The highly anticipated Steam Machine finally has a release date, and those interested in Valve's home console can sign up for a chance to purchase one before they start shipping on June 29. While the new hardware is a great way to play games from your Steam library without the need for a powerful and pricey gaming computer, its price point is considerably higher than anticipated due to the ongoing memory chip shortage driven by AI data centers.
The Steam Machine starts at over $1,000, making it even more expensive than the PlayStation 5 Pro, Sony's mid-console generation refresh released in late 2024. At $899, the PS5 Pro is $150 less than the cheapest Steam Machine while offering 2TB of storage and a controller like Valve's expensive bundle. A 512GB Steam Machine without the Steam Controller will set you back $1,049, and a controller bundle costs $1,128. If you want 2TB, you're looking at between $1,349 and $1,428.
Still, it wouldn't be entirely fair to compare these gaming systems by price alone, considering that they are meant to fulfill different purposes. In fact, Valve sees the Steam Machine as "an extension of PC gaming" that provides another way to access your Steam library rather than a console. With that in mind, compare Valve and Sony's latest hardware so you can make an informed decision if you need to pick one over the other.
Which hardware is more powerful?
Early reviews indicate that the Steam Machine performs well. Digital Foundry called the experience of playing on Valve's hardware "pretty much flawless," but also noted that it "provide[s] broadly equivalent experiences" to the base PS5. In a video comparing hardware performance, games like "Black Myth: Wukong" and "Alan Wake 2" ran just as smoothly and sometimes even better on PS5 — not even the PS5 Pro — putting the Steam Machine in line with a basic gaming PC that can run most games well, though not exceptionally.
That's not to say that the Steam Machine isn't impressive; it really is an achievement for such a small box to harness so much power. At approximately 6 inches on all sides, Valve's hardware is about 9 inches shorter than the notoriously large PS5. It also has a sleek and tidy form factor in contrast to PS5's odd and bulky design that's been divisive since the console was unveiled in 2020.
Thinking of the Steam Machine as an alternative to a gaming PC rather than another home console also puts the price into perspective. While you can build a budget gaming PC for under $1,000, it's getting harder to acquire reasonably priced and powerful components as a result of the same storage crisis that drove up the Steam Machine's price. All said, while the Steam Machine and PlayStation 5 are both great places to play games, even Sony's basic console has an edge in terms of power, so if performance is your top priority, go with the PS5 Pro.
PS5 Pro is the better choice
While each has its benefits and drawbacks, you're probably better off getting a PlayStation 5 Pro over the Steam Machine. That said, it's also worth noting that the basic PS5 is more than sufficient for most consumers. Even after 2026's price increase, the PS5 Digital Edition costs $599.99, nearly half the price of the 512GB Steam Machine on its own. Unless you care enough about A/V performance to make a PS5 Pro worth $900, you probably won't notice the difference, and if that's the case, you won't be happy with the Steam Machine's output anyway.
The Steam Machine may appeal to PS5 users who are interested in playing PC games. Even if Valve doesn't think of it as a home console, that's basically what the Steam Machine is, so it'll deliver a more familiar overall experience for those used to PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo. It's far from the only way to play PC games, though, whereas PS5 is the only place to play Sony's first-party exclusives. Though many beloved and critically-acclaimed titles like "Marvel's Spider-Man" and "The Last of Us" are available on Steam, reports indicate single-player titles like 2025's "Ghost of Yōtei" and upcoming ones like "Marvel's Wolverine" and "God of War Laufey" won't get Steam ports.
Ultimately, it's hard to recommend the Steam Machine at its launch price when you can get a gaming PC or laptop for a couple hundred more, especially if you take advantage of deals like Amazon Prime Day. Valve's new hardware may be a great way to play by all hands-on accounts, but it's not a great value compared to the cheaper and more powerful PlayStation 5 Pro.