Valve Delays Steam Machine and Steam Frame Launch Amid Global RAM Shortage

Valve Delays Steam Machine and Steam Frame Launch Amid Global RAM Shortage

Valve has announced that the release of its highly anticipated hardware, the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, will be delayed. The original plan to reveal pricing and launch dates has been postponed due to a global shortage of RAM and storage components, which has caused prices to surge.

The shortage stems from soaring demand from the AI industry, which has bought large quantities of memory for data centers. As a result, Valve must rethink production costs and pricing strategies to avoid passing excessive costs onto consumers. Despite the delay, Valve confirms that shipments for all three devices, including the new Steam Controller, are still expected within the first half of 2026, although not in the early months as initially planned.

Steam Machine and Steam Frame Specifications
Leaks suggest the Steam Machine will be up to six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, featuring a compact AMD chip capable of 4K 60 FPS gaming with FSR technology. Meanwhile, the Steam Frame is a standalone VR headset running on SteamOS with a top-tier ARM Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, marking Valve’s effort to run x86 games via FEX emulation.

Valve is also improving software alongside hardware, including enhanced memory management, Ray Tracing optimizations, and a new image upscaling system. These upgrades will benefit gamers who build their own Steam Machines at home, ensuring smoother performance when paired with GPUs that have 8GB VRAM.

Impact on Gamers and the Market
The current economic and supply challenges mean that the final retail prices may reflect real-world component costs rather than subsidized console pricing. Gamers planning to purchase Valve’s new hardware should prepare for potentially higher costs upon launch.

 Origin: Arstechnica