Steam Machine Might Be Impossible to Purchase in 2026, According to New Report

A new report has revealed that the Steam Machine might be very difficult to purchase after its launch. According to the insider, Valve’s new console should just be “cancelled” if they didn’t prepare for its 2026 release. While many have focused on the Steam Machine price, the real problem might be supplies.

Steam Machine Could Suffer Major Launch Issues

While the jury is still out on the Steam Machine price, a new report claims that Valve’s console might face another problem altogether. This latest update comes from Moore’s Law Is Dead, who explained that the Steam Machine could be nearly impossible to purchase due to the impending RAM shortage crisis. In a November 2 podcast, Moore’s Law Is Dead said Valve would have needed to have bought up a lot of DDR5 memory in advance to avoid supply issues.

“When it comes to the pricing, either Valve bought up a large stockpile of DDR5 a couple of months ago, or they didn’t. If they did, they will have enough to make an aggressively priced console launch early next year. It will probably then sell out. So if they bought up enough RAM, they can do a normal launch. They can surprise people with how cheap it is. But then it will sell out and it will be hard to get for a long time.”

The tech insider went on to give a dire warning about the Steam Machine if Valve didn’t buy up enough RAM before the recent worldwide shortage. “If they didn’t buy up RAM ahead of time, I think they might need to just cancel this.”

So yeah, that doesn’t sound good. Of course, Moore’s Law Is Dead clarified that he doesn’t know whether Valve stocked up on DDR5 in advance or not. Either way, it seems like the Steam Machine is going to be difficult to buy because of the RAM crisis.

Valve Might Need to Release a Second Steam Machine Without RAM

Interestingly, Moore’s Law Is Dead said that Valve might need to release a second “bare bones” version of the console. The hardware expert explained that Valve could launch a Steam Machine without an SSD. The new version could be sold until the RAM shortage bubble ends and supplies return back to normal. If this ends up happening, only the initial batch of launch Steam Machines will have their full components.

“They will probably sell a bare bones edition of that console. I think it’s pretty obvious they are going to have to sell a version of the Steam Machine that doesn’t come with an SSD or RAM for most of its early life cycle. While also having these other Steam Machine options with SSD and RAM whenever they can get supplies back in stock.”

This also raises the question of how all of this will impact the Steam Machine price.

Steam Machine Could Be Extremely Hard to Buy in 2026

Regardless, it sounds like the Steam Machine has a steep hill to climb when it launches in 2026. Valve has to release it at a price that most will be happy with, while also facing a major supply shortage of one of the device’s key components. 

This means if you have any interest, you are going to want to buy a Steam Machine at launch. With what’s going on with the RAM shortage, Valve’s console is going to be extremely difficult to purchase next year.