Remember eight months ago where I imagined a fantasy of the Steam Machine costing $650? Apparently, it was a bargain at nearly twice the price:

I took that screenshot directly from the Steam interface. It’s official. Valve is legitimately selling a 512GB Steam Machine with no controller for $1049. That’s a big yikes. Suffice it to say, Valve will not be capturing the coveted Azuriel market, or arguably any reasonable market whatsoever.

The funny/tragic thing though, is that this pricing is actually pretty spot-on when it comes to off-the-shelf computer components these days. From the various Reddit posts, a few people have been able to use PC Parts Picker to find slightly cheaper configurations. For example, this one clocks in at $971. However, there is a big difference between a 6-inch cube and a bog-standard 17″x8″x17″ case.

That said, once you are in $1,428 territory, you may as well buy a CyberPower or other prebuilt PC.

Ah well. I still anticipate the Steam Machine will sell out, considering how the Steam Deck also sold out despite getting a huge markup. At this price though, I just don’t see it affecting the broader videogame market in the same way that the Steam Deck did. I never bought the Deck, but it absolutely influenced what other companies offered in the handheld space. In this case, the Steam Machine is likely just another grave marker for the AI madness that has gripped the economy.