Valve, the company behind the widely successful Steam platform, has made a bold return to the living room console market by unveiling the new Steam Machine. Announced on Wednesday, November 12, the device is a powerful, compact gaming PC designed to bring the entirety of a user’s Steam library directly to their television. Expected to ship in early 2026, the device is the cornerstone of Valve’s new strategy to build a comprehensive gaming hardware ecosystem.
The new Valve Steam Machine Console is a significant upgrade over its 2015 namesake. Valve claims the device packs “roughly six times the horsepower” of the handheld Steam Deck. It features an AMD Zen 4 CPU and RDNA3 GPU, and supports demanding gaming at up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (using upscaling technology). Like the Steam Deck, the console runs on Valve’s customized, Linux-based SteamOS, prioritizing plug-and-play simplicity.
This hardware announcement was a major ecosystem play. The Steam Machine was unveiled alongside a new, fully redesigned Steam Controller and a new standalone virtual reality headset, the Steam Frame. According to Valve President Gabe Newell, this trio of devices is a direct response to gamers asking for “even more ways to play all the great titles in their Steam libraries,” allowing players to move seamlessly between handheld, desktop, and VR environments.
By launching a home console that leverages the vast library of PC gaming and the momentum of the Steam Deck, the Valve Steam Machine Console is positioning itself as a serious contender against traditional platforms like the PlayStation and Xbox. Though pricing details are still pending, Valve’s new console represents a full-circle moment, potentially defining the next generation of highly accessible, PC-powered living room gaming.
