Valve announces Steam Machine and new Steam Controller for living‑room PC gaming

Valve has unveiled a new Steam Machine — a compact, console‑style PC running SteamOS — and an updated Steam Controller, both planned for early 2026. The Steam Machine aims to bring PC gaming to the living room with a familiar plug‑and‑play form factor and Steam integration.

Valve describes the Steam Machine as powered by a semi‑custom AMD Zen 4 CPU and a semi‑custom RDNA3 GPU, paired with 16GB DDR5 system RAM and 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, and available with 512GB or 2TB SSDs. Front ports include a USB‑A and microSD slot; the rear panel offers DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0 and ethernet.

Key features

• Performance: Valve claims roughly six times the horsepower of the Steam Deck and targets 4K/60 fps with FSR upscaling.
• Design: Console‑style box with customizable front plate and LED light strip for living‑room aesthetics.
• I/O & streaming: Front microSD/USB for convenience; back DisplayPort, HDMI and Ethernet. Valve positions the Steam Machine as a local streaming host for devices like the Steam Deck and Steam Frame VR using Steam Link.
• Controller: The new Steam Controller blends Deck inputs (sticks, face buttons, triggers, bumpers, grip buttons) with trackpads for mouse control and gyro aiming. It supports Bluetooth, wired USB and ships with a charging dongle that doubles as a low‑latency wireless transmitter.
• Customization: Per‑game input mapping and shareable profiles return, and Valve says the controller will work across Steam devices including the Deck, Machine and Frame.

Why this matters

The Steam Machine represents Valve’s strategy to offer a console‑like PC that leverages Steam’s library and ecosystem. For players who want PC compatibility on a TV without building a custom PC, Valve is pitching a turnkey option that also doubles as a streaming hub for other Valve hardware.

Open questions

• Price and exact release date beyond “early 2026” remain unannounced — these will be critical for comparisons with consoles and prebuilt PCs.
• Thermals, acoustics and real‑world streaming performance (to Deck/Frame/Steam Link devices) will determine suitability for living‑room use.
• How SteamOS will present a simplified living‑room UI versus the desktop Steam experience is still unclear.

Valve’s prior hardware (Steam Deck, Valve Index) and strong software library (including Half‑Life: Alyx) give the Steam Machine a solid foundation, but mainstream adoption will hinge on price, noise/thermals and how easy Valve makes the out‑of‑box experience. Expect hands‑on reviews and pricing details as Valve reveals more.

See Valve for official updates (opens in a new tab): valvesoftware.com.

Discussion: Would you replace your console with a Steam Machine, or stick with a dedicated console/custom PC? What price and features would convince you to switch?