The new Steam Machine is pretty neat, but it’s walked a long and painful road to reach yesterday’s launch. A secret work-in-progress at Valve since at least 2023, it would be late 2025 before an initial public showing, and subsequent delays – blamed on industry-wide components shortages and the resultant price gouging – meant it that it when it did open for orders, it would be months later and at considerably greater expense than planned.
The volatility and unpredictability of the pricing situation may have conjured up images of a hopeful Valve crew, sat with crossed fingers atop a hoard of finished Steam Machines, ready to launch but holding back until production costs settle back down – allowing for a more enticing street price in turn. This, however, was never the case, as Steam Machine designer Lawrence Yang and engineer Yazan Aldehayyat told me over a video call last week.
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