Buy while you can — Valve engineers advise not to wait for a price drop on the Steam Machine

If you were holding out for a cheaper Steam Machine, brace yourself: the folks at Valve say the chip situation isn't improving. Memory supplies that have been irking gamers are projected to tighten further, and that pressure keeps retail prices stubbornly high. The short version: data-center builds for neural networks (e.g., large model training) are hoovering up much of the available silicon, leaving less for consumer gear.

Honestly, things are only getting worse. Just in case anyone isn’t aware. What people see on store shelves now, according to our observations, lags behind the wholesale supply situation by at least three to six months.

That shortage doesn't just nudge the sticker price up; it caps how many units Gabe & co. can make. Production is essentially stock-constrained—if chips aren’t there, they can’t convert designs into boxes, i.e., fewer Steam Machines leave the factory.

Our main goal is to solve the problems faced by regular gamers on Steam. We constantly ask ourselves: what is stopping people right now from playing their favorite games, and how can we fix it? In 90% of cases, Valve solves these problems through software. But sometimes the only way is to create a new device.

Sources: Bloomberg