I already have a beefy gaming PC), I really like what Valve is trying to do with it. I’m always for more competition, and considering Microsoft’s recent AI obsession, I would love it if the Steam Machine ends up a success. But the road to stardom will be much harder for it than it was for its handheld cousin.
