Steam Machines are appearing on reseller sites and successfully selling for insane mark-ups, with some of the units going for double the standard price or more. While scalping isn’t unusual, none of these sellers actually have a Steam Machine in hand, as they haven’t gone up for sale yet from Valve.
Steam Machines will likely be in short supply, which is probably helping to propel these listings and sales. Valve noted that it has only been able to produce about two-thirds of the quantity it wanted to make available, due to parts shortages plaguing the industry right now. Given that Steam Decks were frequently out of stock following their launch before the AI hardware crisis was on the horizon, it’s likely that the availability of Steam Machines will be even worse.
Valve Explains Why the Steam Machine is Priced So High
Valve officially explains why the Steam Machine is so much more expensive than typical game consoles and how parts demand impacted the price.
Steam Machines Are Being Scalped Before They’re Even Secured
Steam Machine listings have been appearing on eBay, with many of the listings being priced at $1,000 or more over the cost of buying one directly from Valve. While there are many still listed, several have already sold. For example, one listing of the cheapest Steam Machine sold for $2,000, which would normally sell for $1,049 direct from Valve. A pair of 2TB Steam Machines sold for $2,700 and $2,900 respectively, with it normally costing $1,349 solo or $1,428 with a controller. Perhaps the most mind-boggling price belongs to a 512GB Steam Machine with a controller that sold on eBay for $2,800, which would normally cost $1,128.
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The most shocking part of the sales, however, is that none of the sellers have made a purchase yet, as sales have not officially opened with Valve. Instead, these sellers only have emails confirming they’ve been selected to buy one once the consoles are actually put on sale. Obviously, some fans of Valve are willing to spend exorbitant amounts in order to secure the console, even though many have balked at even the standard prices for the systems.
Valve has shared why the Steam Machine is as expensive as it is, explaining that it isn’t subsidizing the Steam Machine the way that major console manufacturers sometimes do. Interestingly, it seems that this is a change from the way the Steam Deck was handled, as Valve CEO Gabe Newell noted that the Deck’s pricing was “very aggressive” and “painful.” However, it had to compete with the Nintendo Switch, which is one of the most popular game consoles of all time.
For the moment, it remains to be seen how the future will play out for the Steam Machine and those who are hoping to buy one. Some have started to be wary about the system, particularly after Valve quietly changed details regarding the Steam Machine’s 4K and FPS capabilities. However, if the system lives up to the hype, even more gamers may end up wanting to buy one. With the AI boom leading to severe parts shortages all over the world, though, Valve could potentially struggle to meet demand for years to come. It’s ultimately up to gamers who didn’t make it into the purchase queue to decide whether they want to try and wait or spend way more than MSRP to secure one.
