Steam Machine will remain expensive: Valve explains why it won’t drop in price

The company acknowledges that the high price of hardware is marked by a problem that affects the entire industry and that does not seem to have an immediate solution.

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The release of Steam Machine has sparked significant interest among PC gamers, but it has also generated numerous criticisms due to its high launch price, which exceeds one thousand euros. Many were hoping that Valve would adjust the cost a few months after its release, although the company itself has sought to lower those expectations.

In a recent conversation with Digital Foundry, one of the engineers responsible for the project explained that, at least for now, there is no reason to think that Steam Machine will receive a price cut in the short term.

Valve points to the memory crisis as the main problem

Yazan Aldehayyat, a Valve engineer involved in the development of Steam Machine, explained that the device’s price is directly conditioned by the current state of the hardware market. According to the developer, the industry continues to suffer from the consequences of the rising cost of memory and other essential components, a problem that has also recently affected consoles, graphics cards, and other technological devices.

Aldehayyat acknowledged that Valve would like to offer Steam Machine at a more affordable price to reach a larger number of gamers, but admitted that they cannot promise a price cut soon because they do not expect the manufacturing cost to decrease significantly in the coming months.

His statements coincide with the forecasts of various manufacturers in the sector, who have been warning for some time that the pressure on the memory market will continue to be present for a long time and will continue to affect the final price of numerous technological products.

Meanwhile, some companies are already trying to take advantage of this scenario by offering SteamOS-compatible alternatives at more competitive prices. However, Valve is sticking to its roadmap, and for now, it seems that those interested in Steam Machine will have to accept its current price if they want to get it in the next few months.