Valve waited 7 months to reveal the price of the Steam Machine — and its steep cost is a warning sign of things to come in consumer electronics

"Our original goal for the price of Steam Machine is no longer viable," the company wrote, pointing to a global shortage of memory and storage chips that it said is affecting "hardware products everywhere."

So, here’s what’s going on, assuming you’re not well immersed in the world of consumer electronics. There’s this thing called DRAM, which is basically the working memory inside nearly every phone, laptop, and console. DRAM has become scarce and expensive because all the big companies working on AI are buying it in ridiculous volumes. Chipmakers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have redirected production toward high-bandwidth memory, the premium stuff that feeds AI data centers, and away from the commodity chips that go into consumer electronics like your laptop and gaming console. AI alone is on track to consume roughly a fifth of global DRAM output this year, according to industry researcher TrendForce. Contract prices jumped about 90% in the first quarter of 2026 and are forecast to climb another 60% in the second.

Gaming hardware is taking the hit across the board this year. Sony has raised PS5 prices twice in under a year, explicitly citing memory costs. Microsoft pushed the Xbox Series X to $650. Valve itself bumped the Steam Deck by nearly half. To be clear, this goes against a long-standing pattern where console prices have traditionally fallen as a generation matures, not gone up.

Why the warning extends beyond gaming

Experts expect the RAM shortage to keep pressing on phones, PCs, and storage drives well into next year, with meaningful new factory capacity unlikely before late 2027. Smartphone makers have already nudged flagship prices up, and PC manufacturers have watched memory and storage swell into a far larger share of what it costs to build a machine. The chips that train chatbots and the chips that run your console come off the same production lines, and right now the data centers are winning the bidding war. Even Apple isn’t immune; outgoing CEO Tim Cook said the company has to raise prices on its products as a response to the unfortunate trend.

For the Steam Machine, Valve said some parts it wanted were "altogether unavailable to purchase at any price," capping how many machines it can build at launch. To keep bots out, it's using a one-time randomized reservation system rather than first-come, first-served. Most buyers who sign up now likely won't see a unit until 2027.

"The prices we're sharing today reflect the state of the world for manufacturing," the company said.

Reservations open immediately and close June 25. The first units are set to ship June 30.